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USGP Planet Bike Cup |
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Written by Matthew Block
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Sunday, 04 October 2009 |
USGP Planet Bike Cup UCI
Sun Prairie, WI
September 27th, 2009
 This race just keeps getting better every year. Last year was the first time it rose to UCI level and now this year takes the next step to be the kick off event of the US Gran Prix of Cyclocross.
Once again Madison, WI based Planet Bike sponsored the event which of course brought their two sponsored riders, Jonathan Page and Katie Compton. The event saw a host of the top pro men and women show up at Angel Park Speedway to tackle an even more technical course than in years past. Riders such as three time World CX Champ, Erwin Vervecken, Swiss rider Christian Heull, Geoff Kabush, Ryan Trebon, Barry Wicks, Jeremy Powers and many more. On the women’s side were Georgia Gould, Katerina Nash, Allison Dunlap, Allison Sydor along with many others.
The weather was near perfect for cyclocross. Cool and cloudy with small passing showers that kept the course damp but sticky.
The women’s race saw Katie Compton dominate for over half the race followed by Katerina Nash and Georgia Gould. Allison Dunlap won the SRAM most aggressive rider award for moving from a back row starting position up to 5th overall.
The men’s race was quite a bit closer with Geoff Kabush going off the front early only to be swallowed up and spit out by the group of Page, Trebon and Vervecken. Trebon and Page attacked each other throughout the race with Vervecken dangling in third until the attacks really started. Page then rolled both tires and crashed and shortly after the cagey Belgian veteran jumped Trebon and held it to win his first ever event in the U.S. Trebon took second, Page rolled in for third and Kabush fourth. The SRAM most aggressive rider award went to Wisconsin’s own neo-pro Tristian Schouten (Planet Bike) for riding from 59th starting position into 8th just ahead of Barry Wicks.
Of course I didn’t just drive two hours just to spectate and I considered myself lucky to even be at the event being that my wife had just given birth to our second daughter just ten days prior. Fortunately my mother-in-law came to stay with us during the race weekend so I was given the green light to go race!! I lined up in the Cat 2/3 division, an 80+ rider field which is the largest cyclocross start I’ve ever been in. Staging for the race was done by time of entry so I was slotted in the last two rows. The start was total chaos with most of the back of the field doing track stands at the first few corners. The course was very technical, soft and tacky in spots from the previous couple of days rains. My legs never really got to feeling great during the whole race and I tell you what, no matter how much you train and practice for cyclocross you can never fully simulate the violence of an actual race effort. Despite all of that I managed to work my way up some and not have any major pilot errors and ended up in 57th place. Not a great placing but given all the busyness and excitement of our new family addition (and a 2 year old) I was just happy to be racing.
Matt
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