Campbell Heats Up Chilly Hartford Morning to Win Men’s 13-14 Title

Ryan Campbell got the holeshot and never looked back. 2017 Cyclocross National Championships, Juniors Men 13-14. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine

One of the themes of Nationals week in Hartford has been the changing conditions out on the course. Saturday morning brought cold to the venue, with the temperature hovering near 20 degrees, and work done by USAC to remove the many ruts has helped smooth the course out.

The Junior 13-14 Men kicked off Saturday’s racing and heated up the chilly morning. Ryan Campbell (Avout Racing) of Colorado jumped out to a fast start with Wisconsinite Dylan Zakrajsek (unattached) and was able to pull away to win and add a Stars-and-Stripes jersey to the one he won at Boulder in 2014.

Dylan Zakrajsek over the barriers. 2017 Cyclocross National Championships, Juniors Men 13-14. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine

Campbell said the fast start was part of his plan, “Since it’s such a short race, only 20 minutes, I was just trying to get out there in front of everyone and open up a gap.”

The race for second came down to an exciting finish between Zakrajsek and Texan Will Sharp (Northwest Cycling Club). Zakrajsek edged out the sprint to take the silver medal and Sharp got the bronze. Iowan Luke Feuerhelm (Central Junior Cycling Devo) and Nicholas Petrov (Lionhearts Junior Racing) rounded out the top five.

David Sandoval showing good form on his re-mount after the barriers. 2017 Cyclocross National Championships, Juniors Men 13-14. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine

Saturday’s race was Zakrajsek’s first trip to Nationals and this is only his second year of racing cyclocross. He sounded like a sage Master talking about riding the frozen course, ““It’s one of those courses where you can’t race other people’s races. You just have to stick in your own lane and really focus on those ruts. You can’t worry about other people in front of you.”

Ryan Campbell took the win for the 2017 Cyclocross National Championships, Juniors Men 13-14 race. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine

Overall, the experience was good for the Wisconsinite, “Second place is just fine. I’m just so glad to be here at Nationals for the first year. I thought I did really really good.”

Campbell has a long history of Nationals experience. He has raced at every Nationals since Boulder in 2014 and now has two golds and a silver. He said he really enjoyed the course in Hartford, “This was probably my favorite course so far. It’s fun and really technical and challenging, which I like.”

2017 CX National Championships Hartford Day 5 Results Juniors Men 13-14