Jordan Cullen displays his superior barrier skill

Jordan Cullen, Clif Bar Development Cross Team, has returned to to cyclocross racing, taking his 2nd win of the season, at Day 2 of the Hudson Double Cross Shootout. He bested Day 1 winner, CJ Faulkner of Crossniacs, who finished 1 minute back in 2nd place, followed by CJ's Crossniacs teammate Josh Roeser, 3rd place, another 3.5 minutes back.

Similar weather conditions to Day 1, but 10 degrees warmer, the course was largely unchanged. Turnout was surprizingly light for all but the Cat 1/2 men. The heat took it's toll on the riders who raced late in the day. Cullen was quoted after his race saying "I'm so messed up right now."

In the Elite Men race, Doug Swanson, GrandStay, took the hole shot. As the field first crested the hill through the finish area, spectators where surprised to see Cullen in last place. He had a mechanical problem right after the start, and had to stop and dismount to fix the problem. After 1 lap, Swanson and Faulkner were in the lead, with Cullen chasing 15 seconds back, after switching bikes. Lap 2 saw Cullen take over the lead, with Faulkner chasing solo, and Swanson losing ground. Faukner rejoined Cullen at the front on Lap 4, with Roeser overtaking Swanson and chasing solo in 3rd. Cullen surged ahead on lap 5, and rode the last 6 laps solo to victory.

Linda Sone, Cycle-Smart, repeated her victory from Day 1 in the Women's Elite Race, with Terra James, Sweet and Salty Racing, 2nd. Other category winners are listed below:

Men 4: Reece Oleson - Angry Catfish
Jr Men 15-18: Quentin IkutaSchodde - Synergy
Jr Men 10-14: James Pabst
Men 3: Mitch Nordahl - MNJRC
Women 3: Niki Soderberg - Team Kenda
Masters 35+: Oliver Vrambout - Bikery Du Nord
Masters 45+: Greg Goblirsch - Loon State Cyclists
Masters 55+: Dag Selander - Team Plan C

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

Doug Swanson, GrandStay Hotels, won the Cat 1/2/3 race at Tuesday Night Cross #5 convincingly, finishing 45secs ahead of 2nd place Matt Peterson, Balance Cycling. Weather was calm and cool, and the course featured 5 tortuous run-ups, with barriers at the bottom.

Josh Roeser, Crossniacs took another victory in the masters 35+ race, in a tight battle with Jesse Rients, Kuhl/Bicycle Fit Guru, and Chris Smith, HUP United. Tom Puzak lived up to his bib number 1, winning the Cat 4 race, after race leader Kesha Zavyalov, Omnium Racing, broke his chain on the final lap.

In the main event, Swanson took the hole shot, and looked like he was going leave the rest of the field in his dust. However, Swanson overcooked a turn, and went down, handing the lead over to Adam Froemming, MBRC/Flanders. Froemming opened up a slight gap, only to overcook a turn himself, and go down, giving the lead back to Swanson. Swanson went full gas from there, and quickly opened up a sizeable gap, cruising to victory.

Turnout for these Tuesday Night Cross races has been impressive. In fact, TNC#5 had a larger turnout than either of the races this past weekend. Come out and enjoy the fun!

Doug Swancxson, GrandStay, took the victory in the CRY season opener Cross Consipracy Cat 1/2 race, held at the Corcoran County Fairgrounds. He won a hard fought battle with Jeff Kluck, SC Velo. Swanson stated, "I just rode his wheel for most of the race. He was so punchy and strong, but I was better in the turns." Chris Fisher, Crossniacs finished 3rd.

Linda Cooper, Great Plains, made the trek down from North Dakota, to take the win in the women's field. She prevailed over Martha Flynn-Kauth, Birchwood in 2nd, and Kathryn Phillips, Synergy in 3rd.

Although the day was sunny, calm, and relatively warm, turnout was noticably light with a 115 racers total. The USGP race in Madison, as well as the MTB race in St. Cloud looked to have a bigger impact than expected. Nonetheless, Freewheel MCT put on a great show. The BMX track was missing, but the course featured a good mix of technical turns, off-camber, and flowed very well. It was a bit rough, but so are most cross races, right?

In the Cat 1/2/M35+ race, Jake Helmbrecht, Freewheel, took the whole shot, but soon after Kluck was driving on the front. Only Swanson and Fisher were able to keep pace, as the trio rode away from the rest of the pack. Kluck was relentless, getting out of the saddle, pushing the pace out of every turn. A few laps in, Fisher was dropped. An off-camber turn into a steep, but ride-able run-up, a few hundred meters before the finish was a key section of the course. Swanson bobbled on one lap, giving Kluck a small gap, but it closed down quickly. A couple laps later, it was Kluck who bobbled the run-up, and Swanson gaining the advantage, only to be shut down as well. Kluck continued to lead most of the closing laps, until Swanson made his move approaching the off-camber section before the run-up. Swanson pulled a small gap on the run-up, and charged home to victory.

Below is a complete list of category winners for the day:
Cat 4 Men - Mitch Nordahl, MNJRC
Jr Men 15-18 - Alec Porter, Bianchi Grand Performance
Jr Women 15-18 - Rachael Jensen - Geargrinder
Jr Women 10-14 - Anya Malarski - MNJRC
Cat 3 Men - Matthew Petersen - Balance
Cat 3 Women - Linda Cooper - Great Plains
Masters 45+ - Ladric Grant - Crossniacs
Masters 55+ - Charlie Townsend - Bianchi Grand Performance
Masters 35+ - Jason Snider - Hollywood Cycles
Cat 1/2 Men - Doug Swanson - GrandStay Hotels