West Dover (VT)
The U.S. Mountain Bike National Championships began with Tad Elliott (Durango CO) and Chloe Forsman(Boulder CO) winning respective U23 cross-country races. Forsman won her Stars-and-Stripes title from last year at Southern Vermont’s Mount Snow Resort. Elliott, 20, earned his first national title.
After Sam Jurekovic, the defending National Champion, crashed early, Elliott took advantage of a wide open race for men. Elliott rode a strong final lap and took the title with a winning time in the range of 5:00 to 6:00.
Elliott, a Nordic ski racer, stated that this is the biggest achievement for him. He has never been a national champion before. It was very nerve-wracking, so I tried to keep it simple.
Jurekovic led the 32-rider men’s field up the first climb but was unfortunately struck by a car halfway down the descent. The devastating crash caused injuries that the National Champion had to abandon his attempt to re-enter and forced him to withdraw from the race.
Jurekovic explained that I reached a water bar and went so fast. I’m pretty sore and will be very sore but it is possible to race on Sunday.
The Stars-and-Stripes road was open to all, even though the race had just begun. Several riders, including Elliott and Peterson, had already distinguished themselves by the end of the second lap. The fourth lap was the most difficult on the fast and dry course, but Elliott made a strong run to pass Peterson and win the national title.
The women’s race was three laps around the 5-mile circuit. It turned out differently for the womens race. Jamie Dinkins (Powell TN) and Forsman took off at the start and didn’t look back. However, the small but highly skilled field did not let them get away with any riders finishing within 20 minutes from Forsman’s mark.
Forsman said that it was a relief to be able to defend the title. It was a tough year for competition, which makes it extra special.
After a successful trip to the Mountain Bike World Championships in Colorado, Dinkins improved on last year’s fourth-place finish. Forsman was just a minute behind Dinkins, while Kylie Krauss, 2007 U.S. Collegiate Mountain Bike Cross-Country Champion, crossed the line third.
U23 U.S. NATION NATION CHAMPS RESULTS
1. Tad ElliottU23 National 2. Mitchell PetersonMonavie-Cannondale 3. Colin CaresU23 National Travis LivermonKobold 5. Tim AllenVoodoo 6. James DriscollFloridifru Stephen EttingerBlack Diam 8. Greg CarpenterDevo 9. Mitchell HokeTokyo Joes 10. McConnell FranklinDevo WOMEN
1. Chloe ForsmanLuna CHIX 2. Jamie DinkinsDevo-Vanta 3. Kylie KraussPro Bikes 4. Lydia TannerTokyo Joes 5. Amanda MillerVanderkitt 6. Kay Sherwood 7. Rose LongUVM Cycling 8. Rachel ThroopDevo
