Holcomb takes podium at CX Nationals – the Durango Herald

Sam Brown places sixth to lead FLC men

The Fort Lewis College cycling team made landfall Thursday at the 2021 US National Cyclocross Cycling Championships in Dupage County, Ill.

The day started with the female cyclists from the university college who cycled the 3.4 kilometer route of Cantigny Park, maneuvering around barriers, stairs and a sandbox in addition to Abus Hill and others. challenges.

Ruth Holcomb of Durango led the Skyhawks with a fifth place finish, earning her a podium spot. Holcomb was seventh after round one but moved up to sixth in round two and fifth in round three. SCAD Atlanta’s Samantha Runnels stayed on Holcomb’s back wheel for the next two laps and was tied with Holcomb after five. Holcomb, however, pedaled the last lap 10 seconds faster than Runnels in 8 minutes, 57 seconds to lock in his place on the podium. Holcomb’s final time was 54:00.

FLC’s Natalie Quinn also fought for a podium spot and was: 01 ahead of Holcomb after three laps. However, after cycling the third lap in 8:56, Quinn struggled in the fourth lap and finished it in 9:56. She finished strong with laps of 8:56 and 9:12 and was seventh in 55:01.

Two other FLC female cyclists also finished in the top third of the country. Madelyn Roberson finished 12th in 47:38 and Sabrina Hayes passed 13th out of 39 riders in 47:39. The two drivers narrowly missed the cut to pedal a sixth lap, reserved for the first nine.

Colorado Mesa’s Katie Clouse won the race to score back-to-back national championships. Clouse set the fastest time in each of the first five laps to build a comfortable lead and ended up winning the race by 1:11 seconds clocking 52:22. Two of her teammates also finished in the top four. Madigen Munro was third in 53:43 and Lauren Lackman was fourth in 53:50. Anna Christian of SCAD Atlanta was the other podium, finishing second in 53:33.

In the college men’s race, Sam Brown led the FLC and was only four seconds off the podium after five laps. Lap six, however, was Brown’s slowest, at 8:19. Brown regained some time in the seventh and final lap, but couldn’t catch Sindre Hvesse Brein of Colorado Mesa and was sixth in 56:14.

Guy Leshem was the next Skyhawk to finish, placing 10th in 57:12.

Three other FLC riders were close enough to the leaders to complete the seven laps.

Alex Green finished 18th in 58:58, Cobe Freeburn crossed 22nd in 59:41 and George Piepgras finished 29th out of 55 riders registered in 1:00:53.

Kobi Gyetvan narrowly missed the cut and finished 33rd in 52:39 after six laps.

Tyler Orschel of Brevard College won the championship by 1:26 clocking 53:38, going away in the fourth round 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 cyclists from Durango finished on the podium at the championships, led by Martha Iverson. Iverson worked his way to a national title in the women’s 70-74 age group. Iverson, who races for DNA Cycling Masters, didn’t let the high winds slow her down and had a smooth, consistent race to win big.

Two other cyclists from Durango also reached the podium on Wednesday.

Caleb Thompson (Victory Bicycle Studio / Scott) was third in the Masters Men 35-39 division.

Richard Bagienski was also third in his division, masters men 75-79.

On Friday, the Skyhawks will compete in the team relay, with two women and two men from each team completing one lap each. This race is the determining factor for the main objective of the Skyhawk – the entire Team Omnium.

Local junior, masters, U23 and elite riders will also be competing throughout the weekend. Sarah Sturm will defend her 2019 singlespeed title on Saturday.