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Planet Bike Cup |
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Written by Matthew Block
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Thursday, 02 October 2008 |
Jonathan Page’s Planet Bike Cup
Sun Prairie, WI
September 27th & 28th, 2008
 For the first time ever big time cyclocross makes it to Wisconsin thanks in part to Madison, WI based Planet Bike who is Jonathan Page’s new sponsor for 2008-2009. These were also the first two races of the Wisconsin Cycling Association ‘cross series. Located at Angel Park Speedway the course was a super fun mix of mostly bumpy grass, a lot of tight, technical and off-camber turns and some gravel and pavement thrown in also. Add to that the likes of Jonathan Page, Todd and Troy Wells, Bjorn Selander, Tim Johnson, Steve Tilford and Swiss rider Michael Mueller and the elite racing was a blast to watch.
Day one was sunny and warm with temps in the mid 70’s. Okay weather for the first ‘cross race of the year. I had a second row start in the Cat 3 event and when the gun went off I was swarmed immediately. All I can say is no matter how much practice and training you do you’re never prepared for how hard the first race of the year feels. I struggled to get the legs going and ended up near the back of a 45-man field in a hurry. A nagging sore back that has been bothering me for the past couple of months wasn’t helping either. Fortunately the technical nature of the course allowed me to recover a bit and move back up to around mid-field. But I never could get the legs going and finished 27th.
 The elite men’s race saw Todd Wells suffer a mechanical early that put him back to mid pack. Jon Page poured it on and soon rode away from everyone to take the win alone. Second went to Swiss rider Michael Mueller, Wisconsin’s own Bjorn Selander (current U23 National Champ) in third, Troy Wells fourth and Todd Wells battled back for fifth place. Natasha Elliot of Ontario, Canada pretty much rode away from everyone else to win the Elite women’s race. But Anna Young, a local Madison High School senior, had an impressive 4th place in the Elite event also.
Day two felt more like ‘cross weather with overcast skies and temps that never broke past 60 degrees. The course rode in the same direction but with a few changes to the technical sections that made it feel completely different. The start was the same and for some reason I was bumped to the front row. I had a much better start this time keeping myself inside the top 15 riders out of 42 Cat 3 racers. My sore came back to haunt me again and I lost some positions but managed to keep riding hard. The legs felt much better and in the last lap I passed two riders just after the run-up and one more rider through some of the last tight turns to finish in 15th position.
I didn’t get to hang around for the elite racing as my 10 month old daughter had had about enough of bike racing for the day. From what I’ve read it was a great race with Jonathan Page, the Wells brothers and Tim Johnson battling throughout the race. In the end Jon Page came away with the win followed closely by Todd then Troy Wells. Michael Mueller and Bjorn Selander rounded out the top five. The women’s event was again dominated by Natasha Elliot followed by Sarah Kerlin and yet another impressive ride by Madison local Anna Young for third place.
Matt
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