Henry Nadell had tough competition to win an individual collegiate gold medal, and it came from his Fort Lewis College cycling teammate.
Nadell of Carbondale held off Stephan Davoust on the final lap to win the men’s varsity race at the USA Cycling Collegiate Cyclocross National Championships on Wednesday in Reno, Nevada.
Nadell finished in 48 minutes, 58 seconds to edge Durango’s Davoust by four seconds. Caleb Swartz of Marian University and Madison, Wisconsin, was third in 49:40, as the two top FLC riders blew away the competition.
“I was really tired, but Stephan and I were talking on the last lap with people saying it was us bringing it home 1-2,” Nadell said. “It gave us a little more edge being off the front bringing it home together. We crossed the line, and I collapsed I was so tired. I got up so excited, gave Stephan a hug and thought about how cool it was. We had a plan, and all the pieces fell together so perfectly. It’s not often in bike racing that it happens like that.”
Nadell and Davoust worked perfectly together to maximize each other’s strengths and minimize each other’s weaknesses. Davoust said it felt like they were racing at home in Durango. But, in the final moments of the race with both riders in strong position, it was an all-out race between the two to the finish with gold on the line.
“When you’re racing your friends and having fun, you can work together,” Davoust said. “Once we got separation, we knew it was game over for the rest of the competition because we do ride so well together. With any race, the strongest man wins, and we both kind of knew that and went into the finish giving it everything we had.”
The big result in the men’s race put FLC in first place in the team omnium standings with 94 points. But, after the women’s race, FLC and Marian University were tied with 177 points each. That means Thursday’s team relay race, in which Davoust and Nadell will partner with women’s riders
Ellen Campbell and Katja Freeburn for one lap each with the national title on the line against college cycling’s other powerhouse school from Indianapolis. Brevard College in North Carolina is well behind in third place with 110 points.
Freeburn and Campbell, both of Durango, were FLC’s top-women’s finishers in the race Wednesday.
Hannah Arensman of Brevard College was first in 44:28. Lindenwood University’s Samantha Runnels was second in 44:59, and Marian’s Emma Swartz took bronze in 45:28.
Freeburn placed sixth in 47:05, and Campbell was eighth in 47:05.
FLC’s Kelsay Lundberg of Salida was 10th in 49:01. Anna Schehrer, also of Salida, was 17th in 51:37, and FLC freshman Kira Payer of Housatonic, Massachusetts, placed 28th.
Also in the men’s race, FLC’s Harrison Buckley of Colorado Springs was ninth in 51:05, and teammate Skyler Mackey of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was 10th in 51:29. Skyhawks rode together well in the race, as Durango’s Thomas Gauthier and Ian McPherson of Boulder finished 13th and 14th, respectively for FLC. Gauthier crossed the finish line in 51:51, and McPherson finished in 52:07. Jonathan Anderson of Topsfield, Massachusetts, finished 22nd for FLC in 54:52.
Nadell said the course set up well for his strengths. After some moisture in the Reno area the two days leading into competition, Nadell was able to show his technical prowess in muddier sections, and his mountain bike skills came up big in some climbs.
“It’s a sweet course,” Nadell said. “The mud added an aspect where we could get away, and there was a big climb that suited me pretty well coming from a mountain bike background. Climbing is more natural for me than hammering around flat corners, and a headwind played a big factor and made false-flats more of a climb. In that headwind, people were more reluctant to pull on that. If I felt good, I hit it into the wind and got a gap on the other guys.”
Now, it all comes down to Fort Lewis’ top-four riders against Marian for the national title. It would be FLC’s 24th cycling national championship but first in cyclocross since 2009. FLC won the mountain bike national championship in the fall.
“I think that coming from mountain bike nationals with a title and seeing a lot of the same faces here at cyclocross nationals, a lot of people on this Fort Lewis team thoroughly believe we should be the top-ranked school in the country,” Davoust said. “We hope we bring home another title this week so that we can continue to prove we are the best school. It’s been something Fort Lewis has been known for for a long time with all the national titles we do have.”
FLC won the team relay at mountain bike nationals with Campbell, Davoust, Freeburn and Cole Paton. Now, Nadell will replace Paton in that equation with a title on the line.
“Coming from the mountain bike team relay, we proved we have what it takes there,” Davoust said. “Henry is just as strong as Cole for the team relay, and I’m really hopeful we will be able to take it tomorrow as well.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
