Calder Wood Takes Junior Men 13-14 Win at the 2014 National Cyclocross Championships – Report, Gallery, Full Results

Calder Wood taking the 13-14 win at Nationals. © Mike Albright

When a Junior racers is literally blown over on course from gusting winds, you know course conditions are going to be brutal. Such was the case in the 13-14 race, which was started with Calder Wood (Rad Racing NW) taking an early lead and never looking back.

“I led…so I was first in the wind,” he explained, adding that, “It was really hard, especially in the off-camber. I didn’t want to wipe out!”

Behind him though, the 60-man field was quickly whittled down to a lead group of eight racers with a huge separation from the rest of the field. Andrew Schmidt (WCJ Racing), a former Junior National Champion, was also chasing, but was taken out in the first three minutes on the off-camber when a gust of wind caught his wheel and he crashed. He recovered, and worked his way back through from sixth place and into a comfortable third position heading into the last lap of the two lap shortened course race. “I was second in the holeshot, sitting on the leader’s wheel, but then I was coming around the off-camber, a gust caught my wheel and I flipped over. Then I was having trouble remounting because it was so windy!”

Scott Funston (Rad Racing NW) was also in the lead group, sitting in second with Wood a few seconds ahead and Schmidt working furiously to catch up. Behind the lead group of those three, Henry Jones, Ethan Wright, Max Robson, Nolan Stephenson, and Lane Maher chased, though with the gap the three had on them, the chances of catching up were slim.

“We knew it was two laps,” Wood explained, “But we weren’t sure how long it would take because they cut down the course. For a two lap race, it would have been nice to have a steep hill to create a bigger gap.”

Wood came in for the win with Schmidt, after taking a hard pull at the front, chasing right behind. Funston rolled in for third.

Wood was surprised with his win, telling Cyclocross Magazine, “I was going for a top 10, this is my first Nationals. This is my first year cyclocross riding.”

Results below gallery.

Calder Wood Takes Junior Men 13-14 Win at the 2014 National Cyclocross Championships Gallery by Mike Albright

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Junior Men 13-14 Results - USA Cycling National Championships of Cyclocross 2014

For all the best Cyclocross Nationals 2014 coverage, including bike profiles, race reports, results and video interviews, check out our 2014 Cyclocross National Championship Page here.