November 21, 2007 - USGP Cyclocross Win

Matt White and Jamey Driscoll have been on a roll at the UCI cyclocross races the last few weeks, and even Josh Lipka has been getting in on the action in the B races in his first cyclocross season.

Driscoll Wins U23 Title at USGP Mercer Cup, NJ, November 17

What does every college kid do the Friday before thanksgiving break? Pack the car to go home. For me home is 20 minutes away, so I had to get the experience in of living in New Jersey, driving down to stay with my friends for the second weekend of the US Gran Prix of Cyclocross. This course was fast, with many turns, and a real sand pit, the kind that most people were running the second half.

I got caught behind a few more people that I had hoped the first lap, and there were limited amounts of places to pass on this course. My main competitor, Danny Summerhill, leader of the U23 series, is an amazing starter, and I was keeping an eye on him, making sure I didn’t lose much ground. After a few laps, however, I was able catch him, and another U23 rider Chance Noble caught us as well. Along with 2 other elite racers, this was my group for the majority of the race.

It lasted until the penultimate time through the sand, Summerhill goes over the bars, and I was fortunate enough to be right beside him, as opposed to on his wheel. I heard the crowd collectively say, “OH!” then a second later another “OH!”. I didn’t even have to look back, I knew Chance had plowed into Summerhill. Once I got out of the sand pit I assess the carnage, and I had 5-10 seconds on the pair. The next straight section I went right to the front of the group to keep the gap I that had been given to me. This was not necessary, since the duo did the same thing again in the sand the last time through.

Driscoll Takes Overall U23 Leader’s Jersey at USGP Day 2 in NJ, November 18

The second day brought rain, and a similar course, making the conditions very slick. It’s was a good day for bike changes since the mud had a high grass content, and built up on your bike rather fast. Being able to handle a bike well was necessary for today, however, I forgot my skills.

There were 2 U23s who had the upper hand on me today, who got away from me early in the race and I was not able to close the gap. Summerhill was not having a good weekend, breaking his chain early in the race after being in a crash in the very first turn. To add salt to his wounds, he switched bikes with his teammate, which resulted in a disqualification.

White had a good start to the race, towing around the kids I was racing against until he blew sky high. In the last few laps, the rain stopped, and it tacked up just enough to be able to gain some ground and get on the U23 podium. While the elite racers were being interviewed, I was told much to my excitement that I had slipped into the overall lead by only 2 points.

Driscoll Wins Under 23 Race at Chainbiter Cyclocross, NECCS#3, Nov 3

I was back at the race in Farmington, Ct, I hadn’t raced here since the snow of ’04. The sky looked as if it was going to unleash on us the entire morning. We ended up only getting a sprinkle. This would only make a difference in 1 or 2 places, since the entire park except the soccer fields is a giant sand box.

Off the line, I could tell there wasn’t much spark in my legs, and I spent the whole day alone, not able to catch the group just 5-10 seconds in front of me. Unfortunately, Matt White went down early on one of the grassy corners, and decided to save himself for the next day, rather than chase the whole race. Josh Dillon made an appearance, fighting it out in his self proclaimed “B” race, narrowly missed top 20 with 22nd. Fellow U23 teammate, Toby Marzot, against all his wishes was convinced to sit out this weekend after a long hard season, starting from collegiate, almost nonstop through the cross season

Driscoll Top U23 and White 7th at Cycle Smart International Cyclocross, NECCS#3, Nov 4

Sunday’s racing went down in Northampton, where team fast guy, Matt White had the extra pressure of defending his win from last year. In the first few laps, I still felt a little flat, not able to match the accelerations out of the corners in the front group. I was the first to be popped, followed by Ryan Leech and White, who ended up working well together for the remainder of the race.

This race is very fast, and the time gaps are much smaller than most other races, since drafting and tactics play a larger role. The U23 race was getting close toward the end, young Jerome Townsend was getting dangerously close to our group, with made me start pulling a bit more in the group than I was before. I set up White to take 7th, the top spot in our group, while I came in behind Ryan in 9th. Dillon rode strong at his home course to get 20th.