Johnson and Compton Capture Elite Cyclo-cross National Titles
Kansas City (December 16, 2007)—It took Tim Johnson (Middleton, Mass./Cannondale-Leer-Cyclocrossworld) seven years and a return to Kansas City, but he reclaimed his title as USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Champion on Sunday. The 2000 national champ out rode last year’s UCI World Championship silver medalist, Jonathan Page (Northfield, NH/Sunwebprojob) and a bevy of talented riders to take home the 2007 title. Katie Compton (Colorado Spring, Colo./Spike Shooter) earned her fourth consecutive national title in the elite women’s race, taking off from the gun and never looking back.
Although Page went off the front at the start, a small chase group, including Johnson, Todd Wells (Durango, Colo./GT), Ryan Trebon (Bend, Ore./Kona-Yourkey.com) and Barry Wicks (Santa Cruz, Calif./Kona-Les Gets), was able to track him down in the early going. As the lead group spread apart a mishap occurred with a rider flying through the tape, colliding head on with defending national champion Trebon and forcing him out of the competition.
With Page back out front Johnson mounted his attack with two laps to go. The two riders were then neck-in-neck approaching the pits when Page ran off course and became tangled in the tape. Johnson used the opportunity to take off with the lead, riding to his second career national championship.
“It feels so good to be able to say I won this thing,” said Johnson. “I haven’t been able to wear the stars-and-stripes in a long time.”
To the surprise of very few, last year’s world championship silver medalist, Compton, jumped out to an early lead in the elite women’s contest and went on to earn another stars-and-stripes jersey. USA Cycling Super D National Champion, Rachel Lloyd (Fairfax, Calif./Proman-Paradigm) did however catch the eye of many as she rode strongly into the second spot, closing the gap on Compton in the final pair of laps. U.S. Grand Prix champion, Georgia Gould (Ketchum, Idaho, Luna Chix) held down the third spot despite battling the rough, frozen course.
“I’d definitely say this one was the toughest,” stated Compton of her fourth consecutive national title. “The U.S. women are very, very strong.”
The collegiate awards were also determined on Sunday with Lees-McRae College topping Fort Lewis and Colorado State for the Division I team omnium. Western Washington Univeristy outrode second-place MIT for the Division II crown.
In the collegiate men's race, Saturday’s U23 runner-up Jamey Driscoll (Jericho, Vt./University of Vermont) wouldn’t settle for the silver on Sunday, successfully defending his collegiate national title. Driscoll quickly found himself in second-place once again as Joey Thompson (Durango, Colo./Fort Lewis College) took off into the hole shot. Thompson ran into trouble however around a lap and a half into the four-lap affair, suffering two flats.
In the collegiate men's race, Saturday’s U23 runner-up Jamey Driscoll (Jericho, Vt./University of Vermont) wouldn’t settle for the silver on Sunday, successfully defending his collegiate national title. Driscoll quickly found himself in second-place once again as Joey Thompson (Durango, Colo./Fort Lewis College) took off into the hole shot. Thompson ran into trouble however around a lap and a half into the four-lap affair, suffering two flats.
“I noticed a flat just after the run-up by the pond,” said Thompson. “I tried to ride, but ended up running to get back to the pit. By that time I was in third and had to try and catch back up.”
Driscoll used the time to take a lofty lead and ride away with his second collegiate national cyclo-cross title in as many years. Thompson re-surged to win an important battle for the silver over Aaron Bradford (Banner Elk, N.C.) of rival Lees-McRae College.
Kasey Manderfield (Davisburg, Mich.) helped lead her Lees-McRae College team with a win in the collegiate women’s contest. Of the nearly 50 female collegians, several familiar names stood atop the podium at the end of the day. Earning her third individual national title, including two on the track, Manderfield jumped out to an early lead, starting up front and avoiding an early race pile-up. Several riders including Stephanie White (Bedford, N.H.) of the University of New Hampshire went hard on the chase, but ultimately couldn’t catch the leader. White went on to earn the silver while Amanda Miller (Burlington, Iowa/Colorado State University), the reigning collegiate cross-country mountain bike runner up, took home the bronze.
“I missed yesterday’s U23 race because I was stuck in the snow storm on my way here,” explained Miller. “I crashed in the big pile-up out of the gate as it was pretty icy out there, but I am very happy I was able to make it here to race.”
Tela Crane (Bellingham, Wash.) of Western Washington won the DII women's crown, while Braden Cappius (Littleton, Colo.) of the Colorado School of Mines won the DII men's contest.
Tela Crane (Bellingham, Wash.) of Western Washington won the DII women's crown, while Braden Cappius (Littleton, Colo.) of the Colorado School of Mines won the DII men's contest.
The day’s early action included the singlespeed national championship race which saw over 50 riders tackle the tough course in a grueling 45-minute race. Marko Lalonde (Madison, Wis./Bob’s Brown Cycles) earned that national title around 30 seconds ahead of silver-medalist Travis Brown (Durango, Colo./Unattached).
The master men 60-70+ also contested their national championship races on Sunday with 25 total riders taking the start. Lewis Rollins (Salt Lake City, Utah/Contender Bicycles) rode to the title in just over 20 minutes in the 60-64 age group while R. Willmore (Seal Beach, Calif./Celo Pacific) took home the stars-and-stripes jersey in the 65-69 category. Walt Axthelm (Durango, Colo./Durango Wheel Club) won bragging rights as the event’s eldest national champion in the 70+ division.
USA Cycling will announce this week the automatic and discretionary nominations to the team that will represent the United States at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Treviso, Italy on January 26-27.
2007 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships
Kansas City, Kan.
December 14-16
Kansas City, Kan.
December 14-16
Day Three National Champions:
Elite Men: Tim Johnson (Middletown, Mass.)
Elite Women: Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Collegiate Men Division I: Jamey Driscoll (Jericho, Vt./University of New Hampshire)
Collegiate Men Division I: Jamey Driscoll (Jericho, Vt./University of New Hampshire)
Collegiate Women Division I: Kasey Manderfield (Davisburg, Mich./Lees-McRae College)
Singlespeed National Champion: Marko Lalonde (Madison, Wis.)
Master Men 60-64: Lewis Rollins (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Master Men 65-69: R. Willmore (Seal Beach, Calif.)
Master Men 70+: Walt Axthelm (Durango, Colo.)
To view images from the event, visit USA Cycling’s Photo Gallery here.
About USA Cycling
Recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Union Cycliste Internationale, USA Cycling promotes American cycling through its 60,000 members and 2,500 annual events. USA Cycling associations include the BMX Association (BMX), National Off-Road Bicycle Association (mountain bike), U.S. Cycling Federation (road/track), the National Collegiate Cycling Association and the U.S. Professional Racing Organization (professional men’s road). For more information visit www.usacycling.org.
About USA Cycling
Recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Union Cycliste Internationale, USA Cycling promotes American cycling through its 60,000 members and 2,500 annual events. USA Cycling associations include the BMX Association (BMX), National Off-Road Bicycle Association (mountain bike), U.S. Cycling Federation (road/track), the National Collegiate Cycling Association and the U.S. Professional Racing Organization (professional men’s road). For more information visit www.usacycling.org.
This Article Published December 16, 2007 For more information contact:
