The first day of championship racing kicked off at the 2022 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships in Hartford, Conn. Master Women 30-34, 60+, and Master Men 30-39, 60+ took to a muddy course today at Riverside Park.
In the Women’s 30-34 races, the ladies took to the start line in a downpour just in time for the course to get slick and muddy which was much different than their pre-ride. Annie Hines (Medford, Mass.; BikeReg / Share Coffee) proved to be fastest on the day winning the stars-and-stripes in her first-ever National Championships race. She finished ahead of Kelly Roberson (Philadelphia, Pa.; Beanie Babiezz) and Charlotte Lellman (Jamaica Plain, Mass.; Northampton Cycling Club), respectively.
Race winner Hines said, “It was a really fun race. The beginning through the wood chips was a little bit of a swimming pool. Then the off camber and run ups were super slippery so I just ran them. Kelly [Roberson] and I rode the first few turns in the grass together then I got ahead on the first run ups and sort of just chased each other from there. It was a super fun race and it just felt really great to be here in Hartford. This was my first nationals so it was really fun.”
The Men’s 30-34 was full throttle with Allan Schroeder (Boise, Idaho; High Desert Hustle) having the fastest lap time of the day at 10:23. He won the championships with Ethan Doherty (Asheville, N.C.) taking second and Trevor Raab (Nazareth, Pa.; RSCX - Houser Industries) finishing in third.
The rain let up for the Men’s 35-39 race. With course conditions changing every lap, a strong group of four riders managed to secure a pretty hefty gap early on. It was a battle royale between Isacc Neff (Madison, Wis.; Neff Cycling Service), Michael Larson (Bloomington, Ind.), Max Judelson (Los Angeles, Calif.; Rock Lobster International), and Terol Pursell (Lakewood, Colo.; Forever Endurance). It came down to the final two laps where Pursell and Neff would split apart. Neff would then gain 12-seconds on his competitor to take the win.
The 60+ women had a perfectly ridden-in course in the early afternoon. Taking an early lead overall was Susan Mcdonough (York, Maine; Salty Women Off-Road Team) who would come through on the second lap with nearly one minute on the second place finisher Deirdre Garvey (Boulder, Colo.; Old School Industries). Linda Cooper (Ankeny, Iowa; Sakari Race Team p-b Smart Honda) finished third rounding out the Women’s 60-64 podium.
Karen Purtill (Narragansett, R.I.; Stedmans) took the win in the Women’s 65-69 race with our oldest women’s competitor at 70-years-old, Tove Shere (Cleveland Heights, Ohio; Team Lake Effect Cycling) winning the Women’s 70-74 category.
Starting out the second half of the day on top would be Bob Fetherston (Los Gatos, Calif.; Menlo Velo Cyclocross) who took the win in the Men’s 70-74 race. George Pawle (Salem, Mass.; Cyclonauts Racers) finished in a close second.
Robert Ogren (Bloomington, Minn.; NorthStar Development) secured the stars and stripes jersey in the Men’s 75-79 with Steven Toplitz (Leverett, Mass.; Cyclonauts) finishing in second.
In the Men’s 80-84 race Jerry Shere (Cleveland Heights, Ohio; Team Lake Effect) finished in a time of 56:36 to take home the win.
Fred Schmid (Waco, Texas; GeriAtrix) continues to show up at Nationals year after year, once again being the oldest competitor to ever compete in a National Championship at 89-years-old. In a class of his own, he would win the Men’s 90+ category.
Scott Paisley (Charlottesville, Va.; Blue Wheels Bikes) edged out David Rustico (Plantsville, Conn.; Team DSO Mfg - ERRACE) and Marty Soetaert (Austin, Tex.; Pure Austin p-b Watkins Insurance) to win the Men’s 65-69 class and round out the top-3.
The last race of the day was the Men’s 60-64 race. This category had the biggest class of the day with 66 riders. Last year’s winner, Gunnar Shogren (Morgantown, W.V.; Pathfinder Factory Racing p/b Green Angels) finished with a silver medal this year with Todd Cassan (Boulder, Colo.; Rally) taking home the stars-and-stripes jersey.
Racing continues tomorrow at the Riverfront with the Collegiate Varsity Men and Women, Collegiate Club Men and Women, and Masters Women 30-59. A full schedule of tomorrow’s events can be found here.
