2012 Cyclocross Nationals

I flew straight to Madison from home after winter break. I also happened to share my flight from ORD>MSN with Tim Johnson. I boarded the plane before him, so i figured he would be sitting behind me as I was seated in row 4. I pre-wrote a tweet along the lines of “@timjohnsoncx on the back of the bus of my flight…” As he walked towards me I was prepared to give him shit. Little did I know, he was actually seated in first class. Boy did I jinx myself. He naturally heckled me to wipe the crumbs off his fist class seat. Ha. Yeah right. I was happy to reunited with my Marian University cycling team. Wait no, we’re more of family if anything. We had all come back from fun and refreshing winter breaks and we were collectively pumped to fight for the US Collegiate National Championship title.

On Saturday was the collegiate women’s race. Kaitie Antonneau, Jackie Kurth, Allie Dragoo, Lisha Herold, and myself lined up on the start line to represent Marian University. I got the #1 call up since I won regionals, so I picked a good fresh spot on the clear first row. Then I had a teammate on every row back. When the official blew the whistle I jumped and got the holeshot. As I got off the pavement and onto the grass Kaitie was on my wheel and we instantly had a 10m gap. I led 3/4 of the first lap until I slipped in a really slick section and Kaitie took the lead. From the on I had to settle in and ride at my own pace. I also had to keep in mind that I had the elite race the next day. It also worked as a chance to really learn the course before the elite race. I settled into a rhythm and finished 23sec behind Kaitie. Jackie finished in 7th, Allie in 11th, and Lisha in 12th which put us in first place for the overall collegiate team omnium!!! It was up the the Marian boys to race well to keep us in the lead!

On Sunday morning was the collegiate men’s race and my elite women’s race. Collectively the Marian boys got 3rd, which tied us with Fort-Lewis College. Because of Kaitie’s win on Saturday Marian University was declared D1 team collegiate omnium National Champions! This was the first time ever that Marian won a cyclocross National Title, I was very proud and honored to be a part of the team.

Next up was the elite women’s race. Cyclocross isn’t entirely a main focus for me. It is something for me to do over the winter and it is extremely fun whether you do good or bad. The cyclocross atmosphere is more enjoyable than any other cycling environment. Therefore, my goal in the elite race was to (1)get a good clean start, (2)settle in, (3)pick off riders in front of me, and (4)ultimately grab as much money as I can on the run-up. Simple enough right? I started in the 3rd row thanks to the points I got from Cincy CX3, Louisville USGP, Jingle Cross, and Bend USGP. When the whistle blew and we got on the grass I was in about 9th place and I cleared through all the first corner crashes and mishaps. Goal #1, check! From then on I did my best to stay in control of my race and stay smooth throughout the course since it was slick in certain sections. When we hit the first climb I settled into my own pace and started to pick riders off, next thing I knew I was in 7th place. Goal #2 and #3, check check! First time up the run-up I saw a dollar bill. I grabbed it, people screamed and hollared, I laughed then smiled, and stashed my cash down my skinsuit. I loved it. Goal #4, check! I fulfilled all my goals within 1/2 a lap, but I didn’t stop there. For the next 4 1/2 laps I raced at my own pace, I continued to pick people off and grabbed money every time over the run-up. Eventually I got myself into a podium spot, 5th place. I couldn’t believe it. Here I am having so much fun, picking up money along the way, and still making a podium spot! I believe that’s a win-win-win situation! I did take a nice fall infront of the pits and dropped to 6th, but I composed myself and got back into 5th within 1/2 a lap. From then on my main focuses were: stay smooth and dont crash, and pick up as much money as I can on the run-up. I did both. I finished in a remarkable(for me atleast) 5th place and was $11 richer than when I started the race.

At the podium ceremony, I was able to put on my 41st National Championship jersey as a team. I myself didn’t win anything, the entire team won, Marian University won. It had a special meaning unlike any of my other jerseys and there isn’t anything else that could replace it. Then I stood in 5th place on the elite women’s podium, who woulda thunk it??? A cool note about the elite women’s podium, we each got our own lil goodies of Wisconsin. We got brats, cheese curds, 3 year old cheddar, bag of popcorn, and these caramel and chocolate covered peanuts. Bus ride snacks!

This entire trip wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Dean Peterson and David Williams. They did everything from logistics to mechanics. They were also in the pits for me and might I add they did a fabulous job, no problems what so ever. Big thanks to our bus driver, Gary, who transported us to and from the race course and also drove us 6hrs back to campus right after the podium ceremony to make it for the start of the semester the next day at 10am. And of course, special thanks to my Marian teammates. All weekend we were there for eachother and if anyone ever needed anything, someone would be right there. And because of our teamwork we were able to win Marian’s 1st cyclocross title and Marian’s 17th National Title. That’s Kaitie Antonneau, Jackie Kurth, Allie Dragoo, Lisha Herold, Josh Johnson, Weston Luzadder, Alder Martz, Danny Gerow, David Yohe, Neal Forbes, and Will Meger. Round of applause please!!!

Huge thanks to Felt Bicycles, Zipp, Sram, Oakley, and Pearl Izumi for their support throughout my cyclocross season! Everything worked impecably and I couldn’t have asked for a better set-up! Special thanks to Exergy for their support of the TWENTY12 team and the USGP and National Championship races that I took part in. Extremely honored to be a part of the Exergy family.

Last but not least, extra special shout out to the folks on the run-up section of the course that handed me up cash monaayyyyyyy! You all made the race SO awesome and fun! I loved it! Be back next year alright?!! And shout out to my brosephs Dave Towle, Brad Sohner, Richard Fries, Jose Alcala, Steve Johnson, and Sean Petty! Always great to see you all!