CJ Faulkner, Crossniacs, celebrates his first ever Elite Men MCF Cyclocross Victory

Crossniacs teammates CJ Faulkner and Chris Fisher finished a convincing 1-2, respectively, in Day 1 of the Hudson Double Cross Shootout. The pair joined forces right from the start to distance themselves from the rest of the 26 rider field. Contenders Adam Froemming, MBRC/Flanders, and Jesse Rients, Kuhl/Bicycle Fit Guru, both suffered 1st lap mechanicals, eliminating their chances of victory. New comer, and QBP employee, Andrew Pierre, finished 3rd place on a single-speed sporting mustache bars.

It was a beautiful sunny day with light winds, and cool temps. The course layout was significantly different than last year, eliminating the single track and "ditch of death" that everyone seemed to complain about last year. They added more off camber, and a hard run-up. The sandy uphill was back, along with the tough grind up to the finish.  That, combined with the uneven prairie ground made for a particularly tortuous course. You could see the "hurts so good" look on riders faces as they rode through the finish area each lap.

Linda Sone, Cycle-Smart, won the Elite Women's Race from an impressive field of 10 women racers. Jeanne Fleck, Velo Duluth, was 2nd, followed by Corey Coogan Cisek, Team Plan C, 3rd. Other category winners are listed below:

Men 3: Charles Simacek - MCT Freewheel
Women 3: Niki Soderberg - Team Kenda
Masters 35+: Barry Tungseth - Bikery Du Nord
Masters 45+: Brian Koeneman - Team Wheel and Sprocket
Masters 55+: Charlie Townsend - Bianchi/Grand Performance
Men 4: Josh Collins - Unattached
Women 4: Niki Soderberg - Team Kenda
Jr Men 15-18: Reece Oleson - Angry Catfish
Jr Men 10-14: Edison Foster - Unattached
Jr Women 15-18: Rachael Jensen - Team Geargrinder
Jr Women 10-14: Anya Malarski - MNJRC