Kerry Werner Makes Good After Tough U23 Race to Win D1 Collegiate National Championship – Updated: Photo Gallery, Full Results

VERONA, WISCONSIN – On frozen ground deep with ruts, which one rider described as “riding in a pinball machine,” Kerry Werner (Lees-McRae College) escaped from Joshua Johnson (Marian University) to take the 2013 D1 Collegiate National Cyclocross title.

Frozen ruts were the story of the morning. Collegiate D1 Men, 2013 Cyclocross National Championships. © Cyclocross Magazine

Johnson had a strong opening to the race, taking the holeshot and leading for the first lap before Werner joined him and the two pulled away from Andrew Dillman (Marian), Skyler Trujillo (Fort Lewis College), Rotem Ishay (Fort Lewis), and Joseph Maloney (University of Wisconsin-Madison). With one line pounded smooth, and the rest dangerous frozen ruts and clumped mud as hard as rocks, the race came down to how much power the riders could put out on the right line, and separations between each rider began to grow.

Johnson and Werner in a tight battle for the Collegiate D1 Men title. 2013 Cyclocross National Championships. © Cyclocross Magazine

Werner, clearly looking to make good on a Nationals weekend that started poorly with a disappointing race in the U23 category, was on fire, pounding the pedals and making fewer mistakes than Johnson, who more than once found the course tape after bobbling on the frozen ground. At one point, it looked as if the fight was fading from Johnson, just as Ishay found his lines and nearly closed on the second-place rider. Johnson rallied, however, and pulled away to secure his second place. Dillman crossed the line in fourth, followed by Skyler Trujillo on a bamboo Boo in fifth.

Collegiate D1 Men Photo Gallery:

2013 Cyclocross National Championships - Collegiate Men Div 1 Results