On a brisk but dry day in Madison Wisconsin, Jeremy Powers, of Team Rapha-Focus, has won his first ever Elite Cyclocross National Championship. With a big attack at two laps to go Powers distanced himself from a lead group of 5 riders including  Trebon, McDonald, Johnson, and Page.

Trebon (LTS/Felt) was the first to respond to his attack but was never able to close the gap. The entire lead group strung out in the aftermath of the attack. Ryan Trebon rode to second, Jonathan Page (PlanetBike) in third, with the U23 Champ Zach McDonald (Rapha/Focus) in fourth. Tim Johnson (Cannondale/CyclocrossWorld) rolled across the line in 5th as the caboose of the lead group.

While Trebon claimed to be on the back foot the entire race he was the only rider able to keep Powers in sight after his attack. With one lap to go Powers had 5 seconds and only extended that to the line, able to safely manage Trebon and stay upright, he was the class of the field.

The lead group saw early attacks by many riders. Tim Johnson’s many attacks seemed to take their toll on him as he was struggling to stay in contact with 3 laps to go and was never able to challenge once Powers lit the fuse.

Perhaps the most impressive ride of the day belongs to yesterdays U23 champ, Zach McDonald. With 5 laps to go he was trialing the lead group by as much as 15 seconds but managed to close that gap to join the lead group with 3 to go.

The Rapha-Focus rider, known as J-Pow, had been on a tear recently and dominated the US Grand Prix of Cyclocross. He entered the race as the favorite and did not disappoint. The next major cyclocross destination is the UCI World Championships in Belgium, on the 28th and 29th of January.