The Fort Lewis College Cycling team hit the dirt Thursday at the 2021 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships in Dupage County, Illinois.
The day began with the women’s varsity college cyclists pedaling around the 3.4-kilometer course at Cantigny Park, maneuvering around barriers, stairs and a sand pit in addition to the Abus Hill and other challenges.
Durango local Ruth Holcomb led the Skyhawks with a fifth-place finish, which earned her a spot on the podium. Holcomb was seventh after the first lap but moved into sixth during the second lap and fifth by the third lap. Samantha Runnels of SCAD Atlanta stayed on Holcomb’s rear wheel for the next two laps and was even with Holcomb after five. Holcomb, however, pedaled the last lap 10 seconds faster than Runnels in 8 minutes, 57 seconds to lock up her podium spot. Holcomb’s final time was 54:00.
Natalie Quinn of FLC also battled for a podium spot and was :01 ahead of Holcomb after three laps. After pedaling the third lap in 8:56, however, Quinn ran into trouble on the fourth lap and completed it in 9:56. She finished strong with laps of 8:56 and 9:12 and ended up seventh in 55:01.
Two other FLC women cyclists also finished in the top third of the nation. Madelyn Roberson finished 12th in 47:38, and Sabrina Hayes crossed 13th out the 39 registered riders in 47:39. Both riders just missed the cut to pedal a sixth lap, reserved for the top nine.
Katie Clouse of Colorado Mesa won the race to score back-to-back national championships. Clouse had the fastest time on each of the first five laps to build a comfortable lead and ended up winning the race by 1:11 seconds in 52:22. Two of her teammates also finished in the top four. Madigen Munro placed third in 53:43, and Lauren Lackman finished fourth in 53:50. Anna Christian of SCAD Atlanta was the other podium finisher, placing second in 53:33.
In the college varsity men’s race, Sam Brown led FLC and was only four seconds out of podium position after five laps. The sixth lap, however, was Brown’s slowest, at 8:19. Brown made up some time on the seventh and final lap, but couldn’t catch Sindre Hvesse Brein of Colorado Mesa and ended up sixth in 56:14.
Guy Leshem was the next Skyhawk to finish, placing 10th in 57:12.
Three other FLC cyclists were close enough to the leaders to get to complete all seven laps.
Alex Green finished 18th in 58:58, Cobe Freeburn crossed 22nd in 59:41, and George Piepgras finished 29th out of 55 registered riders in 1:00:53.
Kobi Gyetvan just missed the cut and finished 33rd in 52:39 after six laps.
Tyler Orschel of Brevard College won the championship by 1:26 in 53:38, pulling away on the fourth lap with the fastest lap of the day: 7:27. Scott Funston of Colorado Mesa (55:24), Tyler Clark of Brevard (55:46), Denzel Stephenson of SCAD Atlanta (55:58) and Brein (56:04) joined Orschel on the podium.
On Wednesday, a trio of Durango cyclists scored podium finishes at the championships, led by Martha Iverson. Iverson pedaled her way to a national title in the women’s 70-74 age division. Iverson, who rides for DNA Cycling Masters, didn’t let high winds slow her down and rode a smooth, consistent race to win big.
Two other cyclists from Durango also reached the podium Wednesday.
Caleb Thompson (Victory Bicycle Studio/Scott) finished third in the masters men 35-39 division.
Richard Bagienski also finished third in his division, masters men 75-79.
On Friday, the Skyhawks will compete in the team relay, featuring with two women and two men from each team racing one lap apiece. This race is the determining factor in the Skyhawk’s main objective – the overall Team Omnium.
Local junior, master, U23 and elite racers also will compete throughout the weekend. Sarah Sturm will defend her singlespeed title from 2019 on Saturday.
