Write-ups · · Cyclocross Masters 40+
Popple Goes Elite. Goodwin and Arsenault Go Again.
Rain across the Northeast, sunshine in Roanoke. Where the ranked masters are racing, September 25–27.
889 masters entries on BikeReg, 19 races, 15 states. 251 of them ranked. Here’s where to look.
The Northeast gets the mud. The National Weather Service has rain over Philadelphia and southern New England both days — Pennypack at 84 per cent on Saturday, Mansfield Hollow at 89 per cent on Sunday with a north wind at 17 to 24 mph, Kilowatt under rain likely at 61°. Roanoke gets none of it: sunny, 78° Saturday and 81° Sunday. The 60+ race at Northfield and the 70+ race in Connecticut are the two that will be decided by how well a rider rides mud.
Roanoke is the big one. GO Cross has 161 masters entries across Saturday and Sunday — registration closed Wednesday, so that field is final. The fastest 40-something there won’t race masters at all: Ryan Popple, No. 1 in Men 40-44, lines up in both UCI Elite races. Erin Gordon, No. 3 in Women 40-44, does the same.
Northfield has the depth. Kilowatt Cross draws 52 ranked masters, more than any race in the country this weekend — CrosstoberFest is next at 38. In the 60+, David Goodwin and Steve Arsenault, Nos. 3 and 4 in Men 70+, are 0.2 apart. Goodwin leads 2–0. In the 50+, Ciaran Mangan leads Nelson Repenning 2–0; they’re 0.1 apart. Kelli Montgomery, No. 1 in Women 55+, is in the women’s race.
Sunday in Connecticut, David Rustico, No. 1 in Men 70+, races Mansfield Hollow. Matthew Kansy and Steve Sadler meet for the fourth time. Sadler leads 2–1.
Philadelphia: Andrew Wulfkuhle, No. 1 in Men 45-49, and Mike Festa, No. 4 in Men 40-44, take on the Elite 1/2/3 at Pennypack. Maryland: Craig Etheridge, No. 2 in Men 45-49, goes singlespeed at CrosstoberFest.
What they’ll be racing in
Daytime forecast for each venue, from the National Weather Service point forecast for the coordinates BikeReg lists for the event. Read Friday morning; cyclocross being cyclocross, check it again before you load the car.
| Race | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|
| Damned at the Dam · Mansfield Center, CT | Rain, 52–61°, 81% | Rain, 53–63°, 89% |
| Pennypack on the Delaware · Philadelphia, PA | Rain, 58–62°, 84% | Rain, 57–65°, 77% |
| Kilowatt Cross · Northfield, MA | Rain Likely, 53–61°, 74% | Light Rain, 52–60°, 76% |
| CrosstoberFest at Frey's Farm · Mt Airy, MD | Chance Light Rain, 52–69°, 30% | Chance Light Rain, 55–66°, 40% |
| Virginia's Blue Ridge GO Cross · Roanoke, VA | Sunny, 47–78°, 0% | Sunny, 50–81°, 0% |