CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – The 2021 USA Cycling Amateur Road National Championships kicked off on Camp Blanding in Starke, Fla., with the Individual Time Trial. Riders aged 11 years and up took to the flat course in a race to beat the clock. For racers, 11-14 years old, a 10-kilometer out and back course was the challenge of the day. A 20-kilometer course built on the 10-kilometer course for the younger age group was used by the 15–18-year-old racers. And then the U23 and Amateur Men would take on a 32-kilometer course.
The morning started with an excellent performance by Michael Garrison (Decatur, Ga.; Hagens Berman Axeon), who came in with a time of 00:38:12.35. When asked about how it felt to be the new Under 23 national champion, he said, “It feels incredible! I’ve been so close a lot of times in the time trial, no podiums in the road race, but I’ve tended to have some good results in the time trials. It feels pretty amazing to be able to wear the stars and stripes jersey for the U-23’s events for the upcoming year”. Garrison will return home to Decatur, where he plans to get some much-needed rest and recovery time with his friends and family. Garrison said it best “Some days you nail it and some days you don’t. I am enjoying racing my bike and am trying to perfect myself”. On course, at the same time as the Under 23 Men were the Amateur Men. Zach Gregg (Roanoke, Va.; Project Echelon Racing) took gold by finishing the 32-kilometer course in 00:37:18.67.
Later in the morning, we had the Junior Men and Women ages 15-16 and 17-18 take to the course. Winning the gold medal from our Junior Women’s 17-18 race was Olivia Cummins (Fort Collins, Colo; Lux Cycling Development Team). When asked about her impressive performance, she said, “It feels really good. I’ve put a lot of time and effort into getting here, and it’s really nice to have it finally pay off”. Our Junior Men’s 17-18 winner was Cole Kessler (Newbury Park, Calif.; Lux Cycling Development Team). Kessler had a fantastic finish and mentioned that he has big plans saying, “I’ll be headed to UCLA next year to study Economics,” he even plans on going pro in 2022. When asked what being a national champion means to him, he simply said, “It means EVERYTHING.” Our Junior Women’s 15-16 race was won by Lilly Mcleod (Brooksville, Fla.; Twenty24), a crowd favorite. Several fans were scattered around the course with t-shirts that had #TeamLilly on the front of them. Mcleod has a dream of one day representing her country at the Olympics. Our Junior Men’s 15-16 winner was Aj August (Pittsford, N.Y.; Hot Tubes Development Cycling). August had an outstanding performance and managed to put a solid time down. When asked what’s next for his racing career, he said, “I just want to see where the road takes me; I don’t look too far ahead.”
The afternoon was action-packed with the Junior Men and Women 11-12 and 13-14 taking to the course. Our Junior Women’s 13-14 winner was Alyssa Sarkisov (North Potomac, Md.; dcdevo Racing Academy). She had a notable performance finishing her race in 00:15:03.58. Evan Guydish (Easton, Pa.; Kelly Benefits Strategies Elite Devo) finished in a time of 00:14:06.07 and reigned victorious in our Junior Men’s 13-14 race. In our Junior Men’s 11-12 race, the top step was won by Ethan Courson (Jacksonville, Fla.; Velobrew). Courson finished his race in 00:16:06.15. Our Junior Women’s 11-12 race was won by Tessa Beebe (Boise, Idaho.; BYRDS Cycling). She finished in a time of 00:16:32.65.
A huge congratulations go out to all of our amateurs and juniors that competed. Join us tomorrow on Camp Blanding for the road race events. The 17-18 Women kick off the day at 7:00 a.m. E.T. They’ll be followed by the 15-16 Women, 17-18 Men, 15-16 Men, 13-14 Women, and 11-12 Women. You can check out the full event schedule here. We’ll be live-tweeting on @USACyclingLive and posting the stories on USA Cycling’s Instagram.
Results
U23 Men
1. Michael Garrison Hagens Berman Axeon 38:12.35
2. Jack Bardi Gateway Devo Cycling +12.63
3. Tyrel Fuchs Elevate-Webiplex Pro Cycling +33.78
Junior Men 17-18
1. Cole Kessler Lux/Sideshow p/b Specialized 23:56.18
2. Viggo Moore Society Cycles +3.80
3. Ethan Villaneda +6.63
Junior Women 17-18
1. Olivia Cummins Lux/Sideshow p/b Specialized 27:27.10
2. Makayla MacPherson Lux/Sideshow p/b Specialized +27.06
3. Cassidy Hickey TeamTwenty24 +41.30
Amateur Men
1. Zach Gregg Project Echelon Racing 37:18.67
2. Brennan Wertz Team Mike’s Bikes p/b Equator Coffees +2.28
3. Brock Mason NGCA Elite +1:19.78
4. Miles Hubbard Team Mike’s Bikes p/b Equator Coffees +1:53.19
5. Innokenty Zavyalov Guillotine Cycling Cervelo +2:02.03
Junior Men 15-16
1. AJ August Park Ave Bike Shop 25:25.72
2. Frank O’Reilly Jr. Hot Tubes Development Cycling +44.27
3. Jack Makohon Rockwall Racing +49.38
4. Henry Neff Kelly Benefit Strategies Elite Devo +1:01.61
5. Jake Rohde Team Landshark +1:08.65
Junior Women 15-16
1. Lilly McLeod TeamTwenty24 29:35.56
2. Homara Yamashita TeamTwenty24 +49.28
3. Katie Smock Midwest Devo +53.59
4. Makala Jaramillo Rage Cycling +1:04.49
5. Emily Woolford Kelly Benefit Strategies +1:27.11
Junior Men 13-14
1. Evan Guydish Kelly Benefit Strategies Elite Devo 14:06.07
2. Gray Barnett Freehub Racing +2.49
3. George Frazier +4.77
4. Lucas Rose Northwest Cycling Club +21.55
5. Enzo Hincapie +38.61
Junior Women 13-14
1. Alyssa Sarkisov dcdevo Racing Academy 15:03.58
2. Lidia Cusack dcdevo Racing Academy +9.86
3. Alexis Jaramillo Rage Cycling +45.90
4. Emma Jimenez Palos American Cycling League – Detroit +56.95
5. Veronica Scott Team Velosport +59.38
Junior Men 11-12
1. Ethan Courson Velobrew 16:06.15
2. Damiano Rivera de Rosales +9.59
3. Matthew Crabbe Mission Devo Cycling +32.09
4. David Speaks +45.44
5. David Avery CBRE Racing +1:20.89
Junior Women 11-12
1. Tessa Beebe BYRDS 16:32.65
2. Sarah Vargas TeamTwenty24 +1:08.52
3. Akira Edmonds Star Track +2:10.24
4. Tegan Morgan Outrival Racing +3:37.10
5. Emy Solis Velosport Cycling +3:44.13
Complete results are listed HERE.
For more information, contact Katherine Santos at ksantos@usacycling.org
ABOUT USA CYCLING (usacycling.org)
USA Cycling is the national governing body for the sport of cycling and oversees the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclocross, and BMX. USA Cycling’s mission is to champion accessibility, participation, and excellence in the sport of cycling to make more Americans healthier, happier, and better on two wheels while achieving sustained international racing success. USA Cycling supports cyclists at all levels, from those just beginning in the sport and participating in fun rides to international caliber racers. The organization identifies, develops, and selects cyclists to represent the United States in international competition through the support of kids’ and interscholastic programs, amateur bike racing and grassroots development programs, and the provision of critical infrastructure to run organized racing. USA Cycling has a membership of 100,000, annually sanctions over 2,500 events, and is a proud member of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).