The women were poised at the start for the singlespeed race. © Cyclocross Magazine
There is little doubt that Mo Bruno Roy (Bob’s Red Mill), Jessica Culter (Market Street Cycling), and Ellen Sherrill (Rock Lobster) have a dedication to the discipline of singlespeed cyclocross, and an ability to maintain great results. For the second year in a row, all three women stood on the top three steps of the podium, with only second and third place swapping positions. This makes our looking back at last year’s winning race rigs article all the more relevant.
Bruno Roy retained first place, defending her jersey, Cutler fought alone in second place for a solo finish, while Sherrill had to contend with traffic for third place.
Jessica Cutler leads the charge up the hill on lap one of the 2015 Singlespeed Cyclocross National Championships. © Brian Nelson / Cyclocross Magazine
Melissa Seib (Bikeman.com) was able to take the holeshot early on, and the young rider would go on to make the extended national’s podium for fifth place. The hard-packed dirt, ruts, off-cambers and punchy climbs tested the limits of the singlespeed legs. Cutler soon took over on the course’s backside, before Bruno Roy would come to the front for good.
Maureen Bruno-Roy established an early lead in the Women’s Single Speed Race. © Brian Nelson / Cyclocross Magazine
Although Bruno Roy led the pack halfway through the lap, the group was still tightly knit as they would their way back to the front of the course. By the first set of limestone steps, however, Petra Schmidtmann (Rage Cycling Team), who was giving a great effort near the front, bobbled just before the stones, and Bruno Roy and Cutler used it to their advantage.
The two began pacing their efforts, and while Cutler gained some time in on Bruno Roy’s gap halfway through the race, Bruno Roy maintained fast laps to propel herself to another victory with Cutler coming in solo 40 seconds back. Otherwise, neither of the two were under much attack for the majority of the race.
Cutler made short work out of some of the technical sections. © Cyclocross Magazine
The contest for third place, however, was a different story. Rebecca Blatt (Van Dessel Factory Team), Jennifer Gaertner (Vertical Earth), Sherrill and Seib were all in contention in the last third of the race.
The singlespeeds made it difficult to get traction after a set of cruelly positioned barriers. © Cyclocross Magazine
Of these, Blatt looked like she would be taking bronze for the last few laps, leading the pack around the tight course. Even eventual winner Sherrill admitted that after working her way up through various packs and knowing Blatt was still ahead, she had only a slim chance to take third. But after seizing on a few good opportunities and putting in a hard effort, she was able to use the final lap to her advantage, taking third by 17 seconds.
The Singlespeed Women Podium at 2015 Nationals: Bruno Roy, Cutler and Sherrill. © Cyclocross Magazine
2015 Cyclocross National Championship Singlespeed Podium. L to R: Blatt (4th), Cutler (2nd), Bruno Roy (1st), Sherrill (3rd), Seib (5th) © Mary Topping
Full results below the photo gallery.
2015 Singlespeed Women Cyclocross National Championships – Austin, Texas Photo Gallery:
See the 2015 Men’s Singlespeed National Championship report and results here.
2015 National Championships Women Singlespeed Results - Austin, Texas
| Place | Last | First | Team | City ST | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BRUNO ROY | Maureen | Bob's Red Mill p/b Seve | Arlington MA | 46:21 | |
| 2 | CUTLER | Jessica | Market Street Cycling Club | Seattle WA | 47:01 | 40 |
| 3 | SHERRILL | Ellen | South Lake Tahoe CA | 47:54 | 1:33 | |
| 4 | BLATT | Rebecca | Van Dessel Factory Team | Lakewood CO | 48:11 | 1:50 |
| 5 | SEIB | Melissa | Bikeman.com | Bryantpond ME | 48:31 | 2:10 |
| 6 | GAERTNER | Jennifer | Vertical Earth | Coeur D Alene ID | 48:49 | 2:28 |
| 7 | ARMSTRONG | Kaysee | King University | Knoxville TN | 49:11 | 2:50 |
| 8 | NOWLIN | Jennifer | Power Fix CX | Plymouth MN | 49:31 | 3:10 |
| 9 | BONI | Kristal | Rapid Racing | Erie CO | 49:35 | 3:14 |
| 10 | WOOD | Heidi | 333fab CX Factory Team | Seattle WA | 49:48 | 3:27 |
| 11 | KOROL | Meghan | Don Walker Cycles Racing | Asheville NC | 49:51 | 3:30 |
| 12 | SCHAPER | Amanda | Giro Sport Design | Santa Cruz CA | 50:15 | 3:54 |
| 13 | HURFORD | Molly | Midatlantic Colavita Women | Hampton NJ | 51:09 | 4:48 |
| 14 | WALKER | Katina | Verge/VeloNRS | Tully NY | 51:18 | 4:57 |
| 15 | BRUBAKER | Tina | Bend OR | 51:54 | 5:33 | |
| 16 | PROBERT | Christina | The TEAM | Murrieta CA | 51:55 | 5:34 |
| 17 | ROBERTSON-ZIVIN | Julie | Seattle WA | 52:09 | 5:48 | |
| 18 | GREENHILL | Shannon | Atlanta GA | 52:34 | 6:13 | |
| 19 | CHRISTOFALOS | Alex | Mars Hill University | Asheville NC | 52:42 | 6:21 |
| 20 | HART | Susannah | Washougal WA | 52:47 | 6:26 | |
| 21 | ETHRIDGE | Leslie | PHENOM p/b AnalySys Laboratorie | Austin TX | 53:19 | 6:58 |
| 22 | ADAMS | Allison | 360 Racing | Overland Park KS | 53:39 | 7:18 |
| 23 | MORITZ | Catherine | Sugar Cycles/Wholesome Sweetene | Houston TX | 53:44 | 7:23 |
| 24 | KAMINSKY | Robin | StageOne Cycling Team | Redondo Beach CA | 53:56 | 7:35 |
| 25 | WHITE | Desiree | Bike Lab | Hobart OK | 54:16 | 7:55 |
| 26 | DONNELLY | Tamara | Trek Cyclocross Collective | Seattle WA | 54:44 | 8:23 |
| 27 | STONE | Erin | San Francisco CA | 54:53 | 8:32 | |
| 28 | BLACK | Melanie | Mellow Johnny's Cycling Team | Austin TX | 55:07 | 8:46 |
| 29 | CRAMER | Lupine | Roosters/Bikers Edge-UT | Logan UT | 55:22 | 9:01 |
| 30 | WONG | Dorothy | The TEAM SoCalCross | Altadena CA | 55:57 | 9:36 |
| 31 | SCHMIDTMANN | Petra | Rage Cycling Team | Nederland CO | 57:25 | 11:04 |
| 32 | WEISS | Nicole | Team Group Health | Seattle WA | @1Lap | |
| 33 | HORN | Jillian | Sugar Cycles/Wholesome Sweetene | Houston TX | @1Lap | |
| 34 | BURKS | Paula | Peachtree Bikes | Marietta GA | @1Lap | |
| 35 | APPELL | Carrie | Cyclocross Project 2015 | Austin TX | @1Lap | |
| 36 | MCNABB | Amanda | Team Group Health | Lynnwood WA | @1Lap | |
| 37 | COHEN | Lesli | Hup United | Worcester MA | @1Lap | |
| 38 | DELUCIA | Antoinette | Clemmons Bicycle Racing | Kernersville NC | @2Laps |
