The final Friday of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships was a lighter day for Team USA, with just four races taking the focus. In the east, the U23 Mountain Bike team tackled the challenging and punchy Cross-Country course at Glentress Forest. Riley Amos (Durango, Colo.; Trek Factory Racing) lead the charge for the team, placing fourth in the U23 Men’s event. North of Glasgow, in Stirling, the Junior and Elite Men raced against the clock in their Individual Time Trials. Brandon McNulty (Phoenix; UAE Team Emirates), beating some of the favorites in the event, secured fourth place.
Mountain Bike Cross-Country
Friday’s racing at Glentress Forest began with a beautiful day with mild temperatures and mostly sunny skies for the first race, the U23 Men. Four Americans lined up at the start: Amos, Carson Beard (Middlesex, Vt.; Team Segment 28), Brayden Johnson (Littleton, Colo.; Bear National Team), and Bjorn Riley (Boulder, Colo.; Trek Future Racing). Amos, who has had an outstanding season so far with several top-five results at UCI World Cups, received a front line call up and was among the top-three riders off the holeshot. As the first lap unfolded, Amos pulled away from the rest of the field with three other riders: Charlie Aldridge (GBR), Adrien Boichis (FRA), and Dario Lillo (SUI). The quartet pushed hard and increased their lead on every lap. After five of the seven laps, a massive attack from the Swiss rider Lillo caused Amos to lose contact with the lead group. Undeterred, he maintained consistent lap times and finished in fourth place.
Amos was in good spirits about his ride. “It was a really, really good day. I’m super happy with fourth place at the World Championships. I made the lead group of four early, and we had a nice gap. Then at the front of that race, when a group happens, it’s just a game of half percents, wherever you can gain them or take them. I was feeling really, really good. I thought I could push the pace just a little bit. I went over that half-percent by just a little bit, and all of a sudden blew up and fell off that group. I’m still super happy with the result, but it does hurt to miss a medal by just that much.”
Riley was the next finisher for Team USA. At the front end of the main group, he battled it out for placements through the punchy climbs on the course. Riley finished 22nd. Johnson, who started in the fifth row at the beginning, steadily advanced his position with every pedal stroke, improving his placement each lap. He secured 32nd place. Beard rounded out the results for Team USA, finishing 54th.
U23 Men’s Cross-Country
1 – Charlie Aldridge (GBR)
2 – Adrien Boichis (FRA)
3 – Daio Lillo (SUI)
4 – Riley Amos (USA)
22 – Bjorn Riley (USA)
32 – Brayden Johnson (USA)
54 – Carson Beard (USA)
The rain held off as the day progressed, making way for great conditions for the U23 Women’s Cross-Country event. The trio of Madigan Munro (Boulder, Colo.; Trek Factory Racing), Sofia Waite (Littleton, Colo.; WE Development), and Bailey Cioppa (Durango, Colo.; Bear National Team) were the Americans starting the event. It was a battle from the start, with New Zealand’s Samira Maxwell exploding out of the field early on and staying away for the entire event. Munro and Waite both rode most of the race together. They stayed fast and smooth, both riding into the Top 15. That would be a career-best for Waite. Cioppa fought from the back most of the day, working her way up to 43rd.
U23 Women’s Cross-Country
1 – Samira Maxwell (NZL)
2 – Ginia Caulori (SUI)
3 – Ronja Blochlinger (SUI)
13 – Madigan Munro (USA)
14 – Sofia Waite (USA)
43 – Bailey Cioppa (USA)
Road
The Elite Men’s Time Trial began several hours later. Nearly doubling the course in length, the Elites competed on a challenging 47.8-kilometer course, featuring more elevation gain. Lawson Craddock (Houston; Team BikeExchange-Jayco) was the first U.S. rider off. As he approached the finish, he held a solid lead over the field that had finished so far and took the hot seat. Craddock recorded a time of 57:55.81, securing 15th place by the end of the day. Current Time Trial National Champion McNulty entered Friday’s event as a race favorite. After a busy season racing in several of the world’s largest races, including the Giro, McNulty was prepared for the event’s demanding climbs. He had a challenging start to his ride, slotting into 16th at the first checkpoint. As the ride progressed, he poured more power into each pedal stroke. McNulty quickly went from 16th to second position on the road, maintaining it until the finish. He was dethroned from the podium when Remco Evenepoel (BEL) set a blazing time of 55:19.23. McNulty completed his race in 56:46.14, clinching fourth place and becoming the top American finisher.
McNulty was surprised by how well he did during the event, saying, “I was shocked. I didn’t realize I was ahead of van Aert. It was a good ride, and that’s what matters.” The last international standalone time trial McNulty had done was much earlier in the season, so he was unsure how he would place in the event. “I really had no idea what to expect coming into this. I’ve had two or three races where I’ve been really competitive, but that was early in the season. I didn’t know what to expect. I’m really, really happy with this. My performance was good, and I’m happy with what I did.”
Elite Men’s Individual Time Trial
1 – Remco Evenepoel (BEL)
2 – Filippo Ganna (ITA)
3 – Joshua Tarling (GBR)
4 – Brandon McNulty (USA)
15 – Lawson Craddock (USA)
Friday morning’s time trial saw two Americans go up against the world in the Junior Men’s race. AJ (Andrew) August (Pittsford, N.Y.; Hot Tubes Development Cycling Team) and David Thompson (New Canaan, Conn.; Hot Tubes Development Cycling Team) went head to head with riders from around the world to compete in Stirling, Scotland, on the 22.8-kilometer course. Thompson was the first rider from Team USA to go. He clocked a 31:25.39, which placed him in 37th. August followed an hour later. Through the first-time check, August was sitting in second place. With several more riders to go, he had to kick things up a notch if he wanted to make it onto the podium. After turning onto the final cobble climb, August was pushed back into fourth. He remained in that position until several other top riders came through the finish.
Junior Men's Individual Time Trial
1 – Oscar Chamberlain (AUS)
2 – Ben Wiggins (GBR)
3 – Louis Ledert (GER)
9 – AJ August (USA)
37 – David Thompson (USA)
Up Next
Two days are left for Team USA in Glasgow. On Saturday, defending World Champion in BMX Racing, Felicia Stancil (Lake Villa, Ill.; Factory SSquared/Answer) and former World Champion Alise Willoughby (Saint Cloud, Minn.; Team Toyota/ Daylight Cycle Co.) begin their quest for another rainbow jersey at the Glasgow BMX Centre. The Mountain Bike events conclude at Glentress Forest with the Elite Men’s and Women’s Cross-Country races, where Christopher Blevins (Durango, Colo.; Specialized Factory Racing) and Kate Courtney (Kentfield, Calif.; SCOTT-SRAM Factory Racing) are in pursuit of a podium finish. Additionally, Luke Lamperti (Sebastopol, Calif.; Trinity Racing) and the U23 Men will take on their Road Race, starting in Loch Lomond and concluding on the highly technical Glasgow City Centre Circuit.
