A gorgeous day greeted racers at Nash Farm for the EPTC CX Classic, the 9th round of the Bike Law Georgia Cyclocross Series p/b Perimeter Roofing. Nash Farm is a historical venue with wide open fields and a great view of much of the course from the top of the hill. This part of the course also offered a great place for handups that included socks, coffee, and energy gels. Much of the course is grass, which either delighted racers or made them grumble.
The Elite Women’s race saw the absence of series leader Molly Russell-Holmes (Loose Nuts Cycles) as well as several of the top 8, which left the race wide open. Mackenzie Myatt (Team United Healthcare Georgia/706P) took off at the start and was not seen again by the Women’s field. The rest of the racers quickly separated and held their positions for much of the race. Allison Mrugal (Team United Healthcare Georgia/706P) was second with new Cat. 3 Trisha VanDusseldorp (Bike Law) in third.
A large group of racers stayed together for the first several laps in the Elite Men. On the fourth lap, Simon Lewis (Tennessee Bicycle Racing Association) put in a good dig that really started the racing. Artur Sagat (Team United Healthcare Georgia/706P) accelerated on lap 5, which gapped Jacob Morales (JM Racing p/b Scott) and Simon. Artur’s teammate Andy Scarano took over pace making on the next lap; they tag teamed to try to keep Nick Van Winkle (Specialized-BMW) from attacking. Artur started to lead Andy out for the finish, but Andy had a mechanical in the last 50 meters. Nick passed Andy to take the win. Andy was second with Artur in third.
