Nicole Duke pre-race, “we’ll see what happens.”
The 2012/2013 US Cyclocross National Championships took place in Verona, WI, just outside of Madison, this past Sunday with the Elite Men’s & Women’s finals. Conditions were treacherous on the two-mile course, sub-freezing (17 degrees) with contrasting ice and mud. What the athletes suffered through in terms of temperatures and conditions was amazing to witness, there were definitely some surprises, as well as some predictable outcomes. The following photo gallery is from SRAM and Zipp staff’s day spent wandering the course, hope you enjoy.
But first, the results:
Elite Women:
1) Katie Compton – Trek CX Collective (SRAM, Avid)
2) Jade Wilcoxson – Optum/Kelly Benefits (SRAM)
3) Nicole Duke – Alchemy/SRAM/SPY (SRAM, Zipp, Avid, Quarq)
Elite Men:
1) Jonathon Page – Engvt
2) Zach McDonald – Rapha-Focus (SRAM, Avid)
3) Jamey Driscoll – Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com (SRAM, Avid, Zipp)
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- 30+ time National Champion Coryn Rivera (Exergy/Twenty16) helps in the pits
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- Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com team bikes – all SRAM, Avid and Zipp equipped.
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- Frozen ground with a thin layer of mud, tire pressures were incredibly low for most riders, in the low 20′s.
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- Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com team manger Stu Thorne was a busy man the days leading up to the race.
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- Johnson looks ahead pre-race.
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- Big Dog alert!
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- The Silver (Cyclocross) Surfer was onsite.
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- Trebon and his teammates raced new Giro Air Attack helmets with a more contoured shape and fewer vents, they definitely had cool on their side.
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- Driscoll smiles post-race.
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- JD and TJ.
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- Driscoll ran over the barriers and most of the field on his way to his best finish at Nationals ever, third.
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- Driscoll took advantage of the conditions, and his calm demeanor and great skills were perfect for the day.
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- Driscoll is a two-time collegiate cross champion.
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- Jamey Driscoll (Cannondale/cyclocrossworld.com) was only a surprise third place to those who had not been paying attention to recent results. We’ve nicknamed him “the secret.”
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- Jose Alcala (SRAM NRS) helped saved the day for many athletes, including Nicole Duke.
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- The sun came out and went away, changing course conditions throughout the day.
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- Trebon was one of the favorites, with plenty of horsepower and a familiarity with bad weather (he’s from the northwest).
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- Tim Johnsons took 5th, securing a place on the World’s team. The 3x elite national champ certainly wanted another title.
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- Ryan Trebon (Cannondale/cyclocrossworld.com) was in all in, just wasn’t his day.
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- McDonald overcame the barriers.
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- Second place for the rider who, due to a rule change, had to abandon racing for a repeat in the U23′s. Obviously well worth it.
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- McDonald was a horse on the front, trying here to help close the gap to Page. He would eventually take off on his own.
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- Zach Attack?
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- Zach McDonald (Rapha-Focus) races for second place, his amazing bike handling skills coming into play.
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- Zipp beanies were a popular swag item…
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- Duke pre-race, “we’ll see what happens.”
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- Compton fuels up before the race, sponsor appropriate gel logo facing outward.
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- Mechanics became incredibly important for every athlete after the first half lap, here we get a look at the neutral bike wash pit, which was incredibly active all day.
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- Nicole Duke (Alchemy/SRAM/Spy) takes a breathe after a torturous race, the gracious Boulder based racer thanked sponsors immediately. Duke crashed hard early in the race and SRAM staff were able to change her entire shift lever inside of a lap (10 mins), recabling the derailleur and brakes in sub-freezing temps, helping to preserve her podium position.
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- Jade Wilcoxson’s (Optum/Kelly Benefits) bike post race covered in ice-mud
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- The course map
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- Compton was dominant on the day, taking her 9th consecutive National title, fresh off the heels of her first UCI World Cup Overall Title.