If Friday’s mud wasn’t enough, Louisville was treated to more overnight rain to make conditions even muddier for the Junior races on Saturday.
The Junior 13-14 Men and Women kicked off the day’s championship races as rain continued to fall on the course at Joe Creason Park.
In recent years we have seen juniors hopping barriers. with little speed leading into them, riders opted to dismount. Junior Men 13-14. 2018 Cyclocross National Championships, Louisville, KY. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
Brenneman Takes Women’s 13-14 Title
Ella Brenneman (Crosshairs Devo) has done a lot of races this season, but today’s Junior 13-14 race in Louisville was the one she wanted to win the most.
“I trained forever,” Brenneman said. “The one goal I had this season was to win.”
Early on, it was Haydn Hludzinski (Boulder Junior Cycling) at the front with Brenneman heading down the muddy descent into the bowl. Brenneman took an early spill in the mud, but she quickly recovered.
“I did go down but the girl in front of me also went down so that gave me an advantage,” she said.
The 13-14 field started fast on pavement, but mud would soon slow progress. Junior Women 13-14. 2018 Cyclocross National Championships, Louisville, KY. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
When the riders cleared the run up to Pit 2, Brenneman had a two-second lead on Hludzinski. Vida Lopez de San Roman (CX Nation) chased close behind.
“I’m really happy with my result because I started in the very back row,” Lopez de San Roman said. “I was in top 10 the very first lap then once I went up the run-up I passed a bunch of people. I just kept moving up until I realized that I was catching up to the front group even though I didn’t think I would be. I was really happy about it.”
Haydn Hludzinski and Ella Brenneman ride past the pit toward the big descent. Junior Women 13-14. 2018 Cyclocross National Championships, Louisville, KY. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
The next lap, Brenneman pulled away from Hludzinksi. Lopez de San Roman moved into second position and Kaya Musgrave (Avout Racing) moved up third.
Vida Lopez de San Roman started in the back row but repeated her silver medal from Reno. Junior Women 13-14. 2018 Cyclocross National Championships, Louisville, KY. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
Positions stayed the same for the next two laps, with Brenneman taking the Junior Women 13-14 title she trained for all year.
Thanks to rainy weather all year, she was prepared for the rain and mud. “This season we probably had three dry races, the rest of the time it’s just been straight mud,” Brenneman said. “I’ve been practicing for this. I was prepared.”
Ella Brenneman won the 13-14 junior category in Louisville. Junior Women 13-14. 2018 Cyclocross National Championships, Louisville, KY. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
Lopez de San Roman took second at Nationals for the second time this year, and Musgrave got the bronze.
The camaraderie among juniors is infectious. Junior Women 13-14. 2018 Cyclocross National Championships, Louisville, KY. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
For more from the race, see the winner interview, photos and results below.
Brown Gets Lead Early to Win
With a sloppy transition from the pavement to grass at the end of the holeshot, getting out to a fast start was important on Saturday. Ian Brown knew that and focused on getting out to a fast start.
“I wanted to get off the start fast and control the race from the front,” Brown said.
Early on, Wesley Haggstrom (Velocious Sport) joined Brown at the front, and the two plunged down the sketchy off-camber descent into the bowl together. They stayed together to the climb, but Brown got a small gap while running to the top.
While some sections were completely unrideable, some parts of the course remained firm enough to ride. Junior Men 13-14. 2018 Cyclocross National Championships, Louisville, KY. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
After one lap, Brown had an 11-second lead, with Haggstrom chasing in second. Frank O’Reilly Jr. (Finkraft Cycling Team) chased in third.
In the second lap, Brown kept the pace high and extended his lead to 30 seconds. He continued to turn in fast laps to take home the Junior 13-14 title.
“I was racing Wesley for the first laps and I pulled away,” Brown said. “I was just keeping it upright and trying not to wreck anything.”
A native of Oregon, Brown said he welcomed the muddy, wet conditions. “It was awesome,” he said about the race. “It was a lot of fun out there. Perfect cyclocross conditions. This is the best kind of stuff.”
Ian Brown dials his line on the descent. Junior Men 13-14. 2018 Cyclocross National Championships, Louisville, KY. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
Haggstrom rode and ran strong to finish second, and Magnus White (Boulder Junior Cycling) won a tight battle with O’Reilly to eke out a third-place finish.
For more from the race, see the winner interview, photos and results below.
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Ian Brown: Winner Interview
Ella Brenneman: Winner Interview
Vida Lopez de San Roman: Junior 13-14 Second-Place
Ian Brown: Winner Interview
Photo Gallery: Junior 13-14 Women and Men, 2018 Louisville Cyclocross Nationals
The 13-14 field started fast on pavement, but mud would soon slow progress. Junior Women 13-14. 2018 Cyclocross National Championships, Louisville, KY. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
