DUPAGE COUNTY, Ill. - The 2021 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships continued on Thursday with the first round of Collegiate racing and additional Masters racing. The course conditions have changed significantly since racing began on Tuesday.
Collegiate Women Varsity
The races were on fire early this morning as Katie Clouse (Colorado Mesa University) got the hole-shot early and never looked back, taking a decisive win. Anna Christian (SCAD) also had a solid result and stayed in second from beginning to end. There was a bit of a mix-up in the second turn, taking out heavy hitters Madigan Munro (Colorado Mesa University) and Lizzy Gunsalus (Marian University). They had to work their way up through the field from last place, while the race for bronze was heated. A group formed early with Sammi Runnels (SCAD), Ruth Holcomb (Fort Lewis College), Lauren Lackman (Colorado Mesa University) and Natalie Quinn (Fort Lewis College). Munro was slowly ticking off riders one-by-one and by the last lap, she nearly made contact. By the last turn before the finish line, it was a solo Munro who grabbed the bronze medal.
1- Katie Clouse (Grand Junction, Colo.; Colorado Mesa University)
2- Anna Christian (Boulder, Colo.; SCAD Atlanta)
3- Madigan Munro (Boulder, Colo.; Colorado Mesa University)
Collegiate Women Club
The Collegiate Clubs braved the elements, and Brooke Lyman took an early lead, staying strong and consistent throughout. Tori Glascock started to close the gap lap-by-lap, but she was unable to overtake Lyman, keeping in second. Abbey O'Brien rode in for the bronze medal.
Lyman talked about how the day went. "The race was smooth and went exactly how I wanted it to: went out from the gun, got the hole shot, and then never looked back. It was a great race. Smooth is steady, and steady is fast," she said.
1- Brooke Lyman (Phoenix, Ariz.; Duke University)
2- Tori Glascock (Highland Park, N.J.; Rutger University)
3- Abbey O'Brien (Omaha, Neb.; University of Nebraska)
Collegiate Men Varsity
Fifty-two men took to the starting line and the top-3 solidified themselves early. Winner Tyler Orschel (Brevard College) described his race:
"I had a bit of a rough start; I missed my call-up, so I started on the third row. I had a pretty clean start, got to the top-5 at the sand pit, and it was me, Scott Funston, and my teammate, Tyler Clark, the first couple laps together. I put a dig in on Lap 3 on Scott. Shortly after that, he had a mechanical. After that, I kind of just attacked as hard as I could the next couple laps, rode with it, and put in a good gap at the finish."
1- Tyler Orschel (Brevard, N.C.; Brevard College)
2- Scott Funston (Grand Junction, Colo.; Colorado Mesa University)
3- Tyler Clark (Brevard, N.C.; Brevard College)
Collegiate Men Club
Grant Ellwood (University of Colorado Boulder) led the first lap with a group of five, then at around three laps to go, Sam Noel (University of Vermont) went and Ellwood stayed with him. Noel was flying and Ellwood burned quite a few matches to stay there. By the last lap, Ellwood wanted to be in front and made his move, then Noel ended up dropping a chain helping Ellwood solidify his lead.
1- Grant Ellwood (Boulder, Colo.; University of Colorado Boulder)
2- Sam Noel (Burlington, Vt.; University of Vermont)
3- Tommy Servetas (Loudonville, N.Y.; University of Massachusetts)
Masters Men 40-44
2019 National Champion Jake Wells was out to get another win today at Nationals, and he did just that. Wells described his race:
"I had a good start, kind of conservative through the first couple corners because I knew that first corner onto the dirt was a little bit slick. I wanted to be upfront for the sand, and I ended up getting a good line through the sand and came out of the sand first. Kind of unexpected, wasn’t really part of the plan, but that’s where I found myself. I kind of stayed on the gas through Pit 1. By the time we got around to Pit 2 on the first lap, there were just really three of us. At that point, I was in the front and just decided to ride my race and keep my foot on the gas where I could. Really fun course, it really keeps your attention. It’s a little bumpy in spots, and the ground started to get a little greasy because the moisture is coming out of the ground. Had a great race, some good competition, but luckily I had a clean race and was able to stay off the front," said Jake Wells.
1- Jake Wells (Avon, Colo.; FORM p/b IRC Tires)
2- Corey Stelljes (Madison, Wisc.; Neff Cycle Service)
3- Jordan Snyder (Beaver, Penn.; Freddy Fu Cycling)
Masters Men 55-59
Iowa City resident Jim Cochran took the win, finishing his race in 43:38, while Don Myrah took second.
1- Jim Cochran (Iowa City, Iowa; Rule #5 Cycling/Mennen Plu.)
2- Don Myrah (San Jose, Calif.; Ibis/Buy-Cell)
3- Tom Ryse (Spokane, Wash.; School of Cross)The Master Men’s 50-54 race was fast from the gun.
Masters Men 50-54
Favorite Matt Davies claimed the win, with Roger Aspholm taking second.
1- Matt Davies (Boulder, Colo.; AES)
2- Roger Aspholm (Haworth, N.J.; Finkraft Cycling Team)
3- Ross Delaplane (Golden, Colo.; Feedback Sports)
Masters Men 45-49
Tim Strelecki, a strong contestant in the Master Men’s 45-49 race, went to the front early and never looked back. Strelecki, who raced unattached, put together the perfect race to become the new national champion.
1- Tim Strelecki (Geneva, Ill.)
2- Eneas Freyre (Redding, Conn.; TTEndurance)
3- Jonathan Baker (Nevada City, Calif.; Touchstone Climbing)
Up Next
Racing continues tomorrow with the Masters Women 35+, Collegiate Team Relay, Non-Championship Team Relay, Women's 11-22 Non-Championship, and the Men's 11-22 Non-Championship races. Congratulations to all of today's participants. Don't forget you can tune into Flo Bikes starting tomorrow to watch all of the racing live.
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