On Friday at the 2021 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships, Trestle Bike Park saw junior XC racers take on huge fields, age groupers shred the downhill course, and the best Dual Slalom riders in the country go head-to-head on the first day of professional competition.
On the Downhill course today, Juniors and Masters took on rocky, dry courses that are customary in the Colorado high alpine. In the Master Women 60-64 field, Ellen Guthrie (Salt Lake, Utah; Guthrie Bicycles) took the win. In Master Women 55-59 Lynn Childress (Stauntan, Va.; Brc P/B Reynolds Gm/Subaru) captured the top spot. On the Master Men’s side, the win in 65+ was Russell Asleson (Colorado Springs, Colo.; Procycling), in 60-64 it was Dennis Foster(Murrieta, Calif.; Intense Cycles), and in 55-59 Jon Strickler (Avon, Colo.) took home a gold medal.
For the Juniors, the course required riders to be on top of the pedals for the entire race. Sophie Gregory (Riverton, Utah) Junior Women 11-12 pedaled the strongest for the win. On the Junior Men’s side, Asa Vermette (Hesperus, Colo.; 2nd Ave Sports) won his first National Championship, racing in the Junior Men’s 13-14. In the Junior Men’s 11-12 race, Boston Bryant (Lehi, Utah; Outlaw) proved to have the strongest legs.
On the dual slalom course built by McGill Trail Fabrications, racers were treated to tight berms, challenging rhythm sections, and a stall wall for the ages. Max Vogel (Boulder, Colo.) proved to be the showstopper for the Junior Men. Vogel wowed the crowd with style and speed. Parker Nishkian (El Granada, Calif.) put up a solid fight for second.
Two new national champions were crowned on the Pro Men and Women sides today, as neither reigning champion were in attendance. While the women’s field was young, their riding showed seasoned expertise. At the end of the day, Kialani Hines (Auburn, Wash.; Pivot Cycles) took gold and won her first national championship, Jordan Scott (Henderson, UT; Hyper Bicycles) followed with silver, McKenna Merten (Jamul, Calif.; Intense Cycles) with bronze and Shealen Reno(Dallas, Texas) in fourth. Hardly a wheel’s length separated Hines and Scott.
“In seeding, I ended up second which was probably pretty accurate,” said Hines. “Jordy was riding really fast. I knew if I wanted to get to finals, I had to go hard every lap and it paid off. Seeding was close and the racing was even closer. She got me pretty good actually. It surprised me a little bit how good she got me on the first lap, and then the second lap, I rode a lot better. She had a little mistake, so I was able to get it. I'll take it!”
On the Pro Men’s side, favorite Kyle Strait looked smooth in practice and in qualifying. Sadly, Strait hit the deck with a day-ending crash on the first berm and would finish eighth. With serious speed and stall wall scrubs, Joseph Foresta(South Jordan, Utah; GT Bicycles) took the gold in Pro Men, followed by Tommy Zula (New Carlisle, Ohio; Airborne Bicycles) with silver, Collin Hudson (Longmont, Colo.; Airborne Bicycles) bronze, and Trevor McCutcheon(Temecula, Calif.; Pivot/ Stan’s NoTubes) in fourth.
First out of the gate were the Junior Women 11-14 on the Short Track course. They raced for a total of 10-minutes plus one lap. Kira Mullins (Littleton, Colo.; Avout Racing) stunned the crowd as she rode away from the group early and never looked back. She won out this week taking the top step in both endurance events. The Junior Men 11-14 toed the line next. Benjamin Bravman (Golden, Colo.; Waite Endurance Development Team) took an early lead, but after a gnarly crash coming out of the final corner, George Frazier (Louisville, Ky.) and Logan Drevlow (Golden Valley, Minn.; Donkey Label Racing) gained control of the race. Frazier attacked through the finish and put a significant lead on Bravman. After multiple laps of going full throttle, Bravman regained control of the race to win gold.
“It feels good to win, but it’s also the environment that’s really fun. It’s really fun hanging out with friends and watching teammates. The short track felt really short, it went great. It gives me some good momentum going into cyclocross later this year,” said Bravman when asked about the race. Drevlow and Fraizer went on to claim the silver and bronze.
The Master Men 30-39 and 40+ field took to the Short Track course in the afternoon. Jamie Yanik (Boise, Idaho) and Cody Waite (Lakewood, Colo.; WE Development) were two of the only riders left on course for the Master Men 40+. After a hard-fought battle, Yanik pulled away and beat Waite by 50-seconds. In the Master Men 40+ race, a group of four formed at the front early. Matthew Dockins (Welsey Chapel, Fla.; West Coast Cycling), Matt Rengo (Falcon Heights, Minn.; Synergy p/b Now Bikes), Michael Palmer (Las Vegas, N.M.; RA Racing Apparel/Mellow Velo), and John Wessling (Park City, Utah; Wessling Fitness) had a hard-fought battle to the finish with Wessling taking the top spot. The showdowns didn’t stop there with Elliott Baring (Marietta, Ga.; Baring Performance) outsprinting Amaette Nsek(Ontario, Calif.; L39ion of Los Angeles) in the last corner to take home gold.
The Junior Cross-country races were full and fast as the 15-16 and 17-18 fields took to the 5.9-mile course. The story of the day was Bear National Team who made themselves at home in Winter Park with overwhelming performances. Ruth Holcomb (Durango, Colo.; Bear National Team), Nicholas Konecny (Breckenridge, Colo.; Bear National Team), and Brayden Johnson (Littleton, Colo.; Bear National Team) all earned the top step in three of the four elite junior fields. Andie Aagard (Highland, UT; Spry Cycling) rounded out the junior cross-country fields with a dominant 2:13 gap on the field.
Pan-American Champion, Ruth Holcomb when asked about her performance, said, “This is my first national title, and my first national championship. I’ve been racing since I was 13, but I’ve had 2 broken arms and mono during nationals every year.”
Tomorrow will see the fastest XC and Enduro riders in the country race for the stars-and-stripes and the downhill field compete for positioning on Sunday.
You can find the full results HERE.
