The Junior Women lined up as the second UCI title race on Sunday at the 2021 USA Cyclocross National Championships.
The 17-18-year-old women (racing age) lined up in sunny, blustery, just-above-freezing conditions.
Perfect Day for Cyclocross #ItsBeenAWeek #CXNats the course has froze, thawed, rained on, aired out, and ridden in. It’s perfect. #Chicago @DiscoverDuPage @CantignyPark have done well. Nice work, @usacycling! pic.twitter.com/CsBRaZHU0D
— Kenny Labbé (@kenny_labbe) December 12, 2021
2021 USA Cyclocross National Championships Junior Women
After a starting straight crash and fierce sprint for the holeshot, the Junior Women chased title dreams in the second race of the day.
Crossresults race predictor favorite Chloe Fraser showed fans and her competitors why the computers picked her to win Nationals.
The Colorado-based racer escaped to an early lead, with Katherine Sarkisov, chasing.
Sarkisov had an impressive season, winning 8 of her 13 races heading into Nationals, mostly Junior races, while Fraser took a different approach, racing more Elite races and taking 5 victories in 14 attempts earlier this season.
While Fraser escaped early, Sarkisov stayed patient and took advantage of Fraser’s spill on Lap 2 to take the lead.
While Sarkisov appeared energized with clean lines ahead of her, Fraser’s race started to unravel.
One by one, Keira Bond, second to Sarkisov in Reno, and then 2016 Nationals winner Kaya Musgrave got by Fraser in the tricky conditions.
Up front, Sarkisov looked to regain the stars and stripes jersey she claimed in 2018 in the 13-14 race in Reno, and had a clean final two laps to have time to celebrate.
“I’ve been working for this for a while…it’s been a while since I’ve gotten [a title], so it feels good,” Sarkisov said after the finish.
After passing Fraser, the course conditions proved to be the biggest barrier to Sarkisov’s win. “When I pre-rode everything was rock solid, as soon as you got stuck in a rut, it’d jerk you halfway off the bike but the boy’s race softened it up, and I was really happy with that,” the new Junior champ recalled. “It thawed out a bit, and it became a lot [slicker], and so we were sliding out in the corners, but I didn’t pit.”
Thirty racers took the start, bucking the pandemic-era trend of smaller field sizes compared to 2019.
Full results below.
Featured photo: 2019 Nationals, A. Yee
2021 USA Cyclocross National Championships Results: Junior Women 17-18
| Rank | Bib | Name | Affiliation | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 202 | Katherine SARKISOV | CXHAIRS DEVO : Trek Bikes | 47:58:00 | 4 |
| 2 | 209 | Keira BOND | Boulder Junior Cycling | 48:49:00 | 4 |
| 3 | 221 | Kaya MUSGRAVE | Bear National / WCX | 48:53:00 | 4 |
| 4 | 204 | Chloe FRASER | Boulder Junior Cycling | 49:53:00 | 4 |
| 5 | 213 | Samantha SCOTT | USA Cycling Olympic Development Academy | 50:05:00 | 4 |
| 6 | 203 | Mia ASELTINE | Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com Devo | 50:38:00 | 4 |
| 7 | 211 | Elsa WESTENFELDER | Team Stampede/Five Valley Velo | 51:13:00 | 4 |
| 8 | 225 | Bronwynn GAR-AOUY | Fount Cycling Guild | 51:28:00 | 4 |
| 9 | 207 | Lydia ELBERT | The Pony Shop | 51:56:00 | 4 |
| 10 | 228 | Ella BROWN | Boulder Junior Cycling | 52:34:00 | 4 |
| 11 | 208 | Ella BRENNEMAN | CXHAIRS DEVO : TREK BIKES | 53:12:00 | 4 |
| 12 | 226 | Madeline STOVER | Team S&M/Cascadia Jr Cycling | 54:19:00 | 4 |
| 13 | 205 | Natasha VISNACK | USAC Olympic Development Academy | 54:25:00 | 4 |
| 14 | 227 | Oona NELSON | Womens Free State | 41:32:00 | 3 |
| 15 | 218 | Carrie MASTERS | Lionhearts Junior Racing | 41:41:00 | 3 |
| 16 | 212 | Samantha CLARK | Be Real Sports | 41:49:00 | 3 |
| 17 | 214 | Callah ROBINSON | NW CX Project | 41:50:00 | 3 |
| 18 | 224 | Makala JARAMILLO | Team Twenty 24 | 43:13:00 | 3 |
| 19 | 222 | Brinley SHRUM | Midwest Devo | 43:47:00 | 3 |
| 20 | 216 | Izabella SHAFFER | UPMC/PRO BIKE +RUN | 44:11:00 | 3 |
| 21 | 219 | Alexa STIERWALT | Aether Racing | 44:12:00 | 3 |
| 22 | 280 | Sylvia ESPINOZA | BJC | 45:33:00 | 3 |
| 23 | 229 | Emma KASZA-JAMES | 45:42:00 | 3 | |
| 24 | 206 | Molly DISHONG | Columbia/Guipago Cycles | 45:47:00 | 3 |
| 25 | 210 | Olivia SANDOVAL | Knobby by Nature | 46:09:00 | 3 |
| 26 | 215 | Alison MCKEITHAN | Blue Ridge Cross | 30:45:00 | 2 |
| 27 | 220 | Emma BALDING | nine13sports p/b SingletonCoaching | 33:32:00 | 2 |
| 28 | 217 | Isabella CRESPO | Connecticut Cycling Advancement Program Junior Travel Team | 35:25:00 | 2 |
| 29 | 223 | Sarah BANKS | nine13sports p/b SingletonCoaching | 19:52 | 1 |
| DNF | 230 | Mia SCHUMANN | Bear National/WCX | 1 |
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See the course preview videos from Cantigny Park, DuPage County, Illinois here.
Visit our dedicated 2021 USA Cycling Cyclocross Nationals page for all of our 2021 National Championships coverage.
