Summerhill is U23 national champion

Danny Summerhill (Garmin) secured a repeat victory at the UCI Under 23 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships held on Saturday in Bend, Oregon. The youngster finished nearly 20 seconds ahead of his fiercest competitors Zach McDonald (Rapha-Focus) who placed second and Jerome Townsend in third.

“The crowds for the U23 race were great,” Summerhill said. “Along the back stretch we were battling back and forth and there was definitely some hockey game being played but it was good times and Zach’s a great rider. He will definitely have it next year I’m sure.”

The UCI Under 23 men were treated to a sunny break from the early morning’s rained-out cyclo-cross circuit held in the Old Mill District. The cold conditions kept the sun from drying up the water logged course that offered the field a superbly muddy ‘cross experience.

McDonald shot off the starting line straight onto the sloppy course with exceptional speed. By the end of the first lap his lead was so big that it wasn’t far-fetched to think that he could have locked up the victory. But everyone who knows ‘cross knows that winning a race often times depends on the luck and McDonald’s luck ran out when he collided with a spectator on the second lap, losing nearly all of his time advantage.

“A guy and his wife just walked straight onto the course,” McDonald said. “Unfortunately I got decked by a spectator and that’s when Danny caught me. I got hit hard. There were just no course marshals monitoring the course there.”

Summerhill rode in a strong second place and managed to make contact with McDonald half way through the second lap. McDonald continued to lead the pair around the course in a tactical battle for the race win.

A long line of chasers formed approximately one-minute behind that included Townsend, Eric Thompson (Maplelag-Paramount Sports) and Jeremy Ferguson (California Giant Cycling). Slightly further back was Chris Hurst, Steve Fisher (Rad Racing-Hagens Berman), Eric Emsky (Blue Competition Cycles), Nick Keough (Kenda) and Cody Kaiser (Cal Giant).

For the next several laps Summerhill and McDonald rode shoulder-to-shoulder up the steep pitches, the fly over and ran side-by-side up the lengthy set of stairs. Each seemed to be riding at a comfortable speed waiting for their own winning opportunity.

When asked if it was one of his tougher battles, McDonald said, “Yes, probably. Neither of us were really killing it in the middle of the race because we had a gap so we were waiting for the other to make a mistake. Both of us were pretty much waiting for the last lap. I made a couple of mistakes and he pulled away on the straights. I knew I wasn’t coming back. Danny rode a great race.”

The winning move came from Summerhill over the one of the ride-ups located at approximately half a lap to go. His five-second lead turned into 10, 15 and then 20 seconds as he muscled his way to the finish line with a second consecutive Under 23 cyclo-cross national title.

“Zach had a hell of a ride, he was killing me on every technical spot everywhere,” Summerhill said. “We just battled back and forth. I stayed up front on all the straightaways and he would duck around me on all the technical bits. He did a great job.”

Full Results

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Results
1Daniel Summerhill (Garmin-Transitions/Team Holowesko Partners)0:49:20
2Zach McDonald (Rapha Focus)0:00:45
3Jerome Townsend (BikeReg.com / Joe's Garage / Scott)0:01:08
4Eric Thompson (Maplelag/Paramount Sports)0:01:51
5Chris HurstRow 4 - Cell 2
6Cody Kaiser (California Giant Strawberries/Specialized)Row 5 - Cell 2
7Jeremy Ferguson (California Giant Strawberries/Specialized)Row 6 - Cell 2
8Bradford Perley (Mafia Racing)Row 7 - Cell 2
9Eric Emsky (Blue Competition Cycles)Row 8 - Cell 2
10Steve Fisher (Rad Racing NW / Hagens Berman LLP)Row 9 - Cell 2
11Joseph Schmalz (KCCX/Verge p/b Challenge Tires)Row 10 - Cell 2
12Emmanuel Goguen (Team CF-Mass)Row 11 - Cell 2
13Patrick Bradley (Rutgers University-Raleigh-Kim's Bike Shop)Row 12 - Cell 2
14Clayton Omer (Better Cycling of Louisville)Row 13 - Cell 2
15Will RossRow 14 - Cell 2
16Nicholas Keough (Champion System p/b Keough Cyclocross)Row 15 - Cell 2
17Weston Luzadder (Indianapolis Cycling Club/NUVO Cultural Trail)Row 16 - Cell 2
18Zachary Keller (Form Cycles)Row 17 - Cell 2
19Andrew Templeton (Team Cross)Row 18 - Cell 2
20Kevin Fish (Bicycle Sport Shop)Row 19 - Cell 2
21Andrew Bennett (Team Specialized Racing)Row 20 - Cell 2
22Connor McCutcheonRow 21 - Cell 2
23Adam MillerRow 22 - Cell 2
24Trevor PrattRow 23 - Cell 2
25Adam Looney (University of Wyoming)Row 24 - Cell 2
26Zeb KingRow 25 - Cell 2
27Joshua Lehmann (Sunapee Racing Team)Row 26 - Cell 2
28Stefan Swecker (TriStar Cycling Team)Row 27 - Cell 2
29James McCabe (Colavita Racing Inc./Colavita Racing)Row 28 - Cell 2
30Matthew Bathe (Rutgers University-New Brunswick/Piscataway)Row 29 - Cell 2
31Benjamin Monaghan (BYRDS)Row 30 - Cell 2
32Alexander Vaughan-Ruiz (Major Motion Cycling Club)Row 31 - Cell 2
DSQMorgan Ryan (Major Motion Cycling Club)Row 32 - Cell 2
DNFJack MahlerRow 33 - Cell 2
DNFJesse Keough (Champion System p/b Keough Cyclocross)Row 34 - Cell 2
DNFLuke Keough (Champion System p/b Keough Cyclocross)Row 35 - Cell 2
DNFKendal JohnsonRow 36 - Cell 2

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Kirsten Frattini
Deputy Editor

Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.

Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.

She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.

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