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Bend, OR - December 9th, 2012 - The Trek US Grand Prix of Cyclocross presented by Greenware and WD-40 Bike wrapped up in Bend, Oregon on Sunday, as day two of the Deschutes Brewery Cup brought out big crowds and spectacular racing. Sunday's podiums looked surprisingly similar to those of Saturday, as the same three riders made appearances on both the mens and women's races, although the races to get there were markedly different than the previous day's.
Bend was once again well represented as Saturday's winner Ryan Trebon (Cannondale - Clement) tried to complete the double, but the race wouldn't play out nearly the same for the lanky Bend resident. A large group of big names emerged on the front early on, with Danny Summerhill (Chipotle Development) leading the charge, spending significant time on the front as he led a long string of riders that included all the heavy hitters in the field. Summerhill battled with Cannondale - Cyclocrossworld.com's Tim Johnson at the front, until Johnson put in a heavy blow to drop the group and move away in a solo effort.
As Johnson steadily gained time on the chase, eventually gaining a 30 second advantage, the original group stayed together as Summerhill continued to lead the chase. Trebon kept a close eye on the group that also included Chris Jones (Rapha-Focus), Adam Craig (Giant - Rabobank), Ben Berden (Raleigh - Clement), Geoff Kabush (Scott - 3Rox) and Yannick Eckman (California Giant - Specialized) among others.
With two laps to go and a surprisingly large group still together, Trebon went on the attack, blowing up the group at two laps to go leaving only Saturday's bronze medalist Adam Craig able to respond. As Johnson rode away for the win, Trebon never looked back as he held on for second, followed by an elated Craig as he earned another podium spot in front of his hometown crowd. A late surge from Jones would earn him a fourth place finish, with U23 standout Yannick Eckman rounding out the top 5 and earning the top spot on the U23 podium. He would be joined by two teammates as California Giant - Specialized swept the U23 podium, with Cody Kaiser finishing second and Tobin Ortenblad in third.
Eckman would finish the series as the U23 series winner ahead of Kaiser in second and Canadian Evan McNeely (Specialized Canada) in third. An absent Jeremy Powers (Rapha - Focus) had already secured enough points to take the overall elite victory, with Trebon ending second overall and his Cannondale Cyclocrossworld.com's teammate Johnson in third overall.
The women's race separated much earlier, although Saturday's power duo of Katerina Nash and Georgia Gould (Luna Pro Team), who finished first and second respectively on the first day of the weekend, found themselves in a bit of trouble early on as both backed off to avoid crashing in a chaotic start on Sunday. The duo would eventually find the front, with Nash going clear early on as teammate Gould took a little longer to work her way through the field. As Gould eventually moved off the front of the chase effort into second, two French riders, Julie Krasniak (Rapha-Focus) and Caroline Mani (Raleigh - Clement), were left to chase for third. Mani would eventually shed the rest of the riders, going clear in third, with Krasniak taking up chase, joined by Elle Anderson (LadiesFirst Racing) and the two Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies riders Jade Wilcoxson and Amanda Miller.
Nash, Gould, and Mani would stay away to mirror Saturday's podium in that order, as the Optum riders turned in their best performance of the season with Wilcoxson in fourth and Miller in fifth.
With series leader Katie Compton (Trek Cyclocross Collective) absent racing in Europe, Gould moved into the lead to win the series, knocking Compton down to second with Krasniak rounding out the overall podium in third.
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