DUPAGE COUNTY, Ill. - The 2021 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships brought a beautiful day to Wheaton, Ill. It was the warmest, sunniest day of the championship so far, but the rain was on everyone’s minds as the forecast was predicting big showers later in the day. Five new Masters Women’s National Champions were crowned and the Collegiate racers finished strong with the Team Relay and their big award, the Collegiate Omnium.
Collegiate Team Relay
The 2021 Cyclocross Nationals Collegiate Omnium had one race left in the event with the Team Relay. Every school has riders that do four laps with two laps ridden by a man, and two laps by a woman. Those laps can be done by the same people with a team of two or a team of four.
Colorado Mesa University was the team to beat with a group of four strong riders also competing in the professional ranks: Scott Funston, Sindre Hvesser Brein, Madigan Munro, and Katie Clouse. The race for the rest of the podium was left to be determined. On the first lap, Funston and yesterday's new National Champion, Tyler Orschel, of Brevard College, were head-to-head. Later in the race, Brevard had a major mechanical losing their hopes of a win. On the last lap, SCAD Atlanta, Brevard College, Lees McRae College, Marian University, Fort Lewis College, and Milligan University were all within 20-seconds of each other. When the riders came back around to cross the line, it was none other than Fort Lewis College riding in for silver, and SCAD with the bronze.
In this evening's press conference, Funston commented on preparing for his U23 race on Sunday. “I think [racing Collegiate] really opened my legs up nicely for this weekend, but the course is going to change most likely with the rain.”
Freshman Lizzy Gunsalus (Marian University) just finished her first Collegiate cyclocross season. She said, “Being able to race for 50 minutes yesterday and one lap today, I feel like I’ve gotten enough time on the course going at race pace that I can understand how the course is going to do on Sunday.”
The University of Nebraska went into the Team Relay leading the Omnium standings. After 4 hard laps on the ever-changing course. They won the Club Relay winning the overall event over the University of Arizona.
Varsity Team Relay
1- Colorado Mesa University
2- Fort Lewis College
3- SCAD Atlanta
Club Team Relay
1- University of Nebraska - Lincoln
2- University of Arizona
Varsity Omnium Standings
1- Colorado Mesa University
2- Fort Lewis College
3- Brevard College
Club Omnium Standings
1- University of Nebraska - Lincoln
2- University of Arizona
3- Duke University
Masters Women 55-59
Racing kicked off with the Masters Women 55-59. Elizabeth Sheldon rode a strong race and took an early lead. Sheldon had fans cheering her on near ABUS hill including her 90-year old mother. She managed to pull off an incredible win and soloed to the finish.
1- Elizabeth Sheldon (Washington D.C.; CX Hairs Devo)
2- Linda Cooper (Ankeny, Iowa; Sakari Race Team p/b Smart Honda)
3- Michele Bliss (Boulder, Colo.; White Lightning)
Masters Women 50-54
Kelli Montgomery, the winner of the Masters Women 50-54, finished in a time of 43:21. Montgomery pulled ahead from Heidi Curtes and Robertson-Zivin before the first pit, maintaining her lead through the entire race.
1- Kelli Montgomery (Wallingford, Conn.; Stage 1 / Airline Cycles)
2- Heidi Curtes (Hubertus, Wis.; Team Six/Wheel and Sprocket)
3- Julie Robertson Zivin (Seattle; Team Thrive)
Masters Women 45-49
Finishing in a time of 41:08, Melissa Barker rode consistent and smart, helping her take gold. Kristin Weber would claim silver.
1- Melissa Barker (Longmont, Colo.; Feedback Sports Racing)
2- Kristin Weber (Boulder, Colo.; Lockton Full Cycle Team)
3- JoAnne Grogan (Hinsberg, Vt.; BMB Racing)
Masters Women 40-44
In the penultimate event of this week's Masters racing ended with the Women's 40-44 race where Erin Feldhausen claimed the stars-and-stripes jersey.
1- Erin Feldhausen (Madison, Wis.; Trek Cyclocross Collective)
2- Holly Lavesser (New Berlin, Wis.; Neff Cycle Service)
3- Alexander Cambellforte (Frederick, Md.; Dirty Kitten Racing p/b Champion System)
Mixed Team Relay Non-Championship
The Team Relay is always one of the most fun events of the week. Racers can have anybody on their team, but that can come with a cost. If you have dlite racers, you get a time deficit. If you have Masters, Juniors, or Women, you can get several time bonuses so planning the team can be strategic. The team of two elite racing siblings, Jesse Anthony and Crystal Anthony, flat out won the psychical competition with each of them doing two laps. After the time deficits and bonuses were added up by the officials. Junior team, Avout Racing, came out victorious.
1- Team Avout Racing
2- CXHairs Devo
3- Shred and Shed
Masters Women 35-39
The Masters Women 35-39 was one of the last races of the day where the course would still be somewhat dry. Taylor Kuyk-White brought home the win and Carla Williams would take second.
1- Taylor Kuyk-White (Philadelphia, Pa.; RSCX – House Industries)
2- Carla Williams (Roanoke, Va.; Deschutes Brewery Cyclocross Team)
3- Britt Mason (Ellicott City, Md.; Knobby by Nature)
Women 11-22 Non-Championship
The young women crushed it today as the rain started to roll in. 16-year-old Bronwynn Gar-aouy had a fantastic race representing Fount Cycling Guild. She finished just ahead of Makala Jaramillo of Team Twenty 24 with Elsa Westernfelder only a few seconds behind.
1- Bronwynn Gar-aouy (Mercer Island, Wash.; Fount Cycling Guild)
2- Makala Jaramillo (Colorado Springs, Colo.; Team Twenty 24)
3- Elsa Westenfelder (Missoula, Mont.; Team Stampede)
Men 11-22 Non-Championship
18-year-old Henry Daniluk came out on the day victorious over Adriano Lucero. The young-gun 12-year-old Matthew Crabbe proved his dominance at Amateur Road this summer and rode to third today. You should expect to see more from him in tomorrow's Junior 13-14 race.
1- Henry Daniluk (Mantua, N.J.; Action Wheels)
2- Adriano Lucero (Littleton, Colo.
3- Matthew Crabbe (Buford, Ga.; Mission Source Junior Devo)
Up Next
Tomorrow kicks off with the industry race, which gives mechanics, media, and industry insiders the chance to square off. We then go into the Junior races, with the 11-12, 13-14, and 15-16 Men and Women taking to the course. The day finishes off with the ever-popular Single Speed Men and Women.
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Map - https://s3.amazonaws.com/usac-...
Registered Riders - https://www.bikereg.com/usa-cy...
Schedule - https://s3.amazonaws.com/usac-...
How to Watch - https://usacycling.org/article...
Start Lists / Call Ups - https://usacycling.org/article...
Results - https://legacy.usacycling.org/...
