It was a close race but in the end Chris Blevins (Specialized) won the under-23 men's cyclo-cross title at the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships in Reno, Nevada on Sunday. The victory didn't come without its rivalry as Eric Brunner (Evol DevoElite Racing) put forth a strong fight but finished second place, a mere seconds behind Blevins. Grant Ellwood (Boulder Cycle Sport) finished third.
"I wanted to give it a go in cyclo-cross and my coach thought it was a good idea," Blevins, who also races on the road and mountain bike, told race commentators in a post-race interview. "I raced before Thanksgiving as my last big cyclo-cross race. I then did shorter intervals and tried to build a base for the mountain bike season."
The race started with a handful of favourites on the start line that included Blevins, Brunner, Ellwood and Gage Hecht (Alpha Bicycle Co). An unfortunate and untimely flat tire took Hecht out of the running for the win and he finished fourth.
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Blevins, Brunner and Ellwood stuck fairly close together during the 50-minute race. Blevins was the strongest of the three but made several mistakes on route to his victory. He bobbled in the sand pit and crashed ahead of the barriers. Brunner, on the other hand, had a very smooth ride but lacked the same power that Blevins had during the second half of the circuit.
"I don't like running," Blevins said. "I'm not too confident with some of the slippery 'cross sections. That's where the other guys had an advantage. Eric was pushing it the whole way and was super smooth. In a lot of those sections he could ride through and I made a few mistakes."
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