Bradford wins men's singlespeed title

The first national championship of the calendar year, the 2012 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships, opened Wednesday as more than 1,000 of the nation's top cyclo-cross racers began descending on Badger Prairie Park outside Madison, Wisconsin.

The event's first two national titles were awarded as the nation's premier singlespeed 'cross riders were recognized after traversing laps of the 2.1-mile rolling course.

In the men's singlespeed race, an early attack turned into a two-rider showdown over the final two laps. J.T. Fountain and Aaron Bradford (Bay 101-HRS-Rocklobster) attacked the field early in the race and determined the winner would be one of the pair. Fountain started the last of the five-lap race with approximately a three-second edge, but Bradford's 8:50 on the last lap was 18 seconds faster than Fountain, earning Bradford the win. A surging Michael Gaertner (Coeur d'Alene Velo Racers-Vertical Earth) was nearly able to overtake Fountain in the home stretch, but had to settle for bronze. Scott Chapin (Bay 101-HRS-Rock Lobster Cyclocross) and Braden Kappius (Team Clif Bar) rounded out the top five.

"In singlespeed racing, the races are all so close, but so far. You just wait for mistakes to happen. We all had our own little mistakes here and there," Bradford said. "I just went out there and sized the barriers up. It came down to the last lap and I decided to hop them and that's where I got my gap. It was good. It's rewarding. It's a fun time."

In the women's singlespeed race, Jennifer Gaertner (Coeur d'Alene Velo Racers) grabbed the hole shot, but Kari Studley (Team Redline) quickly surged to take the lead on lap one and never looked back. After the first of four laps, Meghan Korol had a strong hold on second place, less than a half minute behind Studley. The two leaders posted sub-10:30 lap times the final two times around the course to expand their lead over Lauri Webber, Nocole Borem (Men of Steel Racing) and Jennifer Maxwell (Van Dessel Factry Team), who rounded out the podium.

The event continues Thursday with Masters races as men 55-and-over along with women 40-and-over will vie for national championships. The event culminates Sunday, January 8 with the elite men's and women's races, which will be streamed live at www.youtube.com/usacyclingorg.

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