The 19-year-old American could not have asked for a better start
Maddie Munro opened her cyclocross season with a jolt: A Under-23 Pan-American Championship by 1:19 on a dry, dusty course in Garland, Texas. Munro is off to Europe for six weeks of racing before heading back to the United States for the World Championships in Fayetteville.
She hit the ground running.
“I flew to Texas straight from school to meet up with my support crew and get a day of pre-riding in,” Munro said. “Racing cross in Texas is very different from the usual rainy, cold, wet CX weather I am used to (and hope for), but the course was a treat to race nonetheless! The race organizers did a great job using the terrain of Winters Park to create a course that had some really great features including tricky sections in the woods, an uphill sandpit, and fast grassy corners. I loved how the course had a bit of a mountain bike feel to it.”
Clean kit and hands raised across the finish line.
Munro is coming off a full XC mountain bike season that she capped with a seventh-place finish at the U23 World Cup event in Snowshoe and a collegiate national championship in Colorado. After a break, she picked up her Boone and kept her momentum going.
Munro is still just 19 years old but she gave a veteran performance in Texas, getting a gap on Lap 1 and steadily increasing her lead until the finish line.
Into the woods.
STEEP.
“Coming out of a couple weeks of hard training on and off the bike, I wasn’t totally sure how my body would feel,” Munro said. “Ultimately my goals for the race were to have a clean and fast start and ride the course as smooth as possible, picking up time wherever I could with the least amount of effort. Come race day my legs and mind felt pretty fresh and ready to go!”
The Boulder native had a strong cheering section at the side of the course.
Zipping up the winner's jersey.
Bring on the next challenge.
“This race was pretty special in the fact that my mom and younger sister got to fly out,” Munro said. “I felt really lucky to celebrate my win with them, having a nice dinner and some ice cream afterwards. My coach was also at the race this weekend, and it meant a lot to share the win with him along with Tom Price, who has been my mechanic at all the past U.S. races this season. Both have worked so hard to support and encourage me and I definitely couldn’t have done it without them!”
Munro could not have asked for a better start to her cyclocross campaign, especially as she prepares to head overseas. The season is long, but Munro is already making the most of it.
