Six Juniors Win Stars-and-Stripes on a Muddy Day at…

DUPAGE COUNTY, Ill. - On day five of the 2021 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships saw delayed start times due to a devastating wind storm the night before that continued into the morning. The expo saw multiple vendors sustain significant wind damage, but the course was prepared by the 10:30am pre-ride window. The first official race of the day kicked off at 11:00am.

Junior Men 13-14

The delay in racing did not slow down Matthew Crabbe. He ended up taking the very first win of the day. Crabbe, who already won one National Championship this year at Amateur Road, finished in a time of 23:08. When asked about his race he said, “It was a hard race and it was really muddy. On the first lap, I had to run through the sand and got passed by a couple of people, but I was able to make it through the mud. Running up ABUS Hill, I was able to make up some ground there. Just that last lap really opened up a pretty big gap on second.” Finishing in second was Bjorn Blankenship of Bend, Oregon.

1- Matthew Crabbe (Buford, Ga.; Mission Source Junior Devo)

2- Bjorn Blankenship (Bend, Ore.; Cascadia Junior Cycling)

3- Jack Billowitz (Bend, Ore.; Cascadia Junior Cycling)

Junior Women 13-14

Former national champion Kira Mullins, pulled off a fantastic win in the Junior Women's 13-14 race. Mullins said, "The race was so hard, but I got a good start. I just tried to be smooth through all the mud and technical sections, and I just tried going as hard as I could at getting a strong gap." Mullins, a Colorado native, did just that and finished about a minute ahead of teammate Delaney Meegan.

1- Kira Mullins (Littleton, Colo.; Avout Racing)

2- Delaney Meegan (Littleton, Colo.; Avout Racing)

3- Ada Watson (Carrboro, N.C.; NCTC)

Junior Men 11-12

After a hard-fought race, Lukas Young posted up to take the win of one of the youngest men's categories of the weekend. Sean Davies would be a close second in the event.

1- Lukas Young (Scottsville, Va.; Project Echelon)

2- Sean Davies (Los Altos, Calif.; Mantis Racing)

3- Kai Blankenship (Bend, Ore.; Cascadia Junior Cycling)

Junior Women 11-12

The Junior Women 11-12 battled the elements early in the afternoon. Aine Chen started off strong getting quite the gap on the first lap, but Lilliana O'Donnell was not going to let her go. On one of the swooping downhill left-hand turns, O'Donnell took the inside line and made her move on Chen. It was all O'Donnell from there. She commented on her day, "My race went well. I tried not to go out as hard as I possibly could because I knew that the wind would probably not be as great. I also tried to go out hard because I would have a good shot at the sand pit—if I’m going really hard, I can make it through. One of the turns, [Chen] went really low, so I went high, and I was able to pass second. I just kept on going as hard as I could and made it through."

1- Lilliana O'Donnell (Delmar, N.Y.; Capital Bicycle Racing Club)

2- Aine Chen (Del Mar, Calif.; Twenty24)

3- Anna Morozowich (Scottsdale, Ariz.; Durango Devo)

Junior Men 15-16

The Junior Men 15-16 battled the course for two laps earlier in the afternoon. It was a solo breakaway for David Thompson. Miles Mattern took second and James Halverson finished in third.

1- David Thompson (New Canaan, Conn.; CCAP)

2- Miles Mattern (Rochester, N.Y.; Cannondale Devo p/b/ Cyclocross World)

3- James Halverson (North Branch, Minn.; Minnesota Junior Cycling)

Junior Women 15-16

Three-time Junior National Champion Vida Lopez De San Roman was ready to bring home another stars-and-stripes jersey, but Lidia Cusack was not going to make it easy for her. The two rode several laps together, and it looked like Cusack was teasing Lopez De San Roman and letting her take the lead. Eventually, De San Roman kicked it in to gear and created a gap solidifying her win.

1- Vida Lopez De San Roman (Corona, Calif.; WCX/Bear National Team)

2- Lidia Cusack (Chevy Chase, Md.; CX Hairs Devo: Trek Bikes)

3- Jorja Bond (Louisville, Colo.; Boulder Junior Cycling)

Up Next

Racing continues tomorrow at Cantigny Park with the Junior Men and Women 17-18, U23 Men and Women, and the Elite Men and Women. Congratulations to all of the athletes that raced today. We look forward to more racing tomorrow. You can find the full list of results here.

Photos By: Snowy Mountain | Evrgrn Photo