The Groove Auto Off Road Racing duo of Caroline Mani and Kerry Werner swept the second day of elite C2 races at Nash Dash CX in Hampton, Georgia. In similar fashion to the opening day, both riders moved away on the final laps to win solo on the rolling, grassy track at Nash Farm Park.
It was not until the third of seven laps that Mani made separation from 18-year-old Lidia Cusack (CXD Trek Bikes), the two matching efforts on the dry course and distancing Anna Dorovskikh (Donovan Racing p/b AES) and Mackenzie Myatt (Baring Performance Management) in a fight for third.
At the mid-point of the seven-lap race, Mani put in several accelerations to distance Cusack and sail away by 1:06 to the teenager. Cusack held a steady pace and scored another UCI elite podium, going back-to-back with second place. Dorovskikh followed with third place like the day before, this time 1:41 back.
A group of five riders battled in the middle laps for positions, overtaking Mackenzie. Alexis Magner (L39ION of Los Angeles) pushed the pace on the final lap to move clear from Amelia Shea (Feedback Sports) and Brenna Wrye-Simpson (Team S&M CX) and finish fourth.
The men competed across 10 laps on the undulating farmland south of Atlanta. It was a crowded opening circuit for the men, led by 19-year-old Calvin Conaway (Ignition bp Rigd/Leitner) and Lane Maher (JAM/NCC), who was third last year in the same event.
Werner then hit the gas and moved up eight places to set the pace at the front by the third lap. Funston, the bronze medallist for elite men at 2023 US Cyclocross Nationals, worked to stay close to Werner's wheel, with Caleb Swartz (ENVE-Forward Endurance Coaching) and Jules Van Kempen (Cervelo-Orange Living) battling for third.
By the penultimate lap, 11 of the 24 starters had been lapped and Werner dug deep to put in a 20-second gap on Funston, who would finish second for a second day in a row.
Meanwhile, Swartz, Conaway and Van Kempen battled together until lap 8, and the teenager lost their wheels. Swartz then put in a final push on the final circuit to distance himself from Van Kempen and secure a second consecutive third place, 36 seconds behind Werner and just seven seconds behind Funston.
L39ION of Los Angeles duo Ty Magner and Robin Carpenter finished ninth and 12th respectively.
"Such a different effort from the road, but a blast nonetheless. Learned a lot and excited to take on Hendersonville with even more hitters," Ty Magner posted to Instagram, noting he would also compete at another cyclocross competition next weekend, North Carolina Grand Prix.
The Nash Dash cyclocross weekend of racing, managed by East Point Track Club, was held for a sixth season November 16-17, and a fifth consecutive year at Nash Farm Park in Hampton, Georgia. Nash Dash served as the 10th of 11 stops on the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Series.
The final round of the US cyclocross series will be November 23-24 at North Carolina Grand Prix, held at Jackson Park.
Mani is positioned second overall in the women's CX national series standings, which has been locked up by Hélène Clauzel, while Sidney McGill and Katie Clouse are tied for third. Funston retains a solid lead over Werner for second place overall, Andrew Strohmeyer in the driver's seat with a substantial lead.
Results
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