Canadian Sidney McGill (Lastig Off-Road Racing) outsprinted Lizzy Gunsalus (CCB p/b Levine Law Group) to win the elite C2 women’s race at day one of the Northampton Cyclocross, while Dylan Zakrajsek (Competitive Edge Racing) soloed to victory in the elite C2 men’s contest in Northampton, Massachusetts, on Saturday.
The elite women's field quickly broke apart under pressure from the high winds, leaving a leading trio of McGill, Lizzy Gunsalus, and Cassidy Hickey (CCB p/b Levine Law Group) to establish a commanding gap at the front.
Eventually, the trio became a duo when a Gunsalus' attack dropped her teammate Hickey, but McGill matched the move and held her wheel. Gunsalus led into the final corner, but McGill chose a sharper line, accelerating sooner out of the turn to edge ahead, winning by a bike length.
After a string of eight top-five results in a row, McGill secured her third UCI win of the 2025-26 cyclocross season on a beautiful autumn New England day, with windy conditions adding an extra challenge to the classic course.
Crossing the line 13 seconds later, Hickey rounded out the podium. Anna Megale (Competitive Edge Racing) was fourth, and Katja Verkerk (Broad St Off-Road) finished fifth.
Taking place at Look Park, the 34th edition of Northampton Cyclocross returned to the UCI calendar and the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Series after a brief absence.
Four riders broke away early on in the men's elite race, but none could keep up with Zakrajsek’s blistering pace as he powered away solo despite the strong winds. Behind him, the fight for the remaining podium places intensified between Tofik Beshir (CXD Trek Bikes), Ryan Drummond (Competitive Edge Racing), and Henry Coote (Trinity Racing). A crash on the final lap dashed Coote’s hopes of a podium finish.
Zakrajsek crossed the line 17 seconds ahead of Beshir to claim his first victory of the season. For the 17-year-old Beshir, it marked his fourth consecutive podium, coming just a week after earning his first-ever UCI elite victory at the Major Taylor Cross Cup in Indianapolis.
Drummond took third, a further seven seconds behind. Coote finished fourth while Alexander Scopinich-Burgel (Kelly Benefits Cycling) was fifth.
For many in the elite field, the Northampton race is a final test before the 2025 UCI Pan-American Cyclocross Championships, November 8 in Washington, DC.
