Yannick Eckmann on the long stairs at Bandimere
Lately the media has reported on Yannick Eckmann’s dual German-American citizenship and which colors he’ll wear at the next race. But they’re focusing on the wrong countries.
Yannick Eckmann at the 2013 Cyclo-cross Worlds start line in a German kit (photo by Hannelore Eckmann)
Cyclo-cross and road-rider Yannick Eckmann most yearns to be a citizen of a country that isn’t identified by longitude and latitude, but rather by dedication and power. It’s the country of the WBBR – World’s Best Bike Racers.
Last Saturday he raced in that virtual country at the 2013 Cyclo-cross World Championships in the U23 division, wearing the black, red, and gold colors of Germany on the course in Louisville, Kentucky. While he didn’t achieve his goal of a top ten finish, he improved on his first U23 Worlds result last year of 29th.
Eckmann has raced with the German national team for four years. He described that time as a great experience; he felt supported and had fun. Possibly his last race ever in a German kit, 2013 Cyclo-cross Worlds marked an ending.
It also signified a giant step forward.
Aiming high
On Saturday morning in Louisville the nineteen year-old Eckmann tried to rein in his nerves by viewing the Worlds event as “a lower key race.” That’s no easy task. Every rider at a World Championship race wants to show that his or her country made the right choice by inviting them. “It’s Worlds. You want to meet your goal and you don’t want to have a bad race,” he told ProVéloPassion. “You always think about it, everything.”
Yannick Eckmann, 2013 U.S. U23 national cyclo-cross champion
Eckmann said he was actually less nervous at Worlds than at the U.S. Cyclo-cross National Championships three weeks earlier where he became a first-time U.S. national champion.
He pre-rode the Louisville course early Saturday, when it was still frozen. Then he rode on the trainer as part of his normal pre-race warm-up routine. “I was a little bit nervous, but still relaxed, and just having fun,” he said.
He lined up in the third row. After a start that he said could have been better, things improved when the pack moved off the pavement and onto the dirt where he started to move up: “I just hammered as hard as I could the first couple laps trying to get up there…” He chased just off the back of the main front group.
Eckmann loves the mud – his best World Cup result this year, fourteenth, occurred in a race he described as a “mudfest.” But the accumulation of mud since early morning surprised even him, and quickly colored every nation’s rider the same chocolate-gray.
“The mud was all over,” he said. “When I got into mud, I just had so much fun…everybody was going all over and I just kept cool and tried to move up.”
But, as Eckmann told it, after three laps he couldn’t hold the pace. American Zach McDonald, both nemesis and motivator during the season, passed him. German teammate Michael Schweizer caught Eckmann. They rode together for a lap. “Then he kind of took off, and I just couldn’t hold him anymore, and I fell back a little bit farther.”
In the last lap Eckmann found the energy to regroup. “I just dug as deep as I could,” he said, “I tried to make up ground to do something, to go farther up on the spots.”
Many successful athletes will say that achieving excellence without a struggle isn’t rewarding.
Proving it
Eckmann finished 16th. Hours after washing away the last trace of mud, he sent this message to the world via Twitter and Facebook: “Not a bad day for me at the 2013 world championships. Finished 16th overall which I am pleased about.”
It wasn’t the top ten he aimed for. But to focus on missing that goal would lose sight of the big picture: this year’s progress.
Yannick Eckmann loves riding in the mud. 2013 Cyclo-cross Worlds (photo by Hannelore Eckmann)
Eckmann raced three World Cup events this season, placing 14th, 27th, and 28th at Plzen, Heusden-Zolder, and Tabor. “But if you look back to those World Cups I was in the back most of the time racing there. But then this is 16th place,” he said. “I know I can be up there; it tells me I should be up there and having a good ride. Being top 20 at Worlds just makes me happy. I’m still in my second U23 year this year, so I still have a lot to learn…I’m really happy with the result even though I didn’t get the goal I wished for.”
The Louisville course and conditions set his mind on one lesson in particular. Eckmann noticed others passed him on long, muddy straight-aways, guys he would catch in the technical sections. So he will work on what he called “power / strength training.” He and his coach have previously studied this, but not intensely.
“I knew it before but now I definitely know I need to work on it if I want to be at the top level with all the top ten guys,” he said.
Strike “if I want” from that last sentence. “At the top” is where Eckmann aims to ride.
The way Eckmann sees it, changing his racing nationality from German to American will provide additional racing opportunities while he and his family continue to live in the U.S.
“It’s basically just a next step for me to be racing even more, more for road, so I can do road as well for a nation.” If his racing status remained German it would be hard, living in the U.S., to represent Germany at road races; he said he’d have to live there to ride for the national road team.
He further described the decision to race as an American going forward: “It’s a next step to show myself that I want to be one of the top riders in the world.”
Boulder’s famous flatirons from the Valmont Bike Park
In America
When Juergen and Hannelore Eckmann decided eight years ago to leave their home in the Black Forest region of Germany and move with their two sons Robin and Yannick to Boulder, Colorado, two family members weren’t so keen on the idea.
Hannelore and Yannick both said, “Two years. Then we are moving back [to Germany].”
When asked to compare the Black Forest to Boulder, Yannick Eckmann responded by saying the culture is “a little bit different.” But the lay of the land and the weather he described as almost opposite. The hills of the Black Forest are more rolling. It rains more there in the winter. He said he could live in both places.
The family arrived and settled down in Boulder. “And we just started loving it there,” Yannick Eckmann said. “The weather was always nice, and the riding. People in Boulder, they are always friendly. We just felt like we belonged there. At least I felt that way.”
After the two year test period, Yannick delivered his verdict. “I was probably one of the first [in the family] to say ‘we’re not moving back.’”
Forward on the road
The conclusion of the World Championships in Louisville brought the 2012-2013 cyclo-cross season to an end. As Eckmann evaluated the season, his joy came across over the telephone.
“I feel great. I feel like I made a big step from last year, and I’m just really pleased with all the results I’ve gotten…I basically almost got all my goals I set this year, minus the Worlds goal – which I’m still happy though with the result I got at Worlds, but I’m more than pleased. I couldn’t be more happy with ending my cyclo-cross season like this.”
And now road season begins. But first it’s break-time. Eckmann will take a few weeks off the bike. Oh, he’ll do something active. It might look like a walk to the coffee shop with his mom.
He’ll click into the pedals again near the end of February. “I’m back on and off for a little bit, and then in the beginning of March I’ll put some longer miles in.”
At the end of March he’ll start racing once more with his California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized team, stepping it up on the road.
Yannick Eckmann at Cross of the North where he repeated a Colorado state ‘cross championship
[Watch the 2013 Cyclo-cross World Championships U23 race on the UCI’s YouTube page; scroll ahead to about minute 29 for the start.]
Logan Owen, Team Redline, wins the 2013 junior 17-18 U.S. national cyclo-cross championships, signaling his total number of victories
“I’ve never felt this good,” Logan Owen said on Friday.
The second-ranked junior cyclo-cross rider in the world, Owen should have bolted down the start straight at the Cyclo-cross World Championships on Saturday in the company of Mathieu Van Der Poel, the reigning junior world champion.
“I know I’m one of the best starters in the world,” Owen said after his eighth consecutive American national championship win in Wisconsin three weeks ago. “Normally it’s either me or Van Der Poel taking the holeshots in the World Cups.”
But when the leaders in the junior competition swept around the first turn and onto frozen ground at World Cyclo-cross Championships on Saturday in Louisville, the first and maybe only time the event visits American soil, Owen was not among them.
Something must have gone horribly wrong.
With live video camera placement quite a distance from the start line, to on-line spectators the front row of riders resembled a set of colorful, out-of-focus rectangles balancing on narrow black wings. But the view was clear enough to see one of those rectangles lurch forward a split-second before the “go” signal.
Owen had jumped the gun. And in the short moment that he reversed his false-forward, the field surged ahead.
Logan Owen moved into third place at 2013 Worlds but couldn’t hold it
Owen fought his way to the front over the forty minute race and nearly seized a bronze medal. But when the finish line came all too soon after a chain problem, Owen crossed the line in fourth place.
It wasn’t the finish he had imagined.
“I wish I had a redo. It could go so much better,” Owen said after the race.
Owen has finessed the perfect start to a cyclocross race more times than he can count. Is that the number of times he will redo Saturday’s start in his head, imagining how it would have looked gone right?
On Sunday, a course that should have been buzzing with excitement was vacant. That day’s elite races had been rescheduled to Saturday due to expected flooding, and photos posted on social media on Sunday showed a course under water.
If that course had remained dry enough early Sunday morning, when church bells rang, a lone rider might have appeared at the start line, ready to begin again.
[Screenshot photo, above right, from the UCI live video feed, archived here.]
Danny Summerhill rides ahead of Jeremy Powers early in 2013 Cyclo-cross Nationals
[updated 2/1/2013]
When he was about nine years-old Danny Summerhill had a blast careening his bike, elbow-to-elbow with other juniors, around two chairs set up in a cabin in the woods in Deckers, Colorado. In this cyclo-cross camp skills game of “bump and thump,” the kids tried to knock each other off their bikes. Professional riders that coached and taught at the overnight camp donated coveted jerseys and jackets as prizes, one of which the camp leader tossed into the outstretched arms of the last kid still riding.
Summerhill won many rounds of “bump and thump;” his strong cyclo-cross starts give that away. He thinks he might still own some of the swag he scored at camp. “It was awesome,” he told ProVéloPassion, as he recalled those moments at camp. “All the loot we came home with after these junior camp weekends was just unbelievable.”
Summerhill continued racing ‘cross as he developed into a road rider. Now 23 years-old, he rides his bike professionally on the road with the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team; the team has supported his cyclo-cross efforts this year. “UnitedHealthcare has been really phenomenal,” Summerhill said during Cyclo-cross Nationals in January, “and I’m really blessed to be able work with such phenomenal people there.”
This weekend the UnitedHealthcare rider will once again represent the U.S. in the Cyclo-cross World Championships. It will be his first time racing at the elite level.
New approach
In his visit to Cyclo-cross Worlds as a junior in 2007, Summerhill earned a silver medal. He returned to Worlds as a U23 rider, hoping to bring home another medal. The pressure he put on himself throughout the season to make it onto the Worlds team and to perform, as well as what he described as over-thinking the race for weeks prior, took its toll.
At the U23 race in 2009 he finished a disappointing mid-field; in a post-race video he said he’d had trouble sleeping. After a similar result in 2010, he pulled off a stronger performance in 2011. “Germany [2011] was the best because I think I got thirteenth after flatting early,” Summerhill recalled, “which was a real shame because I was with leaders and I thought it would be another chance at a medal, but it wasn’t to be.”
Speaking about the stress he experienced, he said, “It was never fun.”
Summerhill believes he will approach his first elite Worlds differently from the earlier events. “It’s funny, I think I’ve grown quite a bit in that – it’s not just another bike race – but when I was younger the stress that I would be going through for weeks at a time before the event, I don’t really have that now, which I’m really thankful for because that just wears on me.”
Danny Summerhill on his way to the podium at 2013 Cyclo-cross Nationals
This season he’s found a way to unwind and take a more relaxed approach, one he’s carrying into this weekend’s race. And just like the “bump and thump” days, it’s fun again. “…going with the flow and having fun has obviously yielded a lot better results,” he said. Those results include fourth place at ‘cross nationals this year, which helped land him a spot on the elite U.S. Worlds team.
While cyclo-cross is more individual and less a team sport than road racing, when Summerhill talks about Team U.S.A., what comes across is an emphasis on togetherness. When asked how the team would work together in Louisville, he said, “We do meals and all that together…but I think the biggest thing that we as a national team will do is just help be there for each other. And anything that I need for instance all the big guys will probably be able to help me and vice-versa…” Summerhill is the youngest of the six riders on the men’s elite team.
While Summerhill wants to do his best – he mentioned a top ten would be “phenomenal,” as of a few days before the elite race he hadn’t thought a lot about the kind of performance he’s aiming for. “It’s been a while since I’ve raced people like Sven and all the other big Euro guys, so it will be interesting to see how I shape up against them now that I’m an older [rider], not U23 but elite, and see how it goes.”
He’s hoping for medals for U.S. juniors and U23 riders. When he revealed his “highest hope,” it wasn’t about his own results.
“My highest hope is for Katie [Compton] to take the rainbow jersey. That would be a dream come true for her to win that. I’ve seen her so close on so many occasions it would be great if she could make it happen or have the luck to make it happen this year.”
Double home advantage
If Summerhill feels an iota of stress this time, it won’t be around his preparation for this weekend. He’s done his homework. He’s reviewed race videos of the European ‘cross riders, studying their strengths, and trained “plenty” on the road.
But one strength the Europeans won’t count on this year is a home field advantage. “I think having the Worlds in America for the first time and all the positives that we as the U.S. national team have on our side should hopefully do us well for the weekend,” he said.
Summerhill has worn different styles of Team U.S.A. kits. This year’s version, however, sounded doubly-special.
“To be honest, because the national team is sponsored by UnitedHealthcare, who is my road team, I think I feel twice as honored to be able to wear the jersey because it has UnitedHealthcare’s logo on it as well,” he said. “That’s who’s helped me get here, so I’m honored to be able to race for them and show them off as well as the U.S. colors. So it’s a win-win for me more so than anyone else, I think, because I get to have UnitedHealthcare on my Worlds uniform.”
As for what else occupied his mind a few days before the Worlds elite race, he said, “I’m just enjoying the moment.”
Danny Summerhill and Tim Johnson having fun waiting for Zach McDonald at 2013 Cyclo-cross Nationals
[Bruce Hecht contributed to this story.]
Kristin Weber in second after start of the 40-44 race at 2013 CX nationals
Different opinions exist on the topic of energy conservation in cycling. Many say riding smart is all about knowing how to dose out your energy, when to spend it versus when to conserve it. Sometimes reporters will ask road riders during a race if they’re “saving up” for the next and perhaps bigger event. That could mean saving energy, or playing it safe, which could be the same thing.
When asked if he’s “holding something back” for another event, a rider might say, “There’s no holding back.” So maybe the rule of thumb – if there is one – is when strong and going well, a rider won’t conserve. He or she goes for it. And when a rider’s building up to peak or his target race lies ahead on the calendar, he plays it safe: don’t attack, ride on another’s wheel, control the heart rate tightly.
But there are only so many chances to win in bike racing where the number of first places determines a cyclist’s value; no one remembers second (unless it’s a perennial second that becomes legend). That being the case, why would anyone ever hold anything back?
The answer to the energy question likely varies by cycling discipline. But with the Masters Cyclo-cross World Championships taking place this week and many age groups commencing with qualifying heats before racing the final on a subsequent day, this event seemed like a good testing ground for asking this question: In your heat race, will you be full gas the entire race or, if you see you are doing well enough to qualify, will you “hold something back” for the finals?
Here’s what some masters riders said.
Kristal Boni, Rapid Racing, category 35-39: “I don’t have a heat but if I did, I wouldn’t hold back. My feeling when you are in a race is that you give it what you’ve got. Plus, all season we’ve been racing back-to-back days so 2 races in 3 days (one being really short) shouldn’t be a problem.”
John Bliss, Team Kappius, category 55-59: “No reason to hold back: 1 day to recover; course isn’t treacherous (to date); and THIS IS WORLDS!!”
Russell Stevenson going for it in the 2013 cyclocross national championship 35-39 race
Russell Stevenson, Boulder Cycle Sport, category 35-39: “No holding back. The better you finish in the heat dictates your finals start position. I’d hold back only in the final 200m and only if I was guaranteed to win. No other circumstance.”
Kristin Weber, Boulder Cycle Sport, category 40-44: “Agreed, nothing to lose everything to gain, a day to recover and it opens you up for the finals.” Weber’s comment reflects something that helps her to race well – she’s better and faster if she’s been racing as opposed to racing after a break in competition.
Current Masters World Champion and ‘cross sage, Pete Webber, Boulder Cycle Sport, category 40-44: “Agreed with the above. Also, you want to test yourself and see how your level is. As in any cross race, you can’t ride over your head, meaning you can’t go 100% full gas the whole time or you risk blowing up, or more likely, crashing or going off course or breaking something on your bike. You need to ride at a level that you can manage and stay smooth and in control.”
So while situational and personal reasons factor into how these riders will use their energy, and micro-conserving that energy at the highest level of effort factors into finishing successfully, they all agree. No holding back.
Refilling the tank, in racing and life
Now that these high-performing masters cyclo-cross racers have answered the energy question above, another question surfaces.
Assuming there’s no holding back whenever they race, and chances are the result of giving it all they’ve got won’t always be winning, how does a bike racer maintain the desire and discipline to lay it all on the line race after race, emptying the tank again and again? The same could be asked of a single person looking for a mate, a salesperson, or the parent of a special needs child.
It goes without saying that staying in the game satisfies a need. That could be a need for competition, love or recognition, nourishment, to help another become their best, or to make the most of gifts received. So recalling the reason for being in the game is crucial. And beyond that?
For a start, taking care of self, training and eating well, to be strong and ready for every challenge.
Then replenishing the tank by doing things that feel good. And that includes rewards for showing up on the start line, whether that’s on a cyclo-cross course or at the start of a new day. Because no one wins if he doesn’t try.
[updated 1/30/2013]
So if the women are strong in Colorado cyclocross, are the children above average? You bet they are. Like the adults, Colorado juniors filled the 2013 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championship podium steps 20% of the time.
They medaled in every age group except for 17-18. For those juniors especially, a medal next year in Boulder should feel even sweeter.
* * *
Whether it was disappointment, elation or pain, the effort to become a national champion showed perhaps most of all on the faces of the juniors. Boulder Junior Cycling’s Nevin Whittemore, a cat 3 race winner, contested the men’s junior 17-18 race. The nineteenth and last rider to finish without getting lapped, Whittemore leaned on the barriers after the finish for several minutes. He wasn’t out of breath. Leg cramps, he said, made it impossible to walk.
Whittemore holds on to finish the men’s junior 17-18 race at 2013 ‘cross nationals
* * *
In Garrett Gerchar’s case, the pain showed itself as the color red. The Boulder Junior Cycling rider was caught in a big crash just beyond the start line in the men’s junior 17-18 race. He righted himself and then “a kid tried to go around me and I got taken out again,” he said after the race. His words tumbled out, edgy.
Gerchar finished 12th in the men’s junior 17-18 race after a tough start
* * *
The ambitious Ashley Zoerner (Groove Subaru-Alpha Bicycle Co.), the current Colorado State women’s junior 13-14 cyclocross champion, took fifth place in the all-women non-championship race on day 1 of nationals. She returned two days later for her 13-14 age category race. The officials shortened that race to one lap because, according to one official, lap times for the first and previous race of the day were running ten minutes or longer for most of the field. Zoerner came in third and also won the prize for best mud mustache.
Groove Subaru-Alpha Bicycle Co. teammates (l – r) Moorhead and Zoerner after their 2013 ‘cross nationals race
* * *
He timed simulated sprints for himself and the other two riders warming-up in the Boulder Junior Cycling tent thirty-five minutes before the start of the men’s junior 13-14 race. At the start line, Denzel Stephenson lined up in the first row. He shed his black down jacket and turned to share a few words with teammate Cassidy Bailey just behind him. The whistle blew, the pack sped away, and Stephenson took the lead in the first lap and held it until the finish. Bailey rode well for fourth, missing third by just four seconds. After the finish they celebrated with the Colorado state flag draped from their adjoining shoulders like superman’s cape.
Stephenson and Bailey (l – r) celebrate after placing 1st and 4th in the men’s junior 13-14 ‘cross nationals race
* * *
Gage Hecht (International Christian Cycling Club) rode to the start line of the men’s junior 15-16 race with three consecutive cyclocross national championships in his pocket. But the depth of the competition left him wondering if he’d increase that three to four. It wasn’t until mid-way into the last and third lap – even though he led nearly the entire race – that he felt he might take the win. Brannan Fix from Fort Collins just missed the podium with sixth place; earlier in the week he rode to third in the non-championship men’s 10-29 field ahead of twenty-seven other starters. In addition to Fix, Hecht rode in the company of seven other Colorado teens: Liam and Cormac Dunn of the Clif Bar Development Cyclocross Team placed eighth and thirteenth, Adin Baird (University Cycles) twelth, and Stuart McKnight, Jack Tanner, Cade Bickmore and Eric Brunner of Boulder Junior Cycling fifteenth, seventeenth, twenty-first and twenty-second respectively.
Gage Hecht wins the men’s junior 15-16 race at the 2013 cyclocross national championships
* * *
Boulder Junior Cycling colors adorned both junior 10-12 male and female podiums. The officials shortened the laps for these young guns who rode for about twenty minutes, finding their way through the mist rising off the snow. In the men’s division Nolan Stephenson and Oliver Hart earned second and fifth. Tea Wright took home a fifth place medal for the young women.
Wright added another medal to the Boulder Junior Cycling pile by finishing 5th
Men’s junior 10-12 podium at 2013 cyclocross national championships, with Boulder Junior Cycling riders Stephenson and Hart
* * *
Three Clif Bar Development Cyclocross Team members started the men’s junior 17-18 race: Maxx Chance, Ian McPherson, and Spencer Downing. All three raced in Belgium together with Gerchar in late December. Speaking after returning home about who could fare well against favorite Logan Owen, Chance picked Downing, who had remained in Europe to race at Rome in the World Cup series. Chance hoped for a top 5. But cyclocross’ cruel “anything can happen” rule stole their chances for podium finishes. Like Gerchar, Downing and McPherson got caught in the early crash. Downing had to run his bike out of the crash. McPherson got wedged between the fence and a rider but pulled out quickly. Chance suffered stomach pain and said he didn’t ride at full power. Chance landed seventh and McPherson eighth; Downing persevered and finished, lapped, in thirty-seventh place.
Keegan Sotebeer and Eli Hemming of Groove Subaru-Alpha Bicycle Co. also entered and finished.
Nolan Brady (57) would pass Ian McPherson (Clif Bar) going into the final lap; McPherson chased and finished ahead of him at 2013 ‘cross nationals in the men’s junior 17-18 contest.
Gallery
-
- Ian McPherson at the men’s junior 17-18 race 2013 ‘cross nationals start line
-
- Maxx Chance negotiates a muddy turn in Badger Prairie Park
-
- How non-racing juniors played during the 2013 cyclocross nationals on Saturday
-
- Ian McPherson heading to the first climb in the 2013 ‘cross nationals circuit
-
- Garrett Gerchar crosses the barriers on lap 1 in Badger Prairie Park
-
- Nevin Whittemore recovering after his men’s junior 17-18 effort at 2013 ‘cross nationals
-
- Maxx Chance finishes 2013 cyclocross nationals in seventh place
-
- Bailey at men’s junior 2013 cyclocross nationals start
-
- Stephenson wins men’s junior 13-14 race at 2013 ‘cross nationals
-
- Baird at start of men’s junior 15-16 race, he finished twelth
-
- B. Fix, left, at men’s junior 15-16 start
-
- C. Bickmore in men’s junior 15-16 race
-
- Bart Simpson on Gage Hecht’s “A” bike
-
- Gage Hecht in the mist at 2013 cyclocross nationals
-
- McCauley Smith in the 17-18 race at 2013 cyclocross nationals
-
- L. Dunn in the 15-16 race at 2013 cyclocross nationals
-
- J. Tanner in the 15-16 race at 2013 cyclocross nationals
-
- Post race feet in the Boulder Junior Cycling tent
-
- Jerry Cutright, Gage Hecht, Bruce Hecht (l-r) after Gage’s 15-16 ‘cross nationals win
Garrison Keillor coined the phrase, “where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average” to describe the mythical Lake Wobegon, but the same could be said of Colorado’s cyclocross community.
The strong women cyclists of Colorado claimed eleven championship medals at this year’s USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships in Wisconsin. That’s 22% of the total 49 awarded, excluding the collegiate divisions, which exceeds the Colorado men’s take by almost two percentage points.
OK, the difference probably isn’t statistically significant. But will the guys try to step up their game to bring home more medals than the women in 2014?
* * *
Female Colorado cyclocross racers are tough chicks. Rebecca Blatt (Van Dessel Factory Team), Brianne Marshall (Stan’s NoTubes), and Kristin Weber (Boulder Cycle Sport) not only medaled in their masters races; they also completed the women’s elite race among the 28 of the 78 starters who finished and weren’t lapped.
Stacey Barbossa and Brianne Marshall chase Kristin Weber in the 2013 elite nationals contest. They finished 26th, 27th, and 24th respectively.
* * *
Rebecca Gross (Tough Girl Cycling) is tough too, as her team’s name implies: she came in fourth in the masters 30-34 race and third among the collegiate division 2 women. She’s also resourceful. During her third race at nationals, the women’s elite race, she captured a cash hand-up.
Rebecca Gross caught some cash in the elite race at 2013 ‘cross nationals
* * *
A single speed contest requires a different style of racing and it’s more challenging on a hilly course like the one in Badger Prairie Park. Kristal Boni of Rapid Racing decided to take on that challenge after encouragement from her husband. The only Colorado lady on the start line, she placed mid-pack, eight of thirteen finishers. Pretty darn good for her first single speed outing.
Kristal Boni dares to conquer to single speed race at the 2013 cyclocross national championships
* * *
Georgia Gould (Luna Chix Pro Team) said after the women’s elite race: “There are a few places you could pedal and the rest of the time you’re just trying to stay upright – or at least I was…”
Georgia Gould rides to 4th in the 2013 national championships
* * *
Nicole Duke’s (Alchemy Bicycle Company) fearless fast descents left spectators wide-eyed with awe. After the women’s elite race, Duke said, “I knew if I could just stay steady on all the flats and the uphills, that I had everyone on the downhills. And it felt really good; it gave me confidence.” One of Duke’s preparation secrets for a sub-freezing race: latex gloves under cycling gloves to keep hands warm.
Nicole Duke chased by Meredith Miller and Katie Antonneau near the end of lap 2 at 2013 cyclocross nationals
* * *
Lots of things make the women’s races different from the guys’ races. For example, the women tend to acknowledge cheers more often with verbal thank you’s while the guys will show expressions that seem to say, “Thanks, but that only counts if I can hang on.” Both genders smile after the finish, but the ladies’ smiles appear to come more easily regardless of their results. Is that just relief, or is it joy in having shared the experience with friends?
Three happy ladies (l – r) Kristin Webber who landed 4th, Lisa Hudson with 7th, and Margell Abel with 5th in the 2013 masters 40-45 ‘cross nationals race
* * *
Meredith Miller approached the start line of the elite race with a firm goal: “I hope to get onto the podium,” she said prior to the race, with special emphasis on the following words: “not just a fifth place podium, but a second place would be pretty awesome today.” It wasn’t to be at nationals – Miller finished eighth, but generally when this lady sets a goal, watch for her to achieve it. In October she told VeloNews, “that she still has her sights on securing one of five spots for February’s world championships in Louisville, Kentucky.” After spinning out mid cross season on her trainer while recovering from hand surgery, she worked her way to one of those five spots and will set tire to Louisville ground in February.
Meredith Miller led the field off pavement after the 2013 ‘cross nationals elite women’s start
* * *
Katie Compton’s ninth national championship in a row might make this Trek Cyclocross Collective star appear to be more machine than human. Her thoughts as she crossed the finish line — “Thank God I don’t have to do another lap,” left no doubt that Compton is flesh and blood.
Katie Compton wins her 9th national championship
* * *
Shannon Gibson (Stan’s NoTubes) from Durango, whose racing age is 47, is the current cyclocross world champion in her age group and MTB Super D masters national champion. Gibson raced in events across the country during the 2012 ‘cross season but according to available data didn’t manage any top tens aside from her seventh at nationals last year. This year’s victory in the masters 45-49 category must have been beyond awesome for her.
Women’s 45-49 ‘cross nationals podium (l – r) Jeanne Fleck 4th, Antonia Leal 2nd, Shannon Gibson 1st, Stacey Barbossa 3rd, Geraldine Schulze 5th
2013 Cyclo-cross nationals medals await their owners
[updated 1/26/2013]
Twelve guys returned home to Colorado from Wisconsin and the 2013 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships with special baggage.
They all placed top five in their races and packed a national championship medal in their bags. With fifty-eight total medals awarded in thirteen categories, excluding collegiate divisions, 21% of all championship medals for adult men went to residents of Colorado.
Congratulations to all the guys — dads, husbands, bachelors, friends, amateur or pro — who medaled and participated in ‘cross nationals; this collection of highlights is dedicated to you.
* * *
One of Russell Stevenson’s eight bike changes at 2013 ‘cross nationals
Dubbed the “Boulder mafia,” a group of Boulder Cycle Sport riders including Pete Webber and Brandon Dwight supported their teammate Russell Stevenson in the pit during the men’s 35-39 masters race. The crew played a critical role; mud built up thickly on the bike frames and success required a bike switch twice a lap. Stevenson crossed the line first, bringing home a team win for Boulder Cycle Sport. Jake Wells (Stan’s NoTubes) from Avon placed third.
* * *
Ken Benesh, last lap before arriving 4th in masters 30-34 race at 2013 ‘cross nationals
From the early morning on Saturday the air temperature dropped hour by hour until it dipped to 30 degrees Fahrenheit when the men’s 30-34 masters field of thirty-six riders set off at 3 p.m. Ken Benesh of Feedback Sports, overall winner of the 2012 Boulder Cyclocross Series, edged out a rider by two seconds to claim fourth place on the podium. Brrr. But it would get colder.
* * *
Elite men’s first turn at 2013 ‘cross nationals, Danny Summerhill on Ryan Trebon’s wheel with Brady Kappius second on the outside
Brady Kappius (Clif Bar) said after the men’s elite race, “That was easily one of the best starts of my life, coming from third row to like fifth in the first corner. And over half way through the first lap when [Jeremy] Powers catches me, it’s like, I’ve never seen him in a race, so it was good and I can’t complain.” Kappius took 21st place.
* * *
Elite men’s podium at 2013 ‘cross nationals (l – r) Danny Summerhill 4th, Zach McDonald 2nd, Jonathan Page 1st, Jamey Driscoll 3rd, Tim Johnson 5th
Danny Summerhill (UnitedHealthcare) also sprinted into a stellar start in the men’s elite race. Then mechanical trouble set him back. He fought his way forward, finishing on the podium with 4th place. Summerhill won every non-UCI race he completed in 2012; at the USGPs one-half of Summerhill’s results were fourth places. After the nationals race he said, “I’d say I’m getting sick of fourth, but at least I’m on the American podium…” That fourth place at nationals, however, had a silver lining. It likely contributed to USA Cycling’s decision to award Summerhill a spot at the Cyclo-cross World Championships in February.
* * *
Tim Allen leads a group in the elite race at 2013 ‘cross nationals
Seven Colorado men finished the elite race, which represented 25% of the finishers. In addition to Summerhill and Kappius, that included Troy Wells (Clif Bar) 8th, Mitch Hoke (Clif Bar) 18th, Taylor Carrington (Turin Bikes – Carmichael Training Systems ) 22nd, Tim Allen (Feedback Sports) 25th, and Jake Wells (Stan’s NoTubes) 27th. Allen raced for nearly 67 minutes. When asked after he crossed the line how he was feeling, he said, “I can’t feel my face.” The temperature measured 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
* * *
2013 U23 ‘cross nationals podium (l – r) Skyler Trujillo 4th, Andrew Dillman 2nd, Yannick Eckmann 1st, Tobin Ortenblad 3rd, Joshua Johnson 5th
Born in Germany, Yannick Eckmann (California Giant Berry Farms / Specialized) gained U.S. citizenship last November, which allowed him to race U.S. ‘cross nationals for the first time this year. Even with a slower start than he wanted, Eckmann sped to the front of the U23 field during the first lap and flew past the American flag at the finish line first to become a U.S. national champion.
* * *
Master’s 40-44 2013 ‘cross podium (l – r) Ed Baker 4th, Mark Savery 2nd, Pete Webber 1st, Michael Yozell 3rd, Brandon Dwight 5th
Talk about domination. Colorado placed seven of the top ten in the men’s masters 40-44 category, which Pete Webber of Boulder Cycle Sport and current masters 40-44 world champion won. The remaining six Colorado men placed as follows: Edward Baker (Team Kappius) 4th, Brandon Dwight (Boulder Cycle Sport) 5th, Michael Robson (Moots) 6th, Kenny Wehn (Stan’s NoTubes) 7th, and from Boulder Cycle Sport Brian Hludzinski 8th and Matt Davies 10th.
* * *
Coming to Valmont Bike Park. Be there.
The Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado provides a summary of all Colorado racer results on its webpage, with links to more photos and information about 2014 cyclo-cross nationals in Boulder.
Almost all cyclocross riders – from young juniors to seasoned elites – utter the same phrase when speaking about their chances before a race: “anything can happen.” It sounds trite, but they say it because it’s true. Out of all the cycling disciplines, cyclocross could be labeled the one with the most factors outside of fitness and bike skills that can influence a rider’s race results.
These factors showed themselves to all age groups during the 2013 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships, from junior to elite and masters cyclists. Some of them, race length for example, apply to other cycling disciplines. It’s the combination of factors that makes a cyclocross race probably the most difficult to predict, except maybe when there’s an extraordinary rider whose engine and skills give him or her – Logan Owen, for example – a clear advantage regardless.
Track conditions. Mud covered the protective glasses riders wore in almost all categories at nationals. Try to swab it off and an opaque brown film forms that obscures ruts in the course which can toss a rider over the handlebars. Take the glasses off and this can happen when dirt and mud spray off wheels: “ I couldn’t see,” one 13-14 junior said, as she wiped mud off her face after she finished.
Equipment issues. At the end of the male junior 13-14 race, one young man dismounted his bike and with eyes ready to drop tears said, “My bike stopped working.” Then he shoved the bike toward an adult.
Danny Summerhill second after first turn in men’s elite race at nationals
Almost every rider at ‘cross nationals experienced some kind of bike problem during the race. The course conditions and weather froze chains, clogged and disabled brakes, and increased the chances of crashing and damaging components, like when Nicole Duke (Alchemy Bicycle Company) crashed and broke a shifter which cost her not only gears but rear brakes. Conditions during the nationals men’s elite race were “brutal on the bikes,” Danny Summerhill (UnitedHealthcare) said after finishing fourth in the race. After a great start that placed him in second position after the holeshot, Summerhill flatted; he also said at one point his rear wheel came out.
Brady Kappius (Clif Bar) summed it up this way when comparing ‘cross and MTB disciplines: “Cross bikes are really just road bikes and the equipment isn’t often designed to work in the extreme conditions as well as on the mountain side.”
Bike problems can be mitigated with a second pit bike and a team of experienced staff in the pit who can assess the damage and replace parts in minutes. Katie Compton (Trek Cyclocross Collective) credited her mechanics and crew as vital to her elite women’s nationals victory.
Knowing how to get to the front of the powerwasher line helps too. Brandon Dwight (Boulder Cycle Sport) crewed in the pit for teammate and winner Russell Stevenson during his masters 35-39 race. Dwight ensured Stevenson wouldn’t have to exchange bikes for one loaded with an extra eight pounds of mud by announcing at the powerwasher line, “I have a leader,” which earned him fast service.
frozen cleat at 2013 ‘cross nationals
The younger junior wasn’t the only frustrated rider at ‘cross nationals. When asked about his race after the finish, Ryan Trebon of Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com said he was frustrated, more than anything else with his frozen cleats. After managing to get clipped in, he’d hit a bump and his shoes would pop out of the pedals. Another rider said he rode clipped in for only 50% of the elite men’s race.
Race length. Cyclocross races are short – typically between twenty and sixty minutes depending on the category. So stopping to wipe off glasses or adjust equipment sucks up valuable time. As Kappius pointed out when asked about the thesis for this story, it’s hard to make up time in a short race when a rider has an issue with something that can or will slow her down.
A short race also makes mistakes more costly. If a rider gets caught on a tape stake in a corner and competitors pass him, there might not be enough time to catch up and regain the position he had before the mistake. And it’s possible for this very reason that the stress level in a ‘cross race is elevated compared to other disciplines, although this would hold true for track events as well.
Despite the cruel and multi-factorial punishment a cyclocross race can dish out, racers like Garrett Gerchar (Boulder Junior Cycling) persist and finish. He started the national championship junior 17-18 race on the heels of a strong season. Promise rose out of the mist at the start line. Then just hundreds of meters after the whistle he came down with a good portion of the field on the first sweeping turn.
Garrett Gerchar (#70) would gain two places over the rider he’s chasing
But that wasn’t the end of the challenges he’d face that morning.
“I just slid out and then I got up and a kid tried to go around me and I got taken out again,” he said, speaking about the start. Gerchar normally rides gloveless and that’s how he started at nationals. The crashes tore skin off his right hand. He raced for fifty minutes with blood running down his fingers.
Twice his chain fell off and he had to dig it out of his cassette. When asked if he stayed upright after the early crashes, he said, “Pretty much. I had a few tumbles but nothing too major.”
How did he feel about his second nationals outing? “It wasn’t a good race for me. I know I could have done better if I hadn’t been so distracted earlier from ripping my derailleur off during pre-ride…” Gerchar finished twelth.
Cyclocross racers all have their reasons for why they return race after race. Despite frozen hands that make them bend over and cry “argh” post-race, leg cramps that prevent them from leaving the finish area, and crashes seconds after the start that force them to begin a race by running over a kilometer with bikes on their shoulders to the pit to exchange them for working machines, most do it because – looking at the forest for the trees, it’s fun.
After a men’s elite race that left many relieved to have finished in one piece, Kappius was elated.“It was awesome,” he said in reply to a question about how he liked the frozen course. “It was probably the most fun I’ve ever had on a cross bike. I loved it.”
If it seems unfair that some riders have a great race and others a bad one, well, that’s because anything can happen.
Brady Kappius on the last lap of elite ‘cross nationals
The junior men aged 15-16 started and finished in the mist at Badger Prairie Park in Verona, Wisconsin on January 11th, each hoping to be the new national cyclocross champion.
Last year’s 1-2-3 in the 13-14 category — Gage Hecht (International Christian Cycling Club), Spencer Petrov (Lionhearts/Queen City Wheels), and Cameron Beard (Bend Endurance Academy), all landed in the top five after thirty minutes of racing on the muddiest day so far of five days at nationals.
Also racing from Colorado were Brannan Fix (Ciclismo Racing), Liam and Cormac Dunn of the Clif Bar Development Cyclocross Team, Adin Baird (University Bicycles), and Stuart McKnight, Jack Tanner, Cade Bickmore and Eric Brunner of Boulder Junior Cycling.
Junior 15-16 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships Gallery
-
- Adin Baird at junior 15-16 start line
-
- Gage Hecht at line-up
-
- Brannan Fix at the start line
-
- Cameron Beard (l) before downhill into barriers
-
- Doug Tobin advises one of his Idaho junior Byrds, Ethan Reynolds
-
- (l – r) Jerry Cutright (coach), Gage Hecht, and Bruce Hecht (dad and mechanic)
-
- Gage Hecht wins junior 15-16 2013 ‘cross nationals
-
- Bart Simpson, Gage Hecht’s co-pilot
-
- 2013 Junior 15-16 Cyclocross National Championship podium
-
- Gold national championship medal
-
- Jerry Cutright and Bruce Hecht pre-race
-
- Juniors 15-16 waiting for call-ups at ‘cross nationals
-
- Post-race ‘cross nationals foot treatment
-
- Junior 15-16 start, Spencer Petrov leading
-
- Stuart McKnight finished 15th
-
- Cade Bickmore in Junior 15-16 national championships
-
- Cooper Willsey finished third at ‘cross nationals
-
- Gavin Haley took 4th place at ‘cross nationals
-
- Gage Hecht mid-ride in Badger Prairie Park
-
- Jack Tanner came in 17th
-
- Brannan Fix post- junior 15-16 race
-
- Liam Dunn earned 8th in a tough junior 15-16 nationals
Meredith Miller led the elite women’s start from pavement onto Wisconsin’s “semi-permafrost”
On Sunday a seasons-long unthinkable possibility surfaced with the sun rise. The weather had leveled the odds against yet another win by the unstoppable Katie Compton (Trek Cyclocross Collective) in the all-American women’s elite field at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships.
Every rider got handed the same sketchy course conditions and the same sub-freezing cold with enough sun to paint a glossy layer on top of the frozen mud. Under these circumstances, every woman was bound to make at least one little mistake and suffer some kind of bike or equipment trouble.
“The cold, the ice – that can change a lot of things, so it’s anybody’s race out there,” Meredith Miller (California Giant Berry Farms / Specialized) said just before the start of the race. “Whoever can keep their wits about them and stay focused and not let little mistakes get ‘em off track and can stay composed can be the winner today.”
Along with the distinction of being best in the country, a great performance could seal selection to represent the U.S. at world championships and that raised the ante.
“I hope to get onto the podium and not just a fifth place podium,” Miller said, “but a second place would be pretty awesome today.”
The Luna Chix tent during warm-up smelled like menthol embro
Last year’s third place finisher, Nicole Duke (Alchemy Bicycle Company) said after a pre-ride prior to the afternoon’s race that ‘cross nationals is “the biggest race of the year” for her. “I don’t have a lot of pressure right now, so it feels good. I’m kind of coming into this relaxed, but it’s definitely I think the most important race of the year.”
“It’s always a huge honor to be able to wear the stars and stripes; it’s always a big goal for me,” Georgia Gould (Luna Chix Pro Team) said, as she warmed-up on a trainer. “So everything is on the line…I’m just going to make it through with as few mistakes as possible. We’ll see how that works out.”
Fear-provoking course conditions
Katie Compton’s bike in lap 2
An elite female rider who rode at the tail-end of the field described the track; it “was like riding on frozen corduroy.” That’s a bit of an understatement. Think uneven corduroy on steroids.
Ruts sank more than an inch into the ground. A coat of melted mud made the ruts slippery. “Just picking the lines is tough,” Compton said post-race, “and the lines are constantly changing.”
Even in the 16 degree Fahrenheit weather tires threw up enough mud and grass to coat frames, brakes, and chains with a mixture that solidified into cement. One coach said early in the morning that he’d seen the staff at the power washers chipping frozen mud off bikes.
The night before the elite race several amateurs who reached top five in masters races said they wouldn’t start the elite race if the course iced over by Sunday and became too dangerous in their opinion to ride.
However riders like Duke thrive under hellacious conditions. “I just pre-rode the course,” Duke said before the race, “and a lot of people look scared and they are paralyzed by it. It doesn’t phase me that much; I actually probably get more aggressive when it gets like that, so it’s to my advantage for sure.”
Race action
Miller led the field of seventy-eight from the paved start-finish stretch onto the dirt with fast starters Duke and Kaitlin Antonneau (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) in her wake; Crystal Anthony (Cyclocrossworld.com) and Compton shadowed Antonneau. Duke then passed Miller to take the holeshot. Later Duke said, “I wanted to get the holeshot because I knew that coming into this (pavement onto dirt) anything could happen and I kind of like to stay out of the mess. That’s typically how I ride anyway.”
Katie Antonneau’s first pass over the barriers at ‘cross nationals
Compton later said she had trouble finding the right gear from the start because of the different gloves she wore to fend off the cold. Duke wore latex gloves under her bike gear to keep her hands warm.
Going into the short steep hill behind the tent village early in the lap Compton slid out and lost a little ground. “The course was in the shade and was a little slippery and it wasn’t slippery before [the race],” she explained later, “so I messed up that part and then I had to kind of chase a little bit.”
Nicole Duke rode half of lap 1 with a broken right shifter
By the time the front of the race reached the barriers more than half-way through lap one Compton led by about 25 seconds over a string of chasers consisting of Antonneau, Miller, Duke, Maureen Bruno Roy (Bob’s Red Mill p/b Seven Cycles) and Teal Stetson-Lee (Luna Chix Pro Team). Duke crossed the barriers with a right shifter that broke during a crash; her rear brakes didn’t function either.
“I had to just hold onto the hood because there was nothing else to hold onto, so I kind of just wanted to stay steady until I got another bike,” Duke explained after the race. “They switched it at a lap and a half. I was able to get back and then I think I got a flat…so it was one thing after another but I knew the course was sketchy and that anything could happen, so I just needed to stay consistent even though I was having issues.”
Compton had a lead of about 50 seconds coming down for the second time the long hill that funneled into the barriers. Antonneau and Miller followed together. Duke roared down the hill, mud patties leaping from her tires, and passed the two to seize second position on course. By now Jade Wilcoxson of Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies rode in fifth place, about ten seconds behind Miller.
On the last loop before coming back onto the pavement to start lap three, Duke slipped a gear or chain and lost a position to Miller. Then Miller’s podium goal dissolved when she slid out and dropped her chain. She rode downhill before trying to fix it, and by then the chain had frozen. Several riders passed her in the time it took to reset the chain.
Jade Wilcoxson working her way through the field to 2nd at ‘cross nationals
By the end of lap three Wilcoxson had moved up to third place on course and about 15 seconds separated her from Duke in second. Antonneau also dropped a chain after a crash and lost several positions and a spot on the five-person podium.
Gould had worked her way into fourth with the four-lap race nearly finished. Duke pitted to switch bikes. Wilcoxson did not pit. When speaking after the race Duke regretting making a bike change then and thought that decision had cost her second place, which she lost to Wilcoxson by three seconds. “I wish I could have kept second; I thought I had it,” Duke said.
Compton rode to her ninth consecutive cyclocross national championship with a lead of one minute twenty seconds. Miller finished eighth; Antonneau, ninth. Antonneau’s performance provided her with a gold medal among the U23 women.
Persistence v. frustration
When asked about her thoughts as she crossed the line, Compton said, “I think it was just like, ‘Thank God I don’t have to do another lap.’ Mostly because it’s so tricky to just keep the bike upright and keep your focus. It’s like one lap at a time and you just get kind of mentally fatigued I think. So I’m just happy I kept that focus and was able to push hard and have a great race.”
Duke called the race “a game of persistence because so much happened.” She added, “I could have given up so many times but I was like, just stay steady and my legs felt really good today.”
Based on their comments it appeared neither Compton nor Duke allowed herself to get rattled by actual or potential adversity.
For Miller it was a different matter. In a report on her team’s website, she said, “…unfortunately I sort of fell apart. I had one major mistake and got passed and then from that point on, lost it…everything that could go wrong went wrong whether it was frozen pedals, taking bad lines.”
Gould struggled until the last lap and finished fourth. “I just could not get out of my own way those first few laps,” she told Cyclocross Magazine in a post-race interview. “I just was all over the place, getting frustrated, one thing after another.”
Katie Compton wins her 9th ‘cross national championship in a row
Gallery
-
- Kristin Weber loves hellacious conditions & finished 24th at ‘cross nationals
-
- Georgia Gould got better as the race progressed
-
- Crystal Anthony earned 5th at 2013 ‘cross nationals
-
- Katie Compton wins her 9th ‘cross national championship in a row
-
- Katie Compton fan-man
-
- Jade Wilcoxson working her way through the field to 2nd at ‘cross nationals
-
- Teal Stetson-Lee over the barriers in sixth position in lap 1
-
- Katie Antonneau’at ‘cross nationals
-
- The Luna Chix tent during warm-up smelled like menthol embro
-
- Meredith Miller led the elite women’s start from pavement onto Wisconsin’s “semi-permafrost”
-
- Nicole Duke rode half of lap 1 with a broken right shifter
-
- Katie Compton’s bike in lap 2
-
- Nicole Duke near end of lap 2 before Miller’s pass
-
- Rebecca Gross caught a valuable hand-up at ‘cross nationals
-
- Home away from home at 2013 ‘cross nationals
-
- Light-hearted moment with Nicole Duke pre-race
ProVéloPassion 