Henry Coote (Trinity Racing) dominated the U23 men’s race to claim back-to-back titles at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships presented by The Meteor in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Coote accelerated from the 63-rider field as a cold front hit, dropping the temperatures to close to freezing point in Centennial Park.
Jack Spranger (Colorado Mesa University), who finished third last year, crossed the line 22 seconds later to earn the silver medal. Ryan Drummond (Competitive Edge Racing) was another 33 seconds back to complete the podium with bronze.
“I really was happy with the way I was racing today. Kept it really smooth where I wanted it to be. And I think on the last lap, I just had a little slip in the concentration and let the emotions get to me, and I dropped my chain, but I needed to keep it nice and smooth,” Coote told FloBikes announcers Brad Sohner and Ellen Noble after his win.
“It feels really good [to win]. Honestly, I put a lot of pressure on myself coming back from a big injury this summer. It took me off the bike for the whole summer, and just being able to know that my hard work is paying off. Is really happy and makes me really satisfied with my hard work.”
“I was in the hospital bed for three weeks,” he said, “and then I was in a brace for about 10 weeks, and was off the bike for quite a bit of time. I've been going through PT consistently throughout the whole fall and slowly coming back.”
Though the defending champion made it look easy, Coote did have a few mistakes, including losing his pedal at the start, a crash and a dropped chain but he did not let that deter him. And just like the U23 women’s winner, Makena Kellerman, Coote also raced the Collegiate race on Friday, and used it to his advantage.
The final race of the day saw the biggest field at 63 riders tackle the fast 2.1-mile course with its off-camber sections, 38-step asphalted stairway, and an uphill barrier section roughly 200 metres before the final paved straightaway. The fast start kicked up a dust cloud, while a traffic jam caused a few riders at the back to go down.
Coote had a problem with his pedal, losing a few spots as Drummond hit the front, setting a high pace and had to chase back early in the seven-lap race.
“I went to accelerate and lost my foot there, fell back quite a few positions, but kind of just regrouped and knew that it's a 50-minute race, and I had time, so just tried to slow it down and not overreact," Coote said.
By the end of the first lap, the field had shattered into small groups, with Drummond, Spranger and Coote together at the front, with a three-second lead on Calvin Conaway (Midwest NXT) and Vollmuth, and a few more seconds to Benjamin Bravman (Bear National Team), Benjamin Boroff (Marian University), Noah Shelton (Bear CX) and the rest of the splintered field.
Coote made his move, establishing a gap of six seconds to his closest chasers by the end of the second lap, a lead that would increase lap after lap. Spranger also escaped and would chase solo for the next five laps.
A bobble on the off-camber downhill section after the long stair section brought Coote down, and then his bike got caught in the fencing, and though it didn’t really cost him any time, he took a different line the next time on the penultimate lap.
“I had a little bit of a mistake about halfway through the race, and my bike got stuck in the tape, but looked back and still had a gap, and just tried to do what I could to keep it to the finish. And then the last lap came out about 30 seconds from the finish. I dropped my chain and kind of freaked out, but I realised that it's not going to do me any good, so once again, slow it down and just put the chain back on and cut this move to the finish,” Coote added.
Meanwhile, the battle was on for the bronze medal, as the winds started to shift. Drummond pulled away from Voillmuth and Bravman on the fifth lap, a position he would hold until the finish.
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