Pan-American Cyclocross Championships Race Report
McGill and Brunner claim elite titles
Coming into the Pan-American Championships weekend, we had a pretty good idea about who would fight for the elite men’s and women’s titles. However, figuring out who would actually put on the jersey at the end of the day, to paraphrase Don Draper, “That’s what the racing is for.1”
Elite Women
Coming into Sunday’s championship race, we had three favorites: Katie Clouse (Steve Tilford Foundation), Sidney McGill (Cervélo Orange Living) and Isabella Holmgren (Lidl Trek). We also had a dark horse: Natalie Quinn (CCB p/b Levine Law Group).
Taking a break from the road, Quinn raced Charm City, Kings and Really Rad before this weekend. After a fourth place in Saturday’s Thunder Cross, she announced her intentions to be a factor this weekend. On Sunday, the 2023 U23 U.S. road racing national champ wasted no time incorporating herself into the lead group in the championship race.
If you’ve been following the Bulletin’s coverage of U.S. domestic cyclocross racing this season and listened to our interviews on Cyclocross Radio, you know that Clouse has been spending the last two months working her way back into top cyclocross form. In recent battles with Maghalie Rochette, she has seemed content to follow wheels and take her chances in the final lap.
Clouse came into Sunday’s race with a different game plan.
I was trying to be aggressive today. I knew yesterday Bella had a little bit of a slower start, so I was like, “Maybe we'll just put the pressure on today.” I felt pretty good and I wanted to race aggressive. I haven't really done that this season where I've been at the front and have been aggressive in the race. To be the one pushing the pace. So it felt good to be doing that.
With Holmgren not at the front of the field in the early moments of the race, Clouse went on the attack and built up a five-second gap by lap two. A few missteps, most notably coming into the flyover staircase too hot, allowed McGill, Holmgren and Quinn to reel Clouse back in.
As she did the day before in Thunder Cross, Holmgren used the planks to put in a strong dig. She caught McGill off her bike once through the section with two laps to go, but not again. In the final lap, McGill was able to anticipate the move and stick to Holmgren’s wheel with Clouse right there as well.
I wasn't hopping them yesterday, but then I hopped them today, trying to save a little energy, and keep my speed up. I think it was two to go, and there was traffic. It slowed down quite a bit, so I just dismounted and then had to chase back. But for the last lap, I made sure I was off to the side a little bit so there was room for me to hop, and then I could hold on to the group and be ready for the pass right after.
With one lap to go, Clouse, Holmgren and McGill were all together and gaming out how the end would play out. As we saw in Saturday’s races, the sprint before the sprint was to the beginning of the off-camber that paralleled Tower Street. What we learned on Sunday is that the sprint before the sprint was actually to pit two.
The trio raced together for the first half of the lap, all three vying for the lead. Holmgren patrolled the front, knowing she had to defend against imminent attacks. McGill waited until pit two, knowing it was her last best opportunity.
On the last lap, I was sitting third wheel in the group with Katie and Bella, and I just saw a little opportunity to pass coming into pit two and took it. It was just all out from there, like try and hold onto it.
McGill successfully held on, coming around the final turns with Holmgren a bike length behind and Clouse sitting third. McGill wound up her sprint, never looked back and crossed the line as the new Pan American Champion.
For Holmgren, fighting from behind at the beginning cost her a few too many matches to defend her title at the finish.
I think I was just a little too far back on the first laps and then tried to push it more on the last two laps, but Sid had a really good finish, and she had a really good pass in the pits. Coming out of pit two was probably one of the most important sections. The sprint isn’t super long—Ian [Ackert] sprinted from behind yesterday—but I knew I had to be first going into the finishing straight.
Clouse, who finished third, found the outcome disappointing, but she came away feeling optimistic about the day.
Overall, I'm super happy. It was super aggressive racing, which I really love about ‘cross. And I'm glad everyone after the race is awesome with it. It was a fun race.
Elite Men
Three of the four favorites for Sunday’s championship event raced on Saturday, giving us some good conversation starters but no hard data going into Sunday. Ian Ackert (Trek Future Racing) won that race but wouldn’t participate in the men’s elite race on Sunday. Ackert repeated as the U23 Pan American champion later in the day.
Eric Brunner (Comp Edge Racing) crashed multiple times on Saturday and did not look like the Eric Brunner we saw destroy this course a year ago to take the Pan American Championship. Scott Funston (Cervélo Orange Living) looked strong on Saturday, fighting with Ackert for the win, and looked to be in good form coming into Sunday. Curtis White (Steve Tilford Racing) fought from behind on Saturday and methodically worked towards a podium finish. Andrew Strohmeyer (CXD Trek Bikes) opted out of the Thunder Cross C2 race, saving his efforts for the championship race.
Off the line, a rested Strohmeyer set the tone early, announcing his intentions that this would not be a Sunday stroll2. Funston was unfazed by the acceleration, immediately jumping on Strohmeyer’s wheel. Unlike the past few weeks, Brunner was also at the front. Putting his recent poor starts behind him, the defending champ was in the fight early.
As the lead group settled in, White, Tyler Clark (Hockley Valley Resort Armada), local favorite Caleb Swartz (ENVE/Forward Endurance Coaching), and Evan Russell (Toronto Hustle) joined the group. Swartz3 and Russell dropped back after the opening laps, leaving a group of four with Clark dangling a few seconds behind.
Thirty minutes into the race, Funston was no longer in the group after a mechanical forced him to run to the pit for a new bike. With Funston out of the picture, Brunner moved to the front and started to push the pace.
Brunner’s pace soon proved too much for Strohmeyer, who dropped back, leaving White as the sole chaser. Knowing the win was his for the taking, Brunner did not let up for the remainder of the race. White could never close the gap but was no more than a few bike lengths behind the remainder of the race.
Brunner took the win to repeat as Pan-American champion. White finished second, with Strohmeyer in third. Scott Funston worked his way back to fourth, with Clark finishing in fifth.
U23 Women
U23 Men
Junior Women
Junior Men
That’s what the money is for
Sunday Stroll
Swartz suffered a mechanical and was forced to drop out of the race.
Discussion point for the next podcast? What exactly is the rule regarding drones? At Really Rad, I heard the announcer tell a drone operator to pull his drone off the course. The livestream of this race had LOTS of drone coverage. Seems to me, this could be a relatively cost effective way to stream races?
At the key moment, it looked like Strohmeyer slipped out slightly coming onto the pavement and had to dab, Brunner immediately punched it, and that was it. I thought Strohmeyer must have had a mechanical issue because he was immediately dropped as they went through the parking lots and seemed to be babying the bike through turns, as if he had a flat. I fully expected him to go into the pit.