Junior AJ August Turns in Impressive 5th-Place Ride at First Worlds
The first-year Junior from Upstate New York scored the best U.S. result of the Fayetteville weekend
Upstate New York and the Park Ave. Bike team have a knack for producing young talent in recent years. Magnus Sheffield, IDK you may have heard of him, came up through the program and raced for the Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld team before switching to the road and ultimately joining the WorldTour.
The next young star following in Sheffield’s footsteps is AJ August of Pittsford, New York. August first hit the Bulletin radar this summer when he went toe-to-toe with Ian Boswell at the Vermont Overland and finished 2nd ahead of riders such as Lance Haidet, Ted King, and Curtis White. He then went on to podium in the Junior races at many of the USCX series events and finish 2nd at U.S. Nationals in December.
On Sunday in Fayetteville, he was one of several talented U.S. riders representing the home team. Magnus White won U.S. Nationals, and Frank O’Reilly finished 3rd there in a competitive race. All three riders entered the race at Worlds with at least a change of competing for the podium.
As the fast, competitive race progressed, it was August who avoided race favorite David Haverdings when he crashed in Lap 2 and kept pace with the lead group. When things broke apart in the latter part of the race, August ended up in the chase for 4th against French rider Corentin Lequet.
August came up just short in the sprint and came away with a 5th-place finish as a 16-year-old Junior.
I briefly chatted with August after the race.
Zach Schuster: What were you expecting coming into today? You had a good season, home soil.
AJ August: I knew the course suited me, and the home soil helped all the more. I wasn't expecting this, but I got into the position and the legs felt good, and I just held it. And the fans were just so loud, like nothing I've ever heard. It was crazy.
Zach Schuster: We saw yesterday it was going to be a fast start. Did you know that was going to be a key to this race?
AJ August: Yeah, I did. It's a really fast course, and I knew it was going to be mostly group racing. I actually didn't get a great initial start, but I made it up on the first lap.
Zach Schuster: Once things broke, you were in the lead group, and how did you end up where you were at?
AJ August: On the third lap going up the climb, the whole group just clumped together, and I came off on the backside of it. Splits happened, and I just missed it.
Zach Schuster: When you knew you were racing for fourth, what were you thinking?
AJ August: There were those two Belgian guys behind us, and I definitely didn't want those guys to catch up, so it was about doing the right amount of work but not too much.
Zach Schuster: You guys have had a great season with some great results, what does this tell you about the young riders you have?
AJ August: It shows that we can do it when we have the right conditions. It shows the difference between racing in the U.S. and in Europe, and it goes both ways.
Zach Schuster: You mentioned the crowd, is the support what you expected?
AJ August: I was definitely expecting it to be loud, but not that loud. It was wild.
Zach Schuster: Thanks dude and congratulations.
AJ August: Thank you.