Kaitlin Antonneau and Christina Birch Take Women Collegiate D1 and D2 Wins at the 2014 National Cyclocross Championships – Report, Full Results, Galleries

A jubilant Christina Birch celebrates a hard fought win. © Brian Nelson

Cowbells were drowned out by a course filled with vuvuzelas and a Mariachi band that camped out in Boulder’s most technical section.  Spectators began piling up as the winds subsided and the sun came out for the Women’s Collegiate D1 and D2 races.

Marian University fired out of the gates at the start of the D1 race, only to be outdone by Sofia Gomez Villafane (Fort Lewis College), who took the hole shot moving into the longest climb of the course.  Kaitlin Antonneau (Marian University) quickly took over in the lead position and kept it for the remainder of the race.  No stranger to Elite level races, Antonneau continued to create a larger gap with each lap.  Her teammate, Coryn Rivera, followed behind her for the first lap, but fell a few places behind although she still captured a podium position.  The University of Vermont also pushed forward an early contender, with Elizabeth White maintaining a good position for most of the race.

While Antonneau waited patiently at the finish line for her teammates after her solo win, but the hole shot winner Gomez Villafine would be the next to cross the finish line.  Antonneau later told us she was proud of the development of Marian University’s team this year with some of their newer members showing their strengths.

Christina Birch (MIT) stayed at the front of the D2 race, although her position was far more contested than Antonneau’s.  Erica Zaveta (Brevard College) was never far behind, waiting for an opportunity to pounce.  By the final lap Zaveta was taking aggressive lines, apparently not content with her safe second position.  On the final off-camber, she took the upper edge and descended to maintain a fast speed, but a few lingering ruts tossed her bike around, causing her to bobble and lose time.  Birch was thrilled with her victory, telling us that Boulder was her third attempt at the win.  She thought that the course suited all of her strengths, which makes sense as she looked extremely fluid on the course.

Results follow gallery:

Kaitlin Antonneau and Christina Birch Take Women Collegiate D1 and D2 Wins at the 2014 National Cyclocross Championships – Gallery by Brian Nelson

D1 Collegiate Women Race Results at 2014 USA Cycling National Championship of Cyclocross

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D2 Collegiate Women Race Results at 2014 USA Cycling National Championship of Cyclocross

For all the best Cyclocross Nationals 2014 coverage, including bike profiles, race reports, results and video interviews, check out our 2014 Cyclocross National Championship Page here.