North American Cyclocross – Power Ranking #2

Photo Courtesy of CrossVegas & Lyne Lamoureux

On the heels of our Week in Review, here’s this week’s North American Cyclocross Power Ranking. With European riders spending some time in the United States it’s worth a bit of clarification on what riders get sorted where. Bart Wellens, for example, is conspicuously absent despite his dominant performance in the US over the past couple weeks. As his season will emphasize European cyclocross, it’s more appropriate to list him on the International Cyclocross Power Rankings, and leave the North American Power Rankings to Americans and those Europeans who focus on the North American race circuit. This will keep the comparisons consistent. Without further ado, this week’s Power Rankings:

1. Ryan Trebon  takes top honors, largely due to his choice to go head to head with Bart Wellens at StarCrossed. He came in second but it’s clear he’s coming out swinging this season.

2. Jeremy Powers  headed back to the East Coast to come in second to Nicolas Bazin. If he can dispatch North Americans at will, one’s got to wonder if there are any cracks in his armor – as well as what it will take to get him to the next level.

3. Christian Huele didn’t race this weekend, but it would be foolish to let that be cause for dropping him down the power rankings. With the USGP on tap this weekend, watch out for the Swiss Champion.

4. Jamey Driscoll  took a podium at Catamount GP; he’s the American most likely to pull a fast one on Powers at the USGP.

5. Jonathan Page spent time battling with Trebon and Wellens, eventually bested, but looking capable along the way. Three straight third places are a nice sign of consistency.

6. Ben Berden – the former U23 Belgian Champ is gearing for a strong season.

7. Tim Johnson  is working on a cold but it’s pretty hard to send him too far down the ranks.

8. Todd Wells  is starting off the season quietly, with results that suggest he’s not quite flying yet.

9. Justin Lindine  had impressive results behind Nicolas Bazin in Vermont. We’ll see if he can keep the pace in a full field of the North American elite.

10. Joacim Parbo went from a quiet showing at CrossVegas to a strong weekend of racing on the East Coast.

With the first installment of the USGP bearing down it’ll be interesting to see how the racing develops. Visiting Europeans have been taking top honors over the past few weeks – when American racing, and racers, hits its stride, it will be interesting to see the race dynamic that develops.