Eric Brunner is Ready to Defend His Titles, but First ... Lemme Race Some Kermesses
The U.S. and Pan-Am Champ is headed to Europe to race the famed circuit races before the UCI 'cross season starts next month
One of the perks of living in, say, Colorado, is you don’t necessarily have to travel too far to participate in elite-level racing. Such was the case this summer for defending U.S. Cyclocross National Champion Eric Brunner.
After racing in California at the Tour of the Redlands and making a cameo in our interview with BWR San Diego winner Alexey Vermeulen, Brunner has been able to stay close to home while doing his summer training program. That program included a win at the Firecracker 50 in Breckenridge and a 3rd-place finish in the XCO race at U.S. Mountain Bike Nationals in Winter Park, Colorado.
Brunner’s final tune-up for the ‘cross season will again take him away from home. A long way away from home.
Brunner is currently in Belgium to race in several of the country’s famed August and early-September kermesses. Kermesses are circuit races with laps of about 5-10km. They typically last for about 3 hours with a pace Brunner described as “a 3-hour ‘cross race.” The professional kermesses are popular among the European cyclocross teams as a way to get primed for the upcoming season.
I chatted with Brunner shortly before he departed for Belgium. We covered a lot of ground, from running a 10k to running a cyclocross team to running into trouble thinking of some trash talk for Curtis White.
Interview: Eric Brunner, Kermesse Boi
Zach Schuster: I always like to ask this. What's it been like? You know, being able to ride around with the jersey and stuff. Have you been riding around Boulder with the jersey on?
Eric Brunner: I think it will sink in more when I actually race. I haven't made up the season's kit yet, so I don't have a full Stars-and-Stripes kit yet. But being the Pan-Am Champion and the National Champion is a bit surreal, I guess.
Zach Schuster: Maghalie Rochette used to be able to pick between the two of them. I'll go on record as saying the new Pan-Ams kit isn't as cool as the old one, but are you going to kind of pick and choose which one you wear?
Eric Brunner: I am going to do both, but I think they're being stricter with the rule now, and they may want you to only wear the Pan-Am kit if you're Pan-Am Champion. But I will have both to ride around in, or if I don't win Pan-Ams, I'll wear that in between the two races.
Zach Schuster: Backing up to last December, we did a preview of the two races and you were kind of coy, saying "I don't really think someone will win both." What was that like, winning pretty much back-to-back weekends, dropping a bomb on the American cyclocross scene?
Eric Brunner: I guess looking back I'm not as surprised, but winning those two races back-to-back gave me a lot of confidence. I just didn't know how things would go. Something can always go wrong. I just felt like there was a chance of being out of position or having a mechanical or something like that.
Zach Schuster: I mean, it is cyclocross.
Eric Brunner: Yeah, and I hadn't done a bunch of races where everybody was there. Curtis, Gage, Kerry.
Zach Schuster: I did an interview with Sofia Gomez Villafane, and she was talking about how she really benefits from being an underdog. I was was like, "I know a guy who also benefits from that." I remember you made a comment when you beat Caleb [Swartz] in Lakewood in the U23 race that the Collegiate Club champ beat the Varsity champ.
I feel like you raced Collegiate Club and have been a little overlooked, do you thrive on that?
Eric Brunner: It is a nice thing to prove myself. I think I'm just kind of used to not being the guy everybody talks about. I've grown up in the same age group as Gage [Hecht] and Chris Blevins. 1998 is a really strong year in the U.S. and the world. I think it's part of what's made me a good bike rider.
Zach Schuster: I interviewed Curtis [White] after Intelligentsia, and he was the same age as Logan Owen. Talk about a crappy age to grow up. He said it motivated him, so how has that served you well throughout your career?
Eric Brunner: It's the same deal for me. Yeah Curtis and I never really won anything as Juniors, or didn't win much, but there's a lot more people who win Junior national championships than Elites, so not which one would you rather have, but I think I mind it now that there's some of that weight off.
Zach Schuster: That's kind of nice to have. Have you thought about what this year's going to be like? One, you're going to have a target on your back, and two, you're not going to be at races where people like, "Well that Eric Brunner, I heard he might be good." Which literally happened at Pan-Ams. I was like, I don't know what to tell you. Is that going to be different for you this year?
Eric Brunner: Well you pay a lot closer attention than most people. Of course, it's different being champion of both of those things and wearing the different jersey. And I am going to be racing more.
Zach Schuster: Curtis kind of called you out a little bit. He's hoping you'll be racing more this year? Are you going to be doing more of a program? Are we going to get to see that Pan-Ams kit a bunch?
Eric Brunner: Oh yeah. Last year had a few different things going on. It was only my first year of racing Elite, and the rest of my life before that I had been in school and had done maybe a dozen UCI race days per season, maybe 15. It will definitely be another step up this year in terms of race days, and I'll actually go to Europe in December. That's another 8-10 races right there. I did do that in 2019/20, so it's not totally new.
Zach Schuster: Didn't you get sick at the beginning of the season too?
Eric Brunner: Yeah, I missed GO Cross, which made it a little bit harder to get through that first block of racing. Then this year I focused my summer around 'cross a little bit more. I've chosen the races I'm doing a little bit more closely. And I got to pick them myself, not being on a road team.
Zach Schuster: So what have you been up to? I know you were at BWR because you made a guest appearance in my interview with Alexey Vermeulen. He was talking about your remounting skills. He said they are elite.
Eric Brunner: I was kind of surprised that a lot of those gravel guys did not look good getting back on their bikes.
I went out to California in the spring and raced Redlands, and then I raced BWR. Then the rest of the summer I haven't left the state. We have had a lot of good racing in Colorado. I raced a couple of gravel races. I raced the Firecracker 50, which I won. And Mountain Bike Nationals, of course. I finished 3rd and 5th in the XC and the short track there. And then I'm headed over to Belgium this weekend for two and half weeks to race Kermesses.
Zach Schuster: I wanted to ask about that, for sure, but I want to ask about mountain bike Nats first. You can comment on this, but I heard someone compared you to Tom Pidcock vis-a-vis Wout and Mathieu for Finsty and Keegan. A little premature? How do you feel about that?
Eric Brunner: I feel like I have a good upward trend. I don't think I'm top three or anything like that. I'd also like to race some more gravel next year. If LifeTime is around in some way or better next year, just purely the money I can't ignore. Not to mention the high-quality events, the good exposure, all that stuff. I haven't been one so much for the endurance events, but I'm also getting old and train more now. Not that I haven't trained, but I've been putting in more miles on the bike.
I think I've had a good upward trend in the handful of 200k+ races I've done.
Zach Schuster: Is mountain biking something you're going to do more of? Some of us may or may not have made comments about your bike handling ability, and I'm not going to say you're Kerry Werner, but I think you're a sneaky good bike handler, so I guess I'm not surprised you're doing well at mountain biking. Do you think that's going to be a bigger part of your future, or are you just going to show up and like finish 3rd at Mountain Bike Nats.
Eric Brunner: Thank you. I'm definitely planning to do more mountain biking next year. I'd like to do at least a couple Mountain Bike World Cups, but maybe a lot more than that, and potentially Mountain Bike Worlds if it lines up with 'cross. Maybe LifeTime. It's all up in the air right now. Part of it this year was I didn't have a bike. Blue doesn't make a mountain bike. I didn't get one until pretty recently. If I can do some more American UCI races, get points, and do some World Cups, that is all part of the goal for next year. And of course, LifeTime on top of that.
Zach Schuster: Dang, that's ambitious man.
Eric Brunner: I'm sure I'll have to pare it down a little bit, and it could mean having to skip a LifeTime race or what have you.
Zach Schuster: A big part of why I wanted to chat with you is Curtis mentioned you are heading to Europe to race the Kermesses. How did you come up with this plan? Who are you racing for? What are the details?
Eric Brunner: I'm still with Blue of course. It's just me and my friend and roommate Jack Tanner. He also is coached by Grant Holicky, so we train together all the time. We're going over partly for fun, it's his first time going to Europe. But also to train for 'cross. He races 'cross as well. We'll come home and have a weekend off and then head to GO Cross.
Zach Schuster: You can just register and jump in?
Eric Brunner: We're going to try to get in a couple of pro kermesses, but you have to get invited to those. The amateur ones are just race-day registration. You go to the cafe or bar and pay not very much money. But they're still big races. Usually the pro ones have teams show up. The amateur ones will have individual pros. There will probably be some Alpecin guys in some of them. Quick-Step. Then a bunch of ripping fast amateurs.
I went over last summer at this time, and that's when I got sick. But before that, it was really good racing. We did a couple of UCI races, but then we did kermesses as well.
Zach Schuster: Curtis did crits, a lot of other guys are doing gravel. What do you think is the optimal approach for a summer program coming into 'cross season?
Eric Brunner: I've had very very close to my perfect scenario this year. It's a little bit different, so I'm still testing things out. I raced a lot of road early, and then more mountain bike, and now I'm doing the kermesses, which are basically like a 3-hour 'cross race type of effort, minus the running. And I had a good break after Mountain Bike Nationals, which is the second part of it. I like to take a lot of rest compared to some people. It's important to me. Then I've had a couple weeks to train for this trip, a couple weeks there, so I think it should work very well.
Zach Schuster: Don't get sick.
Eric Brunner: I'm going to wear a mask on the plane and all that, but we won't be staying with like 10 dudes, so I think the chances are a lot better.
Zach Schuster: Are you doing the typical thing of staying in Oudenaarde?
Eric Brunner: Yeah, we're staying at the Chain Stay. I've never been there before. It seems like a good deal.
Zach Schuster: Switching gears a little bit, coming back home and cyclocross season, Gage [Hecht] isn't racing this year, Kerry's doing more gravel or whatever, but we have the USCX. What are you hoping for from this 'cross season? Last year we had all the World Cups, and the USCX, and Worlds, but this year, I'm a bit concerned. What can we do to make this a good season?
Eric Brunner: I am bummed that Gage isn't going to be around and Kerry's going to be around less. I am sure some of the U23 guys will step in--Scott Funston, Andrew Strohmeyer, guys like that. But I think we have to set our sights beyond just beating up on each other and actually try to compete with the world-level guys. Compete with the best in the World Cups. Yeah I think it's a little bit of a bummer, but it's kind of the way it goes. I think U.S. 'cross is at one of the highest levels it's been at, it's just that the Belgians are that much better.
I think it will be a good season. I'm looking forward to Funston and Strohmeyer getting into it a bit more and seeing who will be good.
Zach Schuster: I think it's interesting every time a generation retires or whatever, people are like, "We're screwed." And then like the next group steps up. The Tim Johnson group retired, but then JPows was there. And then Stephen Hyde was at a high level. And now the Eric Brunners, the Gage Hechts, the Curtis Whites are stepping up. And there are some young dudes who got monster results. Caleb Swartz, Funston, Strohmeyer. So like, I'm not super concerned that there won't be a next generation.
Eric Brunner: Exactly. And I could be off-base here, but I hope the gravel scene will push more guys into 'cross as it becomes bigger to do a lot of disciplines. People want to jump in gravel for the first time or jump across disciplines for the first time, maybe people will also be more inspired to try 'cross. I don't know.
Zach Schuster: I don't know, I still think it's awesome. I went to 'cross practice tonight, and it was fking amazing.
Eric Brunner: What if LifeTime did like a minor short-track-type of event where there's a small amount of points. Like a 'cross race the night before one of their races. I don't know if that's their deal, but it would be a cool idea.
Zach Schuster: Curtis has always talked about his aspirations being a top ten in the World Cup, and I know you had a lot going on, but it was kind of interesting that you won Nats and were like, "Ah, I'm just going to wait for Worlds." What are your goals and what are you hoping for on the European level? What kind of results would you be getting that would be like, oh, Eric is making progress?
Eric Brunner: I would say a top 15 in Europe. A top 10 I would be really happy with. At Worlds last year, I saw that was pretty possible. I was riding in a group that was like 10th, 11th, 12th for a while before I popped. That wasn't really my best race, I would say. I'm definitely there for that to be a reasonable goal. It will be cool to race more in Europe this year and have more chances and more time doing it. That always helps.
Zach Schuster: With Worlds, I felt like it was a one-off. I personally didn't read too much into the results, to be like "Wow Eric is a phony because he wasn't top American or at Curtis' level."
Eric Brunner: Curtis had a great ride and seeing what he can do, I feel like I'm at a similar level. And I don't think my preparation for Worlds was ideal. I didn't really have it in me to go to Europe. It wasn't that I thought I would have this great training at home. It was good, but it doesn't replace racing.
Zach Schuster: And if you do go to Europe, I heard you are pretty good at riding in the mud. People are saying that now. I don't know.
Eric Brunner: I know you like to say that, but I think I've worked on my weaknesses a lot. I've actually done a lot of running this year.
Zach Schuster: Didn't you do like a marathon or a half marathon or something?
Eric Brunner: I did a 10k, so not quite that much. I had an actual block of running training before that, so I'm at least ok on the flats. We'll see if it translates to stairs and muddy hills.
Zach Schuster: Finishing up, the whole industry is trying to sell gravel bikes, but Blue is sticking with 'cross, and that's great. I think Blue, and Orli [Chinea], and you deserve a lot of credit. What has that experience been like for you? Aren't you like a part-time employee?
Eric Brunner: On-and off. I'm not right now, but I did a good bit this spring and have in the past. It's cool, and I think it's just a good business idea. There's fewer and fewer brands in 'cross, and there's still people who need a good 'cross bike. Cervelo is going that, and Blue is doing the same thing. It's cool to see, and it's also a great gravel bike. You don't have to discriminate between those two.
Zach Schuster: You've been running the team as well. What's that experience been like for you?
Eric Brunner: It's a good bit of work, especially as we bring on new people. We have three U23 women coming on that we're announcing soon. And always trying to make it better and have more support and all that.
Zach Schuster: I know Orli [Chinea] was really excited about how Nationals went. I am guessing that had to be pretty cool for you. Not just personally, but for the team. Sunny [Gilbert] won Single Speed Nats. Scott [Funston] won U23 Nats. You won Elites.
Eric Brunner: Yeah, as a team, it was a great great accomplishment. It really makes me feel good helping them out and just to have a good group of people around me. Grant [Holicky] and Chris [Namba] as well. They're so talented and just great people to be around.
Zach Schuster: I'm excited to see what happens this year. Curtis was trying to stir the pot. Can we get any trash talk about Curtis out of you?
Eric Brunner: Oh gosh. I'd probably have to think and get back to you.
Zach Schuster: I think you guys are pretty evenly matched. I think it's a story we can tell. There might be other guys who come in. Kerry's going to want to stir things up. But it seems like you guys are on a similar trajectory career-wise. I think it could be a good thing.
Eric Brunner: Definitely. Curtis is a pretty good friend of mine. It's not that I can't talk trash, but it's kind of weird.
Zach Schuster: Cool man. Stay healthy. I don't want to see you on Crit Drama from these kermesses, and we'll see you at GO Cross?
Eric Brunner: Yep. I'm doing it all from then through the World Cups.
Zach Schuster: Curtis' wish is coming true. Brunner is racing more.
Eric Brunner: We'll whip each other into shape.
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