Neff Goes Two-for-Two in Hartford with Singlespeed Title

With a healthy amount of snow accumulating by the start of the Men’s Singlespeed race, Wisconsinite Isaac Neff (Neff Cycle Service) felt at home in the snowy conditions late Saturday afternoon. After winning the Baby Masters race on Friday, he returned for a repeat performance of his epic duel against Scott Chapin (Santa Cruz Factory Racing) and again managed to keep the Californian at bay to win his second Stars-and-Stripes jersey of the weekend.

Neff crosses the line in first for the second time this week. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine

With a competitive field, featuring a number of Hartford medalists and a premium on getting to the embankment run-up first, the start of the singlespeed race was an exciting affair. Max Judelson (Rock Lobster) grabbed the holeshot and led the way onto the snowy embankment section.

When the riders came off the embankment, a lead group consisting of Dylan McNicholas (POLARTEC), Neff, and Judelson had broken off the front. The lead trio stayed the same after the first of five laps, while Justin Robinson (Santa Cruz Factory Racing) dangled close behind after charging up from an 11th row start.

Ryan Rinn aged a lot in the winter storm of singlespeed Nationals. 2017 Cyclocross National Championships, Singlespeed Men. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine

McNicholas led into the next lap, before a mistake allowed Neff to pass him and take the lead. Neff said after his fast start he was feeling good and decided to see where the time at the front took him:

“Today I had a good start. A really good start, actually, from the second row. So I was happy with that. And the first time off the big climb I was able to move, I think, into third. And I was able to kind of go back and forth with second and third the first lap, and then Dylan McNicholas was in front, and made a little mistake, and I ended up in the lead and had a little gap right away. You know, I guess when you get a gap in a race I’ve always thought you better go for it, so, put the power down and was able to hold onto it.”

Snow was heavy and blowing sideways. 2017 Cyclocross National Championships, Singlespeed Men. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine

Neff finished the second lap with a 10 second gap back to Chapin, who worked his way into the second position. Behind Chapin was a large strung-out train of riders still working to make it into the podium selection.

Neff rode smooth and steady on the treacherous course for the next three laps to hold off Chapin’s challenge and take home his second champ title of the weekend.

Scotty Chapin finished second to Neff for the second day in a row but didn’t suffer a mechanical today. 2017 Cyclocross National Championships, Singlespeed Men. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine

Neff said he enjoyed the opportunity to race against Chapin again and is grateful he was able to hold the mustachioed rider at bay:

“I think yesterday he was riding really well on that ice that we had. Today was very slick, obviously, but just a little different. He got really close to me. I don’t know what lap it was, and I saw that he was gaining on me and so I just figured I needed to put everything on the line and just try to ride as fast as possible. And that’s where I think I was lucky enough to find that extra gear, so to speak, and was able to open it up a little bit.”

Showing off a little Svenness in the slippery corner and avoiding a crash. 2017 Cyclocross National Championships, Singlespeed Men. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine

Despite not getting the lead rider, Chapin had a solid race. Once jumping into second position, he was not threatened for the remainder of the race and turned in an impressive silver medal ride.

Afterward, Chapin seemed pleased with his time in the snow, despite not catching up with Neff:

“I don’t think anything really mattered except being able to go really hard. I raced against Isaac yesterday and oh man, I thought I could beat him but had some mechanical troubles. But today it was like ‘Ah! He’s right there!’ But you don’t have that extra gear on the singlespeed. I just thought I could make some time in the woods, but it’s like one time you nail it and the next time you’re on the ground. It’s great.”

There were 119 riders who took the line for the Singlespeed race. One of the challenges all lead riders faced was navigating through lapped riders. Another of Chapin’s challenges was, as he put it to a spectator, “Nobody gets out of the way when you yell “Second place rider.”

Facial hair grew in the 45 minute-long race. 2017 Cyclocross National Championships, Singlespeed Men. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine

Molly Cameron leading Scott Chapin and Brady Kappius in the chase of early leader Max Judelson. 2017 Cyclocross National Championships, Singlespeed Men. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine

Despite his 11th row start, Robinson turned in a great ride to take home a bronze medal to go with the silver he won in Friday’s Masters 40-44 race. McNicholas took fourth and Molly Cameron (Portland Bicycle Studio) fifth.

Robinson said his gear choice helped him to the front of the race, “I ran a 42-19. I feel like I was able to motor the straightaways really well and I passed a lot of guys there. It was a little harder in the technicals because you couldn’t get your cadence under you, but I tend to ride OK technically.”

For the second singlespeed title in a row, a SRAM Force 1 derailleur was used as a tensioner to convert a bike used in a geared race. 2017 Cyclocross National Championships, Singlespeed Men. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine

Snow is a rarity in Santa Cruz, California, so how did Robinson manage to so well in the conditions? When asked if he’s ever ridden in snow, he said, “Never. Never ever. That’s why I come to Nationals. It’s a mental game, I think. A lot it’s just being psyched about the fact that we’re here in these conditions and enjoying what you got. You have to roll with what’s there, you can’t control that. I just love it, it’s fun.”

Neff riding away with gold. 2017 Cyclocross National Championships, Singlespeed Men. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine

2017 CX National Championships Hartford Day 5 Results Singlespeed Men