JAM/NCC put on a show at the weekend's Gran Prix of Gloucester, the cyclocross classic affectionately known as New England Worlds. The team had four guys in the UCI-sanctioned pro men's race: Jack Kisseberth, Scott Smith, Trent Blackburn and Case Butler. Kisseberth and Smith had a great start on Saturday (Smith got the hole shot), and Kisseberth, who was on the wheel of Jeremy Powers for much of the race, rallied in the final lap to finish in 7th place.
Jack Kisseberth shows his strength on Saturday, riding with the front group for some laps and then finishing 7th. Photo by Angelica Dixon.
Smith got 14th on Saturday but did even better on Sunday, using his mad skills to hop the stairs and barriers, while mostly everyone else was running them. He finished 12th.
Scott Smith hops the stairs on Sunday at the Gran Prix of Gloucester and still had the legs to finish 12th. Video by Dirtwire.tv.
Trent Blackburn had his best finish in a pro UCI race, getting 25th out of 68 riders that earned him a fifth place finish in the U23.
"I can't believe it, I finally did it," Blackburn said. "I'm really excited to finish top five in the U23!"
Case Butler had a solid race on Sunday and finished 8th in the U23.
Case Butler (left) and Trent Blackburn (right) representing JAM/NCC in the pro men's UCI race on October 15. Blackburn finished top five in the U23 on Saturday, and Butler got top ten in the U23 on Sunday.
Rhys May and Natalie Tapias got a good start on Saturday. Photo by Katie Busick Photography.
"I felt good and my lap times were way more consistent," May said. "I moved up from my last row start, and one day I'll not blow up on the last lap and lose spots. I'm still learning to pace myself during the race."
Coach Al Donahue won the master's 35+ race on Sunday after getting a third-place podium finish on Saturday. There were several other podium finishes for the younger JAM/NCC riders as well.
Jaden Wise won the junior 9-14 races both days in fields of about 30 riders. This is is third weekend in a row winning back-to-back races in his category.
Two-time JAM Fund Grand Recipient Mira Fowler runs the hill at Gran Prix of Gloucester and gets 3rd place in the junior women's 9-14 category. Photo by Katie Busick Photography.
Mira Fowler finished in third place in the junior women 9-14.
Kale Wenczel, who rides for Joe's Garage and won a JAM Fund Grant this summer, won the Cat 3 race on Saturday, got second place on Sunday and ended up the series leader. Ben Jankowski also raced in Cat 3 and finished 19 out of 100 riders.
Anna Savage raced the combined women's Cat 3 race and finished third among the junior girls 15-18.
Katie Johnson raced the Cat 4 and was pleased to get a top 20 finish out of almost 80 riders.
Aiden Mapel raced in a very large group of Cat 4 men.
"Day One, I kissed the stairs at the beginning of the first lap and then got stuck in the chaos in the chicanes," Mapel wrote about it afterward. "I ended up 70th. Day Two, the first lap I had a good start but got pushed into a stake and some tape. I picked up spots and ended up 69th. It was a fun course and I liked the bigger field way more than a 30-person field and riding alone."
See more photos below. Next weekend JAM/NCC will be racing in Washington D.C. at DCCX.
