Powers Up: Easthampton cyclo-cross rider Jeremy Powers aims for national title
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EASTHAMPTON - Golfers yearn for the green jacket. And cyclo-cross racers yearn for the jerseys.
Residents of this city and surrounding communities may have seen Easthampton resident Jeremy Powers pedaling hard on area roads, decked out in cycling gear with jerseys on his mind. Powers is a member of an elite group of American professional cyclists who are aiming to put the United States on the map when it comes to the mostly European and Czech-dominated sport.
Powers, 27, who owns a home on Davis Street, is one of the top cyclo-cross riders in the country. He has just come off one of his strongest years ever in the sport, taking titles (and jerseys) in both of the major domestic cyclo-cross series as well as a first place in the overall rankings put out by USA Cycling.
Powers is one of the few American racers that makes a living racing cylo-cross full time. He estimates that there are less than 10 riders in that category.
Powers took home $10,000 in racing prize money in 2010. He is also paid by his sponsors and earns appearance fees for certain races. He declined to disclose those figures.
"Money is very much a perk," Powers said during an interview in Easthampton last week. "I'm not a signing a football or a baseball contract. I'm making a living doing what I love. Even if the money wasn't there, I'd still be doing it."
Powers is ranked eighth in the world in international competition. That stat can change quickly. Powers was ranked second in the world in September, the highest ever ranking for an American.
City Clerk Barbara LaBombard, an enthusiastic fan of Powers', watched him via an Internet feed in a recent Bend, Ore., race. She recounted how she was excited when she went to her kitchen with Powers safely in first place. She returned shortly after and saw that Powers had gone down in a muddy corner, losing his lead.
"I went to get a glass of wine and when I came back the whole race had changed," LaBombard said.
Powers raced in nearly 100 events in 2010, which also included road races for Team Jelly Belly. He rides cyclo-cross for Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com, a team that also includes several other top riders. He has been a professional cyclist since 2004.
Cyclo-cross is a road racing-mountain biking hybrid, which is said to have originated in Europe during the early 20th century as a way for cyclists to stay in shape through the winter months.
The sport features cyclists racing one- to two-mile courses consisting of pavement, muddy corners, steep hills and wooden obstacles.
"It's like a niche sport within a niche sport," Powers said.
Powers bought a house in Easthampton last year. He grew up in Connecticut, attended Westfield State College and has called Hadley home in the past. He said he likes Easthampton because several of his good friends live here, including cyclist and area cafe entrepreneur Makunda Feldman, and because the city is not far from Bradley International Airport, which make it convenient for all the traveling he does. Powers said he also likes area roads and trails, including the Manhan Rail Trail.
"The reason I live here is because of the awesome roads," he said. "I know every single road in the Valley."
A reputation
Powers has become known in the sport for his strong starts in races as well as his propensity to stay on his bike while hopping barriers, spots where other riders tend to dismount.
Powers is back in Easthampton for Christmas. It's the first Christmas he has spent at home in eight years. He decided to skip several races in Europe for a short vacation.
"I'm pretty happy to be home," Powers said.
He lives with his girlfriend Emily Welles, who helps him with scheduling travel and updating the blogs on his website, www.jeremypowers.missingsaddle.com.
"She's a big part of where I'm at," Powers said of Welles. "We go to a lot of events together."
Powers recently returned from a series of races in Oregon, including a race for the national title, an accomplishment that has eluded him.
Powers, was leading the pack in the Bend, Ore., race earlier with rival Todd Wells right behind him. He turned into a muddy corner and his bike slipped out. Wells attempted to "bunny hop" over Powers, but got tangled up and also fell. With Powers having to run the rest of the course with a damaged bike, Wells went on to win.
It was a disappointment for Powers, who still managed to finish third, despite the fall.
"I crashed pretty hard," Powers said. "It was pretty dramatic and tough to swallow."
The race is coveted by riders, he said, because it is a one-day event for a prestigious title.
"You can do great all season and not win," Powers said. "I just say it wasn't my time."
Powers knows he will have another shot in the coming year. He leaves in mid-January for Germany, where he will compete in the world championships, where he has placed as high as 17th as a junior rider and as high as 18th as an under-23 rider. Powers is gunning for a top 20 spot this time.
"Anything less and I will be disappointed," he said.
He has another year until the next national championship race, but his road racing schedule will pick up in February and last through the summer. Cyclo-cross races generally begin in September.
Cyclo-cross is gaining a stronger foothold in the United States. The country will host its first world championship - a major coup for the sport, Powers said - in Kentucky in 2013.
Various websites are now hosting streaming live video of races. And it has only been the past six to 10 years that American cyclo-cross riders could make a living off racing and sponsors alone.
Powers said that finding a television network to televise races would be a major step for cyclo-cross, and he is hopeful that the 2013 world championships will result in more American publicity for the sport.
"It's a really big deal," Power said.
Powers is already looking ahead to the event. He will be 29 and, he figures, at the peak of his career.
"It's like a three-year plan," he said. "We're building up to 2013 to go into it with a lot of horsepower and go for it on our home turf."
Matt Pilon can be reached at mpilon@gazettenet.com.
