Cyclocrossers take command at USA Cycling’s amateur nats
Logan Owen and Kaitlin Antonneau are among those collecting road titles at amateur nats in Wisconsin
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A pair of cyclocrossers took command of the road on Friday at the 2013 USA Cycling Amateur & Para-cycling Road National Championships in Wisconsin.
Logan Owen (California Giant-Specialized), an eight-time national ‘cross champion, finally claimed a victory at road nationals, which this year is taking place at Blue Mound State Park east of Madison.
In the 17-18 men’s race Owen found himself pitted against Stephen Bassett (Kentucky Flyers-Texas Roadhouse) on the final climb, eventually edging Bassett by just two seconds. Curtis White rounded out the podium in third.
In the under-23 women’s contest, Kaitlin Antonneau (Exergy Twenty16) topped runner-up Alexis Ryan (NOW and Novartis for MS) and Katherine Shields (Carolina Masters-Pain Pathways) to add to the U23 time trial title she won on Thursday.
Adrien Costa (Slipstream-Craddock Junior Development) also took home a second title in two days when he soloed away from teammate Christopher Blevins in the final kilometer to win the 15-16 junior men’s road race. Third-place finisher Gage Hecht (Specialized Racing Juniors) was the only rider not on the Slipstream-Craddock team to place in the top five.
In the final competition of the day, the open men’s race, Stephen Leece (California Giant-Specialized) scored his first stars-and-stripes jersey, emerging from a 10-rider lead group to cross the line two seconds ahead of Cameron Cogburn (CCB Racing) with Joseph Schmalz (Elbowz Racing-Boneshaker Project) third at 12 seconds.
Racing resumes Saturday in Waterloo on Saturday with road racing for para-cyclists and 10-14-year-olds. The championships conclude Sunday with criteriums in downtown Madison.