Monday, December 23, 2019
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Monday, December 16, 2019
Brian's Report from Cyclocross Nationals
Cx Nationals wrapped up yesterday with a seismic shift in the established order as Clara Honsinger and Gage Hecht defeated established champions Katie Compton and Stephen Hyde. The Upper Valley can be proud to be represented by Kelton Williams in the U-23 race. I am very grateful to Brian Williams for providing some first-hand commentary.
Brian: NATS went as good as could be expected for a first year U23. Kelton had a great start going from the back near the top ten but a classic “over start” too. Faded hard on the 3rd lap and just did not have the best legs, ultimately ended up somewhere around 28/43. Everyone ahead of him was on some form of collegiate team or professional team. Think he kind of hit the ceiling in his given environment, if he wants to improve he will need some form of coaching, consistent high level racing or team dynamics. He has the speed and the skills just not the speed endurance and force that you get with age and continual overload from hard UCI or World Cup racing. Overall though he was happy and represented well, we really had a pro setup with a tent and everything we needed to perform our best. We got the chance to help out a couple other Idaho riders and some upcoming junior talent plus show off the new bike to some interested parties. The venue was about perfect with ideal cross conditions. Thanks for all the help and support!
Ultimately we had a good experience, learned a lot more about CX and what it takes to do it at the highest level. We go to events like that when given the chance so we can discover new opportunities, learn and rub shoulders with some of the best athletes and industry folks in the sport. It was awesome watching Gage and Clara win the elite title. I have a tubing customer and friend John Slawta (land shark), who built a bike for a junior to compete with at NATS in the 13-14 division because he sees something special in him...he finished 14th starting from the very last row out of 70 juniors. John also built Clara Honsingers first road bike not to mention the entire 7-Eleven teams bikes that where branded Huffy, including the bike Andy Hampsten won the Giro on. Needless to say I'm sure the 13 year old boy has no idea he is being mentored and sponsored by a bike legend. Not sure what we have for photos until we get them downloaded, did not have much time to set up for good pics, if anything turns out I'll gladly send some your way.