Werner Takes Third D1 Collegiate Men’s Win at the 2014 National Cyclocross Championships – Report, Gallery, Full Results

Three in a row for Werner in D1 Collegiate Nationals. © Steve Anderson

Kerry Werner of Lees-McRae made it three in a row with his win in the D1 Collegiate National race this morning in the steadily dipping temperatures in Boulder.

Dylan Postier of Oklahoma State took the holeshot in the race, but within minutes, Werner had taken over the lead as the group headed up the stairs. Behind him, Kevin Fish of the University of Texas (Austin) and Drew Dillman of Marian (the first rider in the winning Collegiate Relay team) stuck to his wheel, with Samuel Morrison (University of Colorado-Boulder) and Alexander Martin (University of Wisconsin-Madison) close behind.

“I wanted to put the pressure on early because I have the Elite race this afternoon and I figured if I did that, I could ride at my own pace for the rest of the race,” Werner explained. “I didn’t want to sit in and let the other guys battle it out since it’s technical.”

Within a lap, Werner and Dillman had established a solid gap. Behind, Martin, Morrison and Fish formed a chase group with Skyler Trujillo of Fort Lewis heading up the large chase group behind.

“Dillman was on me, and the wind was definitely a factor,” Werner explained. “There wasn’t much mud, it was all pretty dry with tacky corners. It’s pretty bumpy and hard.”

A few small bobbles from Dillman allowed Werner to extend his lead, and Fish and Martin separated from Morrison. Behind them, Kolby Preble (Fort Lewis) and Josh Johnson (Marian) lead an eight-man chase group.

“This is my third race of the week,” Dillman explained. “I wanted to give Werner a little more competition but a few mistakes early on separated him from me.” He had two small crashes in the first lap, which allowed Werner to make the separation early.

With one to go, Werner’s gap was well-established, as was Dillman’s control of second place, but third place was clearly turning into a two-man sprint. Behind them, a group of six led by Johnson chased and made slight gains on the two, but it was Fish who would end up taking the sprint for third, while Werner handily took the win and Dillman came in for second.

Results after gallery.

Werner Takes Third D1 Collegiate Men’s Win at the 2014 National Cyclocross Championships – Gallery by Steve Anderson

D1 Collegiate Men Full Results 2014 US Cyclocross Nationals

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