Andrew Strohmeyer dominates men's U23 race to take US cyclocross national title

Andrew Strohmeyer (CX Hairs Devo: Trek Bikes) won the men’s under-23 title with a dominant performance at the US Cyclocross National Championships in Hartford, Connecticut.

Jules van Kempen (Alpha Bicycle Company-Groove Silverthorne) took the silver medal, nine seconds faster than Dillon McNeill (CX Hairs Devo: Trek Bikes) who earned the bronze. McNeill’s teammate Daxton Mock finished fourth and Jack Spranger (Bear CX) was fifth.

Strohmeyer wasted no time and flew off the front to take an early lead. Snow fell just as quickly from the overcast sky but was not yet sticking to the 2.2-mile course through Riverside Park. The 20-year-old's aggressive start paid off as his lead was never challenged across the six-lap event.

“Something just told me to hit the front and ride hard, and it worked,” Strohmeyer said at the finish. “I like conditions like this and it was more slippery every lap. I just hit the right lines every lap and stayed upright.

“I’ve been struggling the first half of he season. After the Pan American Championships I knew I had work to do.” 

It was the first ‘cross victory of the season for Strohmeyer, who was the runner-up at Pan-American Championships just a month ago and the silver medalist at nationals in DuPage County last year.

Van Kempen led the chase behind, with the CX Hairs Devo: Trek duo of Mock and McNeill tagging along with Spranger to round out the top five. The pressure was on for the quartet as they had a 14-second gap to the leader before the first half lap was completed.

After the second circuit, only Strohmeyer and the four chasers remained in contention. Dylan Zakrajsek trailed in no-man’s land 34 seconds off the pace, and the rest of the field was more than a minute back. All the leaders took bike changes as they passed the pits, with adjustments in tyre pressure being made to gain more grip on the slippery course.

Van Kempen and McNeill matched each other with similar pedal strokes, dismounts and running as they battled for podium spots, while Strohmeyer kept the duo at bay as he continued his quest for the gold. 

With one lap to go, Strohmeyer continued to get out of the saddle and push to extend his 32-second margin over the chasers. Mock moved past Pan-Am champ Spranger to ride into fourth place on the final circuit.