Weekend Preview: Verge Northampton International Cyclocross p/b Cycle-Smart

The 2018 Vittoria Northeast Cyclocross Series presented by Clif Bar and Cycle-Smart continues this weekend with the 28th annual Verge Northampton International Cyclocross p/b Cycle-Smart. Taking place November 10 and 11 in Northampton’s Look Park, the NohoCX event is the oldest cyclocross race in North America sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).

The second of four race weekends, the Vittoria Series follows competition on classic cyclocross courses in the Northeast, which include Gloucester, Mass., Northampton, Mass., Suffern, N.Y., and Warwick, R.I. It is the longest standing UCI cyclocross series in the United States.

At the Verge NohoCX, UCI Elite Class 2 (C2) races will be held both days for professional women and men. Athletes will compete for points on the USA Cycling Pro Cyclocross Calendar (ProCX), as well as for the Vittoria Series overall competition. Winning athletes will be awarded coveted Verge Sport leader’s jerseys at the Northampton event. Currently, Ellen Noble (Trek Factory Racing) and Curtis White (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) lead the elite women’s and men’s competitions with 100 points, each sweeping the initial weekend of competition at the CRAFT Sportswear Gran Prix of Gloucester in October.

Look Park will host the next two races of the Series. The venue at the 150-acre park is a favorite among racers, fans, and families alike. “Even though this is the 28th edition of the race, we are always looking for ways to improve both the course and the race experience,” said Race Director, Cycle-Smart’s Alec Donahue. “Our kids’ races are run by the Noho Cycling Club and have grown to be one of our best and most popular features, aside from our famous rooty run up in Look Park.”

A long-time supporter in the New England cyclocross community, Joe's Garage in Haydenville, Mass. has partnered with Cycle-Smart and the Northampton International to support prize parity for women cyclists and is the presenting sponsor of the elite women’s races. The event will in turn provide support back to shop owner Joe Mai, who is currently experiencing health issues and has not been able to spend much time in his shop. NohoCX encourages all cyclists in the New England ‘cross community to help with Joe’s medical bills by donating online www.bikereg.com/NohoForJoe.

NohoCX will also celebrate the life a very important member of the New England cyclocross community, Scott Godon-Decoteau. Many will know him as the creator and owner of Barks+Wreck, an accessories and apparel brand for pets and owners. He was also a graphic artist, a filmmaker, photographer and lead creative manager for LEGO. He leaves behind his wife Danielle and two-year-old son Oliver. There will be a moment of celebration for Scott at the podium area on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 12:30 p.m. NohoCX encourages racers and members of the community to attend an art exhibition to celebrate Scott on Thursday, Nov. 8 at MILL 1 at Open Square in Holyoke, Mass. from 4 to 7pm.

“Scott was an incredible ambassador for cycling, but more than that, he showed us how to love riding, how to embrace adventure and how to appreciate the little things especially when everything went wrong,” said Sean Rudzinsky, who is organizing Scott’s celebration. “Some of us were lucky enough to be close friends with Scott, but most of us have felt his impact of positivity, creative energy and eternal optimism whether directly or indirectly.”

Race Preview

After back-to-back wins at the Really Rad Festival of Cyclocross Nov. 3-4, Crystal Anthony (Liv Cycling) returns to Northampton with added confidence. “This will be my seventh year racing at Noho,” said Anthony, “and I'm really excited to be back for the 2018 edition, after missing it for the last few years. Coming off two wins at Really Rad, I'm feeling really good, but I know there will be a lot of strong competition this weekend. Noho is the type of course that seems to lend itself to head-to-head battles, so I imagine there will be some exciting racing for spectators. You've got to be strong but also a good tactical racer to do well at Noho.”

Anthony has three ProCX wins so far this season and is currently third in the Vittoria Series standings, 40 points behind leader Noble.

Rebecca Fahringer (Kona Maxxis Shimano) looks forward to racing close to home. “What I am most excited for is seeing if I can put together a solid race, start to finish,” said Fahringer, from Concord, N.H. “This is a good course for me to do it on, because it is fast but not too fast, tricky but not too tricky, and really makes it favor an all-around rider.”

Also racing this weekend is Erica Zaveta (Garneau-Easton p/b TLC), who currently sits second in the Vittoria Series standings after finishing second on both days of Series kick off Gran Prix of Gloucester earlier this season. Other elite women looking for a win are Courtenay McFadden (Pivot-Maxxis p/b Stans-DNA Cycling), Cassie Maximenko (Van Dessel Factory Team) and Regina Legge (Trek Cyclocross Collective).

For the elite men, Curtis White (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) will be on the start line, fresh off of his Pan-American Championship victory in Canada. The current leader of the Vittoria Series, White is excited to return to Northampton.

“Northampton is a New England classic,” said White, who is from Delanson, N.Y.. “I always love racing there. Adam and his crew do a fantastic job putting on a real high quality event. I believe the first year I raced it was 2005 as a first year cub junior.”

A fast, flowing course that is balanced with challenging and technical features, the Northampton course provides an opportunity for wide open, head-to-head racing. “The venue and course layout are sure to guarantee fast and exciting racing,” said White. “With Vittoria being our new tire sponsor, there's a little more motivation by towing the line in the series leaders jersey.”

Additional elite men to watch include Jack Kisseberth (Garneau Easton p/b Transitions Life Care), Scott Smith (Dirt League), who picked up his first ProCX win at last Sunday’s Really Rad Festival of Cyclocross, Nick Lando (Competitive Edge Racing), and Merwin Davis (Cycle-Smart).

Following Northampton this weekend, the Vittoria Series will continue with its third event at Supercross Cup Nov. 17 and 18, in Suffern, N.Y. The Vittoria Series grand finale will be at the NBX Gran Prix of Cyclocross Dec. 1 and 2, in Warwick, R.I.

Watch the races unfold in person or by following tweets at @VittoriaSeries. Follow on Facebook and YouTube for race weekend highlights video highlights provided by DirtWire.TV.

Noble and White Double Up on Day 2 of Gran Prix of Gloucester

The 20th edition of the CRAFT Sportswear Gran Prix of Gloucester concluded on Sunday as the second race of the 2018 Vittoria Northeast Cyclocross Series presented by Clif Bar and Cycle-Smart. Held in Gloucester’s iconic Stage Fort Park, racers navigated the twists and turns of the course around the prominent granite boulder, overlooking Half Moon and Cressy’s beaches on the Atlantic Ocean. With vastly different course conditions from day one, which were wet and greasy, the course was dry and lightening fast.

Ellen Noble (Trek Factory Racing) took her second solo victory of the weekend in the elite women’s race and Curtis White (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) put in a late-race attack to go clear for the double win for the elite men..

After a dominant win on Saturday, Noble took a more calculated approach to the Sunday race. “Today I went into it with a little bit more tactics. I wanted to get off the front with Erica (Zaveta) and kind of be able to work with her,” said Noble. “She’s up and coming in the UCI races, so it would have been a good opportunity for us to work together and go through some lines.”

But Noble’s plan would shift when Erica Zaveta (Garneau-Easton p/b TLC) crashed early in race. “I took a weird line, I think I threw her off, so it left me on the front. I wasn’t intending to go solo today. But that’s how it ended up happening. Once I got a gap, I just tried to keep it,” added Noble.

Zaveta, who finished second, had a strong start by following immediately behind Noble. “I took on Ellen’s wheel and I was following behind really closely,” said Zaveta. “But I slid out in the turns just before the pits. And it was a pretty fast crash, so she got away very quickly. I ended up with Crystal (Anthony) and the group behind me. I ended up riding with them a little until I settled down and figured out the lines again. I had to pit because of my hanger. Towards the end I was like ‘I need to go.’ My rhythm was different than Crystal’s, like where she could go hard was opposite for me. So it wasn’t good to follow her. I attacked then. It was definitely back and forth. She’s really strong. I just need to commit to try to go, and then see if it worked. And it did.”

Crystal Anthony (Liv Cycling) rode to a podium spot for a second day in a row. “Today was a battle,” said Anthony. “Erica and I were going back and forth. She got the last final punch, so she rode really strong. I was happy today to be in the fight. She was savvy. She sat on my wheel until she was ready to go, and then she went.”

The elite men’s race proved to be a punchy group race, with riders from Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com dictating the tactics. Cooper Willsey (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) would lead for several laps before setting things up for teammate White.

“The course, today, seemed like it played towards group racing, it was a bit tactical,” said White. “Cooper Willsey was off the front early, so that put pressure on guys like Tobin Ortenblad, Jamey Driscoll. Jamey got to the front (chase group) and closed the gap quick so that we were all together. He had started the attack and strung the field out. Jamey was putting in a good dig with, like, four (laps) to go, and then he unfortunately clipped a stake (fence). It was unfortunate for him, but I think it also worked to my benefit. That was something I had to capitalize on and that was the gap. Once I got the gap, I wanted to crank out some of the fastest lap times that I could, work on accelerations.”

The race for second place would continue in the chase group after White made his winning attack. It would be his teammate Lane Maher who would take the lead in the final turns of the race. “Curtis attacked really hard, so that was pretty much gone, that was the win,” said Maher. “Then it kind of became a race for second. I got to go out to the front of the race for the first time on the last lap. It made it a lot easier, just a lot less gaps for me to close. I felt really good, so I decided to attack with a few minutes to go and it stuck. I was happy. I just put my head down and went as hard as I could and hoped for the best.”

Anthony Clark (Squid Squad) sprinted for third, after making several attacks throughout the race to shake up the group. “Since it was day two, I was on the start and super chilled,” said Clark. “I was sitting sixth wheel, and I was like ‘no, I want to go to the front.’ After Curtis attacked, I went to the front. With three or four laps to go, Curtis had a gap, so I just led two of the laps trying to get him back. The Cannondale guys were racing as a team. I led the last lap. Then Lane did an attack, I had to cover it and I realized he (Maher) had too big of a gap. So I said ‘I have to lead out the sprint, and Tobin is fast!’ I didn’t even think about it, I just went on the pavement and (pounded it). I just went as hard as I could and didn’t look back. As soon as I crossed the line, I was like “I just got third at Gloucester!’ And that is how it happened.”

The Vittoria Northeast Cyclocross Series continues with races three and four at The Verge Northampton International in Northampton, Mass. at Look Park on November 10 and 11. Noble and White will wear the coveted Verge leader’s jerseys for the Vittoria Series.