Hecht wins junior men's 17-18 national title

Gage Hecht (Alpha Bicycle Co/Vista Subaru) won the junior men’s 17-18 title at the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships held at Zilker Park in Austin, Texas on Monday. Hecht took a solo victory ahead of Gavin Haley (Red Zone Cycling) in second and Cameron Beard (Cyclocrossworld.Com Devo Team) in third.

“It was really cool to see how much talent was out there today and how much talent there was,” Hecht said following his win. “I knew that any accident could happen, anything could happen and Gavin could have bridged that gap. I was so nervous until I hit that finish line.”

Lance Haidet (BEAR Development Team) took control of the race from the start, however, he was quickly brought back by Hecht during the opening laps. The pair gained time on the rest of the field.

“Haidet was making me nervous, having that gap on me, but I finally caught him,” Hecht said.

Haley had a slower start and was stuck behind with a chase group, however, he proved to be the strongest of the bunch when he broke away from them in pursuit of the two leaders.

Beard was also in the chase group with, Cooper Willsey (Cyclocrossworld.Com Devo Team), Christopher Blevins (Speicalized Juniors) and Spencer Petrov (Element Cycles), among others who followed at a short distance back.

Hecht put in an attack through the mud and gained time on Haidet midway through the race. He continued on as the race leader, holding a roughly 10-second gap on the others.

“When the gap formed, I felt like the mud was definitely helping me.”

Haidet, who looked comfortable in second place, was forced to stop after suffering a mechanical, allowing Haley to catch and pass him in pursuit of Hecht.

It was no surprise to see Hecht and Haley in first and second place during the junior men’s race. Both riders had won races in Europe during a block of racing with the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross Development Program earlier this season.

Hecht had won the junior race held in conjunction with the World Cup in Koksijde and was second at the Bpost Bank Trofee event in Loenhout. Haley won the junior race held on the same day as the World Cup in Milton Keynes.

Hecht crossed the line with healthy lead to win the national title and Haley soloed in for second place. Beard won the sprint for third place.

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