Ryan captures Junior 17-18 US Cyclo-cross title

Alexis Ryan (Team Socalcross) took the hole shot and never looked back securing a solo victory at the women’s Junior 17-18 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships held on Friday in Bend, Oregon. Emily Shields (Carolina Masters Cycling Team) and Kaitlyn Lawrence (Charm City Cycling Ltd) round out the podium in second and third place respectively.

"I started off and there was no one around me," Ryan said. "I usually start fast and then everyone passes me. It feels so good to win. You really crave a win like this after a while, thank God I got it."

The Junior 17-18 women completed three laps of a challenging circuit held in the Old Mill District. A day and half worth of rain pooled on the course causing sections of deep water and an overall sloppy and muddy cyclo-cross experience.

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"I usually have a really fast start and I knew I had to get in the front early or else I would fumble behind people," Ryan said. "I just charged it and looked back and only Kaitlyn was there. I just kept going, stumbled a bit but got back around. I’m good at fast starts, that’s my thing."

Ryan noted that muddy races are not typically her forte being from the fair weather climate of Southern California.

"It is so nice and warm where I race," Ryan said. "I actually like racing in the mud, it’s probably my favorite because we don’t get mud in Southern California. But, the cold really just killed me. I practically had to walk up the stair because I couldn’t feel my feet. It was so hard. The grass was muddy and thick."

Still, she proved to be the strongest and technically flawless rider in her category opening up and maintaining a 30-second margin ahead of her nearest competitor Emily Shields.

"I just tried to kill the first lap but started fading at the end," Ryan said. "When the two younger riders caught me I was like, 'oh s--t they are making me look bad."

The race of the day came from the duo Corrie Osborne (Nova Cycle Sports Foundation Inc.) who won the women’s Junior 15-16 category and second placed competitor Sarah Huang (Planet Bike).

"I race Sarah every week and we are both from Wisconsin," Osborne said. "I started off the season pretty bad and wasn’t able to keep up with her but in the end I started to be able to keep up with her. I thought, I mine as well go and try to win. I put everything into the race."

The younger category started the race roughly 30 seconds after the Junior 17-18 year olds. Both Huang and Osborne blasted over the circuit’s gruelingly steep pitches and caught and passed all of the older riders, including race winner Ryan.

"I felt good on the stairs and the hills," Osborne said. "Sarah doesn’t like hills too much. But she was awesome in the mud."

The course incorporated three steep hills, a set of stairs and a fly over. The ground was slick with sections of ice and mud that made negotiating the tight corners and off camber sections a difficult task.

Having caught all of the riders in the older category, Osborne raced for the Junior 15-16 win with clear shot at the finish line.

"When you’re in first and you see no one else on the course it’s kind of scary, "Osborne said. "I went to nationals last year and got fourth. It’s been great riding with Sarah because she is just amazing. Racing with her is so awesome."