After a busy week of racing, the 2021 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships came to a close on Sunday afternoon. After the completion of all 9 events, Colorado Mesa University took the Varsity omnium title, while Colorado School of Mines won the Club omnium title.
Cross-Country
Athletes arrived in Durango, Colo. on Wednesday to a mountain full of snow. In an effort to preserve the event, staff and volunteers began shoveling many sections of the DH and DS courses. Racing began in the late afternoon on Thursday where the Dual Slalom qualifiers would take place. Temperatures would rise on Friday to make for some very muddy Cross-Country racing. The first riders on the course were the Varsity Women. Maddie Munro (Boulder, Colo.; Colorado Mesa University) a notable rider in the Cyclocross world ended up taking the win, followed by Michaela Thompson (Longmont, Colo.; Fort Lewis College) and Natalie Quinn (Park City, Utah; Fort Lewis College) finishing in second and third respectively.
On the Women's Club side, Mckenzie Steiner (Del Mar, Calif.; U.S. Air Force Academy) had a standout performance taking the overall win. The silver standard would be Anna Yamauchi (Truckee, Calif.; California Polytechnic-San Luis Obispo). In the Varsity Men's race, Tyler Orschel (Uxbridge, Ontario, Brevard College) would throw down a time of 01:19:44 and beat second-place finisher, Torbjorn Roed (Grand Junction, Colo.; Colorado Mesa University) by almost 2-minutes. Taking the Club win would be Keegan Pelton (Golden, Colo.; Colorado School of Mines) followed by teammate Aidan Duffy (Avon, Colo.; Colorado School of Mines).
Short Track
On Saturday, STXC would take place. Mud was still the name of the game as riders checked out the course on Saturday morning. Kicking off the afternoon with the win would be Calder Wood (Anacortes, Wash.; California Polytechnic-San Luis Obispo). He would win the Club division after finishing in a time of 00:32:42. On the women's side, Brittany Parffrey (San Antonio, Texas; University of Texas-San Antonio) would take gold.
In the Varsity Men's division, Tyler Orschel (Uxbridge, Ontario, Brevard College) would claim victory again! In the Varsity Women's race, Maddie Munro (Boulder, Colo.; Colorado Mesa University) would also go two for two and take the win.
Dual Slalom
After a couple of days of racing, the ultimate last rides for Slalom would take place on Saturday evening. On the Women's Club side, Gabriella Dube (Golden, Colo.; Colorado School of Mines) would make it all the way to the finals and take gold. In the Women's Varsity race, Marian University rider, Olivia Armstrong (Bend, Ore.; Marian University) had a tremendous performance claiming the top spot after multiple fantastic runs.
During the Men's Club Slalom Finals, Trevor Mcdonough (Smithfield, Utah; Utah State University) managed to outride second-place finisher, Ross Soriano (Littleton, Colo.; Colorado State University) punching the ticket to his win. Colorado Mesa University would take a 1-2 sweep in the Men's Varsity race with Matt Sterling (San Jose, Calif.; Colorado Mesa University) taking the top step and Cameron Joye (Temecula, Calif.; Colorado Mesa University) grabbing second.
Downhill
Downhill would skip straight to the finals on Sunday. After multiple course modifications due to the elements, riders would compete on a muddy and technical course. In the Varsity Men's and Women's races, Tyler Clark (King City, Ontario; Brevard College) and Erica Leonard (Innisfil, Colo.; Brevard College) would take the win in their respective races.
On the Club side, Trevor McDonough (Smithfield, Utah; Utah State University) and Gabriella Dube (Golden, Colo.; Colorado School of Mines) would win the Men's Club race and Women's Club race.
Team Relay
The pressure was on when it came to the last event of the weekend, the Team Relay. This was a crucial event for teams to grab their final points towards the overall omnium. Each college puts together a team where a man and a woman each must do two laps. Most teams have two men and two women if their roster allows, but some may only have one of each.
In the Varsity race, Colorado Mesa University (Scott Funston, Maddie Munro, Torbjorn Roed, and Ruby Ryan) snagged the overall win, with Fort Lewis College (Ruth Holcomb, Natalie Quinn, Cobe Freeburn, and Toby Hassett) taking second, and Brevard College (Hannah Dickson, Erica Leonard, Tyler Orschel, and Tyler Clark) taking third.
In the Club race, California Polytechnic-San Luis Obispo (Anna Yamauchi, Anna Hicks, and Calder Wood) would take the win with just three riders. University of Colorado Boulder (Allison Crow, Isabelle Robles, Reade Warner, and Alexander Sugarman) would grab second, and Colorado School of Mines (Aiden Duffy, Gabriella Dube, Keegan Pelton, and Grace Pipho) would take third.
Individual Omnium
In addition to the Team Omnium, student-athletes also have the opportunity to compete in an Individual Omnium. Racers must compete in at least 3 out of the 4 disciplines and the racer with the most points wins. Congratulations to Tyler, Calder, Lauren, and Gabriella on their Individual Omnium National Titles.
Men's Varsity
- Tyler Orschel (Uxbridge, Ontario; Brevard College) - 248 Points
- Tyler Clark (King City, Ontario; Brevard College) - 239 Points
- Owen Clark (King City, Ontario; Brevard College) - 197 Points
Men's Club
- Calder Wood (Anacortes, Wash.; California Polytechnic-San Luis Obispo) - 230 Points
- Alexander Sugarman (University of Colorado Boulder) - 210 Points
- Camden Gillis (Colorado School of Mines) - 192 Points
Women's Varsity
- Lauren Lackman (Wausau, Wisc.; Colorado Mesa University) - 190 Points
- Erica Leonard (Innisfil, Colo.; Brevard College) - 182 Points
- Tai-Lee Smith (Breckenridge, Colo.; Colorado Mesa University) - 155 Points
Women's Club
- Gabriella Dube (Golden, Colo.; Colorado School of Mines) - 284 Points
- Anna Yamauchi (Truckee, Calif.; California Polytechnic-San Luis Obispo) - 268 Points
- Sierra Sims (Knoxville Tenn.; University of Tennessee) - 218 Points
Team Omnium
After a long weekend, the Team Omniums were finally decided. Colorado Mesa University took the Varsity win, finishing with a total of 719-points.
In the club category, Colorado School of Mines grabbed the overall win with 636-points.
Varsity Podium:
- Colorado Mesa University
- Fort Lewis College
- Brevard College
Club Podium:
- Colorado School of Mines
- California Polytechnic- San Luis Obispo
- University of Colorado Boulder
It was a great weekend of racing for all of the colleges. Next up on the Collegiate National Championship calendar is Cyclocross Nationals, December 7-12 in Dupage County, Ill.
Photos By: Craig Huffman Photography
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