KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Day two is done at the 2021 USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships. The highly anticipated Criterium left fans in absolute awe. The 1.7- kilometer course was full of sweeping corners and long straightaways. For the Elite Women, Kendall Ryan (Ventura, Calif.; L39ION of Los Angeles) took to the front in the third to last corner and held her position all the way to the finish. Luke Lamperti (Sebastopol, Calif.; Trinity Racing) outsprinted riders on both sides to win a national championship, becoming the youngest rider ever to win the Elite Men’s Crit.
“It was just a really hard race full of strong riders. I’m so proud of my team, so proud of myself,” said Ryan on winning. She goes onto say, “I’m going to win every race we show up to, me or my teammates.”
The Elite Women kicked off the day with an evening race approximately 70 minutes long in downtown Knoxville. The young star Megan Jastrab (Apple Valley, Calif.; Team DSM), who was recently selected to represent the United States at the Olympic Games in Tokyo on the Track Cycling team, went into the race excited and eager. She managed to sprint her way to a stellar second-place finish. Fellow Tokyo Olympian and teammate Coryn Rivera (Tustin, Calif.; Team DSM) pulled off a solid third-place finish.
In addition to taking the second podium step in the Elite Women, Jastrab took the win in the Under-23 Women’s podium. Katie Clouse (Park City, Utah; Rally Cycling) was next in second, and Claire Windsor (Travelers Rest, S.C.; Supra Functional Food Bars) in third.
After a stellar performance, Jastrab said, “It feels great. We were going for the elite win, and that’s a little disappointing. I was planning on it. The U23 was just going to be a bonus for me. But it was good racing. It was my first time racing with DSM and the first time racing as teammates with Coryn [Rivera]. And I think that we executed it pretty well, though.”
The highly anticipated Elite Men’s event was fast from the gun. With multiple teams sending riders out for early breaks, nothing managed to stick, and everything was reigned back in by the group. Samuel Bassetti (Santa Rosa, Calif.; Elevate-Webiplex Pro Cycling) was neck and neck with teammate Eric Young (Geneva, Ill.; Elevate-Webiplex Pro Cycling) in the final sprint. They went 2, 3 to round out the podium.
Lamperti, when asked about his win, said, “Yeah, definitely good to be back in the jersey after a long time without it.” Lamperti, who also rose through the USA Cycling Development program, said, “The national team was a massive help to my career.”
Racing continues on Sunday with the Road Race. The Elite Women’s race kicks off at 9:00 am ET with a 114.6-kilometer race. The Elite Men’s race will then begin at 1:15 pm with a 190.9-kilometer race. Each event will be live-streamed on FloBikes. Members can take advantage of their USA Cycling member benefit and get 20% off a FloBikes subscription using the link in their member benefits profile.
1. Kendall Ryan (L39ION of Los Angeles)
2. Megan Jastrab (Team DSM)
3. Coryn Rivera (Team DSM)
1. Megan Jastrab (Team DSM)
2. Katie Clouse (Rally Cycling)
3. Claire Windsor (Supra Functional Food Bars)
1. Luke Lamperti (Trinity Racing)
2. Samuel Bassetti (Elevate-Webiplex Pro Cycling)
3. Eric Young (Elevate-Webiplex Pro Cycling)
You can find the full results HERE.
