The second day of the 2021 USA Cycling Masters Track National Championships saw individual pursuit riders in 17 age groups compete for the stars-and-stripes jersey. The fastest woman on the day was Christine D’Ercole (Brooklyn, N.Y.; IAMICANIWILLIDO p/b Vital Performance), who won the Women’s 50-54 pursuit, finished in a time of 2:39.073. For the men riding the two-kilometer distance, Daniel Casper (Saint Paul, Minn.; Donkey Label Racing) clocked a time of 2:21.510 in the Men’s 55-59 race, making him the quickest at that distance. At the three-kilometer distance, Steven Kusy (Alexandria, Va.; District Velocity Racing) was the fastest man on the day, stopping the clock at 3:27.893, making him the gold medal standard in the Men’s 35-39 event.
The women kicked off the morning session. Louella Holter (Flagstaff, Ariz.; Hammer Racing Team p/b Thorne) won the Women’s 70-74 event. In the Women’s 65-69 race, Sue Lloyd (Wheat Ridge, Colo.; Hammer Racing Team p/b Thorne) added another gold to her collection after her win in the Sprints. Stopping the clock at 2:54.351, Joanne Trimpi (Pennsburg, Pa.; TTown Masters) took top honors in the Women’s 60-64. Multi-time Masters National and World Champion Charlene Yarnall (San Clemente, Calif.; Veloce Santiago) kept the hardware coming with a win in the Women’s 55-59 pursuit.
Joe Saling (Bridgewater, N.J.; Team Somerset – Pop’s Bike Shop) earned the first title for the men, winning the Men’s 80-84. National Championship perennial John Elgert (Sacramento, Calif.; Sacramento Golden Wheelmen) won the Men’s 75-79 in a time of 2:56.677. In the Men’s 70-74, Robert Burke (Antioch, Ill.) earned top honors, riding just half of a second behind the national record. David Stanton (Newport Beach, Calif.; Canyon Velo) narrowly edged his competitors in the Men’s 65-69 pursuit event, with less than six-tenths of a second separating the top three. Durango native Russell Murphy (Durango, Colo.) earned top honors in the 14-rider Men’s 60-64 race.
In the evening session, for the Women’s 45-49, Evie Edwards (Asheville, N.C.) won gold. Heather Toland (Bennington, N.H.) earned her first Masters Track National title, winning the Women’s 35-39 pursuit. In the largest field of the day, Tommy Robles (Santa Ana, Calf.) proved he was the fastest in the group, taking home gold where the top-nine were separated by less than 5 seconds. The first race at three kilometers, the Men’s 45-49, Dean Phillips (Wenham, Mass.; Team Fit Werx) earned the stars-and-stripe jersey. Noah Slack (El Cajon, Calif.; Monster Racing) was dominant in the Men’s 40-44 pursuits, finishing over seven seconds faster than his next competitor.
Thursday comes back to the sprinters with the 500 and 1,000-meter time trials taking the spotlight. You can follow all the action on the live timing website: tracktiming.live.
