Blevins wins U23 men's US cyclo-cross title

It was a close race but in the end Chris Blevins (Specialized) won the under-23 men's cyclo-cross title at the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships in Reno, Nevada on Sunday. The victory didn't come without its rivalry as Eric Brunner (Evol DevoElite Racing) put forth a strong fight but finished second place, a mere seconds behind Blevins. Grant Ellwood (Boulder Cycle Sport) finished third.

"I wanted to give it a go in cyclo-cross and my coach thought it was a good idea," Blevins, who also races on the road and mountain bike, told race commentators in a post-race interview. "I raced before Thanksgiving as my last big cyclo-cross race. I then did shorter intervals and tried to build a base for the mountain bike season." 

The race started with a handful of favourites on the start line that included Blevins, Brunner, Ellwood and Gage Hecht (Alpha Bicycle Co). An unfortunate and untimely flat tire took Hecht out of the running for the win and he finished fourth.

Blevins, Brunner and Ellwood stuck fairly close together during the 50-minute race. Blevins was the strongest of the three but made several mistakes on route to his victory. He bobbled in the sand pit and crashed ahead of the barriers. Brunner, on the other hand, had a very smooth ride but lacked the same power that Blevins had during the second half of the circuit.

"I don't like running," Blevins said. "I'm not too confident with some of the slippery 'cross sections. That's where the other guys had an advantage. Eric was pushing it the whole way and was super smooth. In a lot of those sections he could ride through and I made a few mistakes."

Full Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Christopher Blevins (USA)0:52:38
2Eric Brunner (USA)0:00:06
3Grant Ellwood (USA)0:00:22
4Gage Hecht (USA)0:01:26
5Spencer Petrov (USA)0:01:51
6Maxx Chance (USA)0:01:57
7Brannan Fix (USA)0:02:19
8Denzel Stephenson (USA)0:02:36
9Lance Haidet (USA)0:02:43
10Caleb Swartz (USA)0:02:45
11Cooper Willsey (USA)0:02:49
12Garrett Gerchar (USA)0:03:23
13Cameron Beard (USA)0:03:48
14Henry Nadell (USA)0:03:53
15Ross Ellwood (USA)0:03:56
16Jack Tanner (USA)0:04:17
17Michael Owens (USA)0:04:32
18Anders Nystrom (USA)0:04:57
19Liam Earl (USA)0:05:38
20Jonathan Anderson (USA)0:05:40
21Andrew Borden (USA)Row 20 - Cell 2
22Jonah Meadvancort (USA)0:06:59
23Finnegan O'connor (USA)0:09:08
24Drew Sotebeer (USA)-2 Laps
25Harrison Buckley (USA)Row 24 - Cell 2
26Erik Hammerquist (USA)Row 25 - Cell 2
27Kobi Gyetvan (USA)Row 26 - Cell 2
28Brent Franze (USA)Row 27 - Cell 2
29Kale Wenczel (USA)Row 28 - Cell 2
30Thomas Mcdonagh (USA)Row 29 - Cell 2
31Donald Seib (USA)Row 30 - Cell 2
32Spencer Johnston (USA)Row 31 - Cell 2
33Eli House (USA)Row 32 - Cell 2
34Maxwell Southam (USA)Row 33 - Cell 2
35Matthew Owens (USA)Row 34 - Cell 2
36Frederick Junge (USA)Row 35 - Cell 2
37Sebby Frimat (USA)Row 36 - Cell 2
38Charles Mandel (USA)Row 37 - Cell 2
39Zacharey Elzi (USA)Row 38 - Cell 2
40Nevin Whittemore (USA)Row 39 - Cell 2
DNSCade Bickmore (USA)Row 40 - Cell 2
DNSChristian Norvold (USA)Row 41 - Cell 2
DNSSamuel Hedlund (USA)Row 42 - Cell 2

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