Ortenblad wins US men's U23 championship

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Tobin Ortenblad had one last chance to win a national championship before being thrust into the elite category, and the California Giant-Specialized rider was determined to finally capture the elusive stars and stripes. Seizing control of the race from the first lap, Ortenblad stayed at the front each lap and, fending off a concerted effort from Curtis White (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld), Ortenblad maintained his composure to grab his first gold. Grant Ellwood (Boulder Cycle Sport/Yogaglo) was third.

"It's unreal. It's literally a dream come true for sure," an elated Ortenblad said after his victory. "I kept hearing people telling guys behind me 'race smart, you're right where you want to be'. I knew I wanted to be in front, but that threw me off a little."

Ortenblad's first victim was Lance Haidet, who was right behind him with Ellwood on the first lap. On lap two, Drew Dillman (Cyclocross Network) had bridged across, and was then joined by White and Ellwood for a lead group of four. But then Dillman broke his rear derailleur off and had to run half a lap to the pits, and Ellwood could no longer hold the pace. It would be White against Ortenblad for the win.

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"Curtis came around me at one point, and I came right back by. I just stayed up there. There was not a lot of strategy today," Ortenblad said. "There was one off-camber turn and he went wide and I went inside. It was kind of a line I'd never seen before, but it turned out to be really fast. I had a gap with one and a half laps to go, and just held it."

Ortenblad has been one of the top junior and then U23 riders in the US, but has never had much luck when it came to the national championships. He was second in his last year as a junior to Logan Owen, then third in his first U23 year, but fifth the last two seasons.

This year, White had put in a string of impressive results and was most pundits' rider to watch. "I felt like there were three of us who would have a good battle, but I did feel like Curtis was probably the favourite," Ortenblad said. "I knew to win I'd have to be on it, and I'm glad it worked out. It needed to happen. It's a good thing for me going forward."

White was devastated after the finish, and had to take several minutes to compose himself before breaking down his race. "It was tough. I started well, but I chose a higher pressure which wasn't a good decision. I was sliding around a bit too much. I changed bikes and the tread started hooking up, but I had to make up that deficit. I made it back to the lead group and was careful not to punch it too early. When I did I hit hard, but Tobin came back. I tried to punch it again, but he had it in the last lap. He was able to edge out a few seconds."

At the line, 12 seconds separated White from Ortenblad's enthusiastic victory salute. But next year, he hopes he can get revenge in his final U23 year.

Ellwood rode a steady final two laps to hold onto third, and though he was almost 30 seconds behind White, he was pleased with the result. "I had some tough races before this - I crashed pretty hard and didn't finish the collegiate race, so I'm pretty happy with this. Honestly, [White and Ortenblad] are just both so strong. They kind of went and all I could do was try to hold on. They got the best of me, but it was fun racing.” 

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