Hecht wins US junior cyclo-cross title
Stephenson second, Brunner third
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
# | 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.
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