December 11, 2005 (Providence, RI) – After a weekend of weather that made even seasoned New Englanders scamper for cover, the last day of the Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships finally saw some sun plus a slew of new National Champions.

Following the women’s and men’s “Killer B” races for the coveted hand-made “Sandbagger” jerseys, the competition for the stars and stripes started with the Master Men 50-54 category race. There, local legend, Paul Curley, waited a quarter of a lap before simply riding off the front and never looking back.

“I was hoping for the conditions to be as technical as possible because I know there are a lot of riders who are stronger than I am,” said Curley. “I was really thankful that the conditions stayed technical. It was something where you really had to do some gambling. I mean I fell as much as anyone else did, but I fell going fast and as long as you’re going fast, you’re going to stay ahead of the guys that are being cautious and not falling.”

The win was Curley’s 20th victory in a national championship.

The final day also contained a new event, the Liberty Cup. A showcase of the weekend’s stars and stripes winners, the Liberty Cup contained all ages of riders who had won jerseys this weekend plus other notables including Canadian national cyclo-cross champion, Lyne Bessette, and ‘cross “rookie,” Chris Horner.

A decidedly low-key affair, the riders nonetheless put on a show for the crowds, including a barrier-hopping Jeremy Powers. However, in the end none of the riders could answer to the seemingly unstoppable Todd Wells, who went to the front and rode off with his second win in as many days.

“I was actually going to take it easy today and have fun out there,” explained Wells. “But after about four minutes my feet were numb, my legs were numb and I figured if I was going to be suffering I might as well go hard.”

The final race of the event was the Elite Women’s race. There Katie Compton proved that last year’s win was no fluke by putting over a 1:30 into second place finisher, Ann Knapp, even after Compton had to start from the back due to her lack of UCI points.

“I had to start at the back of the group and it took me some time to get through traffic and get to the front of the group,” said Compton. “The girls started fast and I knew I had to get close to them. Once I got on their wheels I wanted to sit and see how I could ride but with that course it really helped to be at the front and be picking the lines.”

Rounding out the Elite Women’s podium was local favorite, Maureen Bruno-Roy, who battled against Rhonda Mazza until a late race bobble by Mazza gave Bruno-Roy the opportunity to slam the door and secure her second podium finish in two days.

Top six elite women are as follows:
1 Katie Compton, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2 Ann Knapp (Kona) Des Moines, Wash.
3 Maureen Bruno Roy (Independent Fabrication) Arlington, Mass.
4 Rhonda Mazza (Team S&M/Vanilla Bicycles) Portland, Ore.
5 Melissa Thomas (Tokyo Joes/GoLite) Boulder, Colo.
6 Barbara Howe (Velo Bella) Larkspur, Calif.

Results for Day 3 of the Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships are available online at http://rd.bcentral.com/?ID=3558117&s=5148017

Check back at http://rd.bcentral.com/?ID=3558103&s=5148017 for 2006 dates, see you next year!