The New England cyclocross season started on Sunday with Comp Edge’s Blunt Park CX event on a twisty, rooty course in Springfield. A strong NCC contingent—from junior Trail Blasters to seasoned master’s racers—showed up to shake off the cobwebs and start off the River Valley Cyclocross Series.
NCC Board Member Ben Jankowski just missed a podium spot in the Men’s Category 3/4 race, finishing in 4th. Tyler McGinnis and Sam Veggeberg placed 23rd and 29th, respectively, in the same race.
Tyler doubled up for 8th place in the Men’s Cat 4/5 race, where he was joined by Carlos Garza (11th) and Jonathan O’Keeffe (32nd ).
Two adult NCC members raced ‘cross for the first time: Tim Pitkin was 9th in the Men’s Cat 5 race, and Amy Stephens placed 9th in the Women’s Cat 4/5.
For the men’s master’s racers, Chris Evans (11th), Henry Van Den Broek (14th), and Andy Scott (21st) contended in the 50+, while Joe Lellman (11th) and David Goodwin (12th) placed just one spot apart from each other in the 60+. Joe and David have been racing cyclocross together since long before any of our junior riders were born! (2006 is the earliest documented Joe/David race on crossresults.com).
The NCC Trailblasters Youth Cyclocross Racing Team and JAM Fund/NCC riders showed up strong!
The Trailblasters had the following results, thanks to the support of their coaches, Ross Krause (Head Coach), Tom Hoogendyk, and Gus Lellman:
In the Girls 9-12 category, Alta Breismeister (2nd), Lilah Engebretson (4th), Ruby Gillotti-White (6th), and Annemieke Bourdon (9th) looked great! On the Boys’ 9-12 side, Anders Krause (3rd) and Miles Abrams (5th) represented NCC. In the 13-15 age group, Madison Johnson (2nd) and Stella Beek (4th) had great results for the girls, while Rowan Harrison (8th) and Mykola Voyevidka (15th) represented the boys. Unfortunately, the three NCC 16-18 boys (Magnus Harrison and Acer Verson for the Trailblasters and Jack Quinlan for JAM) were unable to finish.
Three JAM riders finished in podium spots: Talia Loiter and Tanya Boulanova went 1-2 in the Women’s Cat 4/5 race, and Lane Maher won the Men’s 1/2/3 race! Other JAM results came from Sophie Parrott (7th, Women’s Cat 4/5), Keith Mullaly (6th, Men’s 1/2/3), and Gunther Breismeister (4th, Boys 13-15).
For more information, see the full results from Blunt Park and the River Valley Cyclocross Series standings.
Don’t forget to register or volunteer for this weekend’s race, NCC Hydra Cross in Holyoke!
