USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships 2016: Junior Men Results

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Gage Hecht won the UCI 17-18 Juniors event for the second day in a row after a close competition with regular competitor Spencer Petrov, who crashed off the course mid-race (Image credit: Wil Matthews)

Gage Hecht (Alpha Bicycle Co) claimed his sixth national championship title in cyclo-cross and his second in the junior 17-18 category on Sunday at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. The Colorado rider overcame a bad start to take the lead by the end of the first lap and then soloed to a narrow victory over Denzel Stephenson and Eric Brunner (Boulder Junior Cycling).

Spencer Petrov, who was expected to challenge Hecht for the victory, faded from second position to fourth after a mid-race crash.

"It feels amazing. I love the feeling I get from winning. It's great," Hecht said. "I knew the course would be technical and it would separate out quickly, so I wanted to make sure I was at the front of that separation from the get go. I didn't want to get stuck behind stuff. I didn't have a great start but was able to get up front."

Overnight rain soaked the arduous, tricky course, turning the course into a slipper mud-fest. The off-camber sections were particularly treacherous, and even Hecht crashed. But it was the riders who would make the fewest mistakes and take the best lines who would prevail. While Hecht had a healthy lead with one lap to go, Brunner and Stephenson closed to within seconds before the line, making for a nervous last lap for Hecht.

"I was super shocked by that, I knew they were strong, but I should have expected it more," Hecht said of their chase back. "But It was cool to see a bunch of Colorado guys up there with me."

Hecht kept his head down and kept pushing forward, and Stephenson out-sprinted his teammate Brunner for the silver medal just three seconds after Hecht crossed the line. Petrov was 35 seconds behind in fourth, with Hecht's teammate Evan Clouse rounding out the top five.

Results

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#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Gage Hecht	0:39:23
2	Denzel Stephenson	0:39:26
3	Eric Brunner	0:39:29
4	Spencer Petrov	0:39:58
5	Evan Clouse	0:41:05
6	Cameron Beard	0:42:05
7	Caleb Swartz	0:42:23
8	Ross Ellwood	0:42:37
9	Michael Owens	0:42:49
10	Cade Bickmore	0:43:30
11	Jack Tanner	0:43:43
12	Scott Mcgill	0:44:39
13	Colton Brookshire	0:44:49
14	George Schulz	0:45:08
15	Brayden Buchanan	0:45:12
16	Drew Sotebeer	0:45:14
17	Joshua Anderson	0:45:39
18	Cassidy Bailey	0:45:45
19	Henry Coppolillo	Row 18 - Cell 2
20	Tristan Greathouse	0:46:22
21	Clyde Logue	0:46:40
22	Kevin Goguen	0:46:48
23	Jordan Lewis	0:46:50
24	Jack Warner	0:47:27
25	Nicholas Beirne	0:47:29
26	Donovan Birky	0:47:44
27	Cameron Scott	0:48:30
28	Cole Davis	0:48:53
29	Ethan Storm	0:49:29
30	Ryan Aittaniemi	0:49:34
31	Tommy Steinebrunner	0:49:55
32	Donald Seib	0:50:25
33	Tate Knowles	0:50:50
34	Eli Gold	0:51:10
35	Eric Voigt	0:51:49
36	Henry Davis	-1
37	Garrett Smith	Row 36 - Cell 2
38	Zachary Young	Row 37 - Cell 2
39	Charlie Ormsby	Row 38 - Cell 2
40	Ethan Dellamaestra	Row 39 - Cell 2
41	Collin Sallee	Row 40 - Cell 2
42	Johannes Stromski	Row 41 - Cell 2
43	Carter Warren	Row 42 - Cell 2
44	Cole Weidenbach	Row 43 - Cell 2
45	Thomas Carey	Row 44 - Cell 2
46	Tyler Curtis	Row 45 - Cell 2
47	Zachary Ross	Row 46 - Cell 2
48	Jeremy Norris	Row 47 - Cell 2
49	Spencer Moavenzadeh	Row 48 - Cell 2
50	Alexander Christian	Row 49 - Cell 2
51	Aidan Pounder	Row 50 - Cell 2
52	Simon Lewis	Row 51 - Cell 2
53	Perry Andre	Row 52 - Cell 2
54	Paul Hartner	Row 53 - Cell 2
55	Eli House	Row 54 - Cell 2
56	Jacob Banks	Row 55 - Cell 2
57	Mark Myles	Row 56 - Cell 2
58	Christian Norvold	Row 57 - Cell 2
59	William Hardin	-2
60	Nicolas Padilla	Row 59 - Cell 2
61	Jules Gilliam	Row 60 - Cell 2
62	Sean Mcelroy	Row 61 - Cell 2
63	Luke Thomas	Row 62 - Cell 2
64	Jack White	Row 63 - Cell 2
DNF	Jack Crump	Row 64 - Cell 2

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Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura's specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.