December 05, 2015 (Warwick, Rhode Island) – On a course lauded as the best in New England, the first day of the NBX Gran Prix of Cyclo-cross got underway in Warwick, Rhode Island’s Goddard Park today. Round 5 of the Verge New England Cyclo-cross Series presented by Stan’s NoTubes and Cycle-Smart, each one of the day’s races was action-packed as racers fought for Series points in this final weekend of the 2015 Series.

In addition to its place as a favorite among racers, NBX is a quintessential New England race course. The race carves its way through challenging, rugged terrain against the scenic backdrop of Greenwich Bay. A successful race in Warwick today required finesse through rooty turns, skill in sand, and the fitness to sprint through the long sand runs the NBX course is famous for.

In the Elite Women’s race, fans anticipated a duel between Ellen Noble (JAM Fund/NCC/Vittoria) and Emma White (Cyclocrossworld.com) — both U23 racers, and both among the best in the country. Noble wears the Series leader’s jersey in both the U23 and overall women’s categories, and hopes to end the weekend with the Series win, while White hopes to overtake the crown. The two opened a gap almost immediately, leaving Arley Kemmerer (Level Eleven Racing p/b PB2) and Jena Greaser (JAM Fund/NCC/Vittoria) to chase.

White launched an early attack and shook Noble, eventually gaining a gap of almost twenty seconds. Greaser shook Kemmerer and was alone in the chase, closing in on Noble, when White suffered a mechanical and had to pit. Noble caught and passed White, reversing the roles of the hunter and the hunted. Kemmerer surged from her fourth-place spot to catch Greaser, the two working together to reel in the two leaders, but the young racers were just too strong. Noble took the win, solidifying her Series lead, with White hot on her heels for second. A battle for third resulted in Kemmerer outsprinting Greaser in the final stretch.

The Elite Men were up next. The overall men’s leader’s jersey was up for grabs, since Raphael Gagne has now set his sights on next year’s World Cup mountain bike season. Next in line for the crown were Anthony Clark (Squid Bikes) and Curtis White (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com), and both were ready to throw down to claim the jersey today. U23 Series leader Scott Smith (JAM Fund/NCC/Vittoria) led the charge onto the course, with Clark, White, Jeremy Martin (Louis Garneau), and Dylan McNicholas (Polartec) in tow.

Clark raced determinedly, working to open a gap with Martin and White. McNicholas caught on, but the course claimed another victim in the White family: Curtis was forced to the pit for a new bike, falling back to a chase group just as the lead group was snapping into action. White was unable to bridge back in the short time remaining. In the final few corners, with the group still together, McNicholas went down in a corner with Clark behind him, allowing Martin to escape. Martin claimed the win, with Clark second. Jack Kisseberth broke away from the chase group to claim the final podium spot.

Clark’s finish earned him the Series leader’s jersey, and Smith held onto his lead in the U23 men’s category. Clark will work to retain his Series lead tomorrow, the final day of the 2015 Verge New England Cyclo-cross Series presented by Stan’s NoTubes and Cycle-Smart. Awards in fifteen categories of racing will be presented in a closing ceremony after the completion of the Elite races. Follow along with the race action tomorrow on Twitter with live updates from @VergeNECXS.

Results

1. Ellen Noble (JAM/NCC/Vittoria ) 0:50:53
2. Emma White (Cyclocrossworld Devo Team ) 0:51:04
3. Arley Kemmerer (Level Eleven Racing p/b PB2 ) 0:51:21
4. Jena Greaser (JAM/NCC/Vittoria ) 0:51:22
5. Kathleen Lysakowski (Joe’s Garage CX p/b BikeReg ) 0:52:28
6. Kate Northcott (West Hill Shop ) 0:53:06
7. Brittlee Bowman (HOUSE IND/WITHINGS/SIMPLEHUMAN ) 0:53:38
8. Stacey Barbossa (MidAtlantic Colavita Women’s Team ) 0:53:49
9. Catherine Sterling (Bikeman.com ) 0:54:02
10. Jenny Ives (Verge Test Pilot/Jamis ) 0:54:29
11. Jessica Duppler (Colonial Bicycle Company ) 0:54:41
12. Joanne Grogan (NEXT-BMB ) 0:54:47
13. Erin Faccone (Team Averica ) 0:54:53
14. Regina Legge (GREEN LINE VELO driven by Zipcar ) 0:54:53
15. Ruby West (Centurion Next Wave ) 0:55:23
16. Roni Vetter (State 9 Racing p/b Vittoria ) 0:55:25
17. Anna Dingman (TRT Bicycles ) 0:55:28
18. Katina Walker (Park Ave. Bike Shop ) 0:55:48
19. Leslie Timm (ladies first racing ) 0:56:09
20. Bryna Blanchard (North American Velo ) 0:56:14
21. Natasja Brooijmans (GREEN LINE VELO driven by Zipcar ) 0:56:21
22. Melissa Seib (UVM Cycling ) 0:57:06
23. Julie Wright (Team Averica ) 0:57:07
24. Julie Van der hoop (MIT Cycling Team p/b Thoughtforms ) 0:57:27
25. Melissa Lafleur (Stedman’s Bicycle Co. ) 0:59:17
26. Natalie Tapias (ThisTeamSavesLives ) 0:59:46
DNF Elizabeth White (HOUSE IND/WITHINGS/SIMPLEHUMAN )
DNF Christin Reuter (crossresults.com )
DNF Frances Morrison (C3 Twenty20 Cycling )

Men

1. Jeremy Martin (Louis Garneau ) 1:05:32
2. Anthony Clark (Squid Bikes ) 1:05:34
3. Jack Kisseberth (JAM/NCC/Vittoria ) 1:05:45
4. Ben Frederick (beyondCX ) 1:05:46
5. Dylan Mcnicholas (POLARTEC ) 1:06:07
6. Curtis White (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com ) 1:06:11
7. Sam O’keefe (HOUSE IND/WITHINGS/SIMPLEHUMAN ) 1:06:11
8. Scott Smith (JAM/NCC/Vittoria ) 1:06:55
9. Daniel Chabanov (HOUSE IND/WITHINGS/SIMPLEHUMAN ) 1:08:03
10. Alec Donahue (JAM/NCC/Vittoria ) 1:08:28
11. Adam Myerson (Cycle-Smart ) 1:09:05
12. Adam St. germain (NEXT-BMB ) 1:09:38
13. Gerald Adasavage (Hudson/Ludwig & Larsen Racing ) 1:09:45
14. Kyle Murphy (Hudson/Ludwig & Larsen Racing ) 1:09:48
15. Patrick Collins (Minuteman Road Club ) 1:09:50
16. Charles Berhtram (Team Cuppow ) 1:09:50
17. Michael Mihalik (Jmac Cycling/Novacare ) 1:10:16
18. Nicolas Catlin (Sherpa ) 1:10:17
19. Ian Keough (Keough Cyclocross ) 1:10:21
20. Andrew Lints (RIT Cycling ) 1:10:30
21. Tim Ratta (Barks X Wreck Adventure Club ) 1:10:46
22. Evan Murphy (Hudson/Ludwig & Larsen Racing ) 1:10:56
23. Matthew Sousa (Team Cuppow ) 1:11:00
24. Aaron Oakes (NYCROSS p/b Craft ) 1:11:11
25. Chris Field (Essex County Velo ) 1:11:15
26. Benjamin Grenier (Rancourt & Co. Cycling ) 1:11:19
27. Michael Landry (Yale ) 1:11:25
28. Scott Fitzgerald (Photon Racing p/b Engineered Assemb ) 1:11:30
29. Colin Reuter (crossresults.com ) 1:12:29
30. Case Butler (JAM/NCC/Vittoria ) 1:12:31
31. Adam Sullivan (Grinta! p/b Best Buddies Challenge ) 1:12:36
32. David Berg (Dartmouth College ) 1:13:00
33. Ian Schon (Team Cuppow ) 1:13:01
34. Brad Smith (The Drifters ) 1:13:09
35. Tim Willis (King Kog ) 1:13:18
36. Peter Striegel (UVM Cycling ) 1:13:56
37. Cory Small (UVM Cycling ) 1:14:21
38. Andrew Mcgowan (C3-Twenty20 Cycling ) 1:14:55
39. Pete Macleod (BARFLY ) 1:15:06
40. Matthew Erchull (KindHuman-CycleSmart ) 2L
41. Nolan Garon (Wentworth Institute of Technology ) 2L
42. Ford Murphy (Joe’s Garage CX p/b BikeReg ) 2L
DQ Jesse Keough (Keough Cyclocross )
DNF Matt Timmerman (Cannondale )
DNF Andrew Reimann (Cyclocross Magazine Racing )
DNF Ian Gielar (Rochester Institute of Technology )
DNF Austin Skomra (Cycle-Smart Grassroots Team )
DNF Kurt Belhumeur ()
DNF AJ Moran (GREEN LINE VELO driven by Zipcar )
DNF Christian Favata (TRT BICYCLES )
DNF Nicholas Keough (Keough Cyclocross )
DNF Peter Goguen (RACE CF )