How Trek-supported riders swept Saturday at US Cyclocross National Champs

Trek has always prided itself on its cyclocross prowess. #PodiumBoone is one of our favorite hashtags for good reason. But on Saturday at US Cyclocross National Championships in Louisville, Trek-sponsored riders were on another level.

Trek riders won all six of the most closely watched races of the weekend — the men’s and women’s junior, U23 and elite races — and often filled out the rest of the podium, too. The results:

Elite Men: WINNER Andrew Strohmeyer of CXHairs Devo, by one second over Eric Brunner of Competitive Edge Racing. Both on Boones.
Elite Women: WINNER Vida Lopez de San Roman of Bear National Team. That’s a Boone.
U23 Men: WINNER Henry Coote of Competitive Edge Racing, with Jack Spranger of Bear in third. Two more Boones!
U23 Women: WINNER Katherine Sarkisov of CXHairs Devo. Another Boone.
Junior Men: WINNER Garrett Beshore of Boulder Junior Cycling, who was three seconds ahead of Bear’s Benjamin Bravman and teammate Dylan Haynes. That’s an all-Boone podium!
Junior Women: WINNER Lidia Cusack of CXHairs Devo, nudging her teammates Alyssa Sarkisov in second and Ada Watson in third. BOONES ON BOONES ON BOONES.

In case you’re not any good at math, that’s six winners, and 12-of-18 available podium spots, all filled by Trek-sponsored riders. It was a day for the ages, contributing to a banner year of offroad racing that also included seven mountain bike world championships. 

CXHairs Devo showed why they are inspiring a bright future in American cyclocross. Their riders not only made up half of Saturday’s winners, but all 12 of their entered riders finished in the Top 10 of their respective races. The team was smart with its race day decisions. After noticing a slippery top layer on the course during pre-riding, riders switched to mid-tread tires, and then mud tires as the course evolved.

While Cusack, winner of the Women’s Junior World Cup race in Dublin two weeks ago, cruised to a comfortable victory, Strohmeyer and Sarkisov were challenged all the way to the finish line. Strohmeyer, who took second last year, battled back and forth with defending champ Brunner of Competitive Edge Racing in the Elite Men’s race after the two established themselves as the fastest riders in the field. The race came down to a late strategic decision.  

“I felt confident in my ability to hop the planks and accelerate into the final section, so I dug deep and pushed the limits on a couple of turns to make sure I was the first one there,” Strohmeyer said. “I learned a lot from racing here with Eric last year, and felt confident that I could sprint well if I made it to the pavement first.”

Sarkisov also edged out the competition in a sprint to win the U23 Women’s race, but couldn’t celebrate immediately. A tactical decision by one of her competitors sent her to the ground, and she had to be visited by medical staff. Fortunately, the check-up went well.

“I definitely love my Ballista helmet, especially after it did its job and protected my head when I hit the deck,” Sarkisov said. “Thanks to the event medical staff who helped me out after the finish and to everyone who has checked in since — I’m doing well.”

Brunner can hold his head up high after fighting all the way to silver. He joined Competitive Edge Racing this season, and has been a valuable mentor for the team’s younger athletes. That includes Coote, and sisters Abby and Lily Cole, who went 1-2 in the Junior Women 13-14 category.

“Bringing Eric on board this year has been super helpful in the mentorship of our younger riders and we hope to continue to provide top level support for our athletes with Trek’s involvement and support,” Competitive Edge director Tyler Samson said. “It has been awesome to see the progression of the program, and the riders continue to grow together to make things we thought were impossible, possible.”

Boulder Junior Cycling is another organization making sure that the future of American cyclocross is well-stocked. The team had four Top 5 finishes on Saturday, including fifth-place Desmond Mohr just behind Beshore and Haynes in the Junior Men’s race, and fifth-place Rachel Lev-Tov in the Junior Women’s race. 

The Louisville course was not easy to navigate, especially for young riders. It spoke to the development and maturity of the BJC crew that they thrived on race day.

“The athletes put in so much work all year, and it’s special when it pays off with a successful race,” BJC director Pete Webber said. “Cyclocross is such a tough sport and there are so many things that can go wrong, but we’re very fortunate to ride Trek bikes and have top notch equipment. We didn’t have any mechanicals all weekend, and you can’t say more than that!”

Beshore is in the midst of a breakout season for the squad. And like a lot of the young guns stateside, he’s eager to show off what he can do overseas.

“The course was so slick and people were crashing all over, but Garrett made the fewest mistakes,” Webber said. “As a young rider, Garrett did not win many races or any cyclocross championships or titles, but his many years of consistent effort have paid off. Garrett’s next goals are the European World Cups and World Championships.”

Speaking of big ambitions, it’s hard to overstate how impressively Lopez de San Roman performed for Bear National Team. Not only did she win convincingly — 1:05 faster than second place — but she became the youngest Elite cyclocross national champion in U.S. history in the process. 

Lopez de San Roman has been impressing on offroad circuits for a long time now. She also won junior U.S. and Pan-American titles in XC mountain bike racing earlier this year. She’s part of a storied tradition at Bear, which has helped fuel a renaissance in American mountain biking, and produced riders such as Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli XC’s Riley Amos.

“Vida has been a fierce competitor from the age of 13.  She has always excelled at the cyclocross discipline, and the decision to have her race up from U23 to Elite seemed like a natural choice with her progression over the last year on the mountain bike,” Bear co-founder Julia Volich said. “She has focused on her base strength and race tactics this year, rather than just high end power. In a fast paced discipline that does not tolerate mistakes, this was a sage strategic decision.”

The cyclocross season is far from over, with many of this weekend’s biggest performers eyeing up trips to Europe to take on some of racing’s biggest stages in the world. Be sure to follow along, because if this past weekend is any indication, the future of American cyclocross is in very good hands.