The Elite Track National Championships have come to an end after four days of exciting racing, with many new National Champions being crowned.
Jennifer Valente claims her first elite national title
One of the most exciting events of the day was the women’s keirin final. Cristin Walker (Houston, TX/Momentum Coaching Group p/b Atomic) put herself in the front position right from the start, but when the pacer pulled off, the race was on. The leader’s position changed a few times, and in the end it took a photo finish to name 17-year-old Jennifer Valente (San Diego, CA/Exergy TWENTY12) the new national champion.
“Going into it I was nervous, that’s for sure,” the junior said after cooling down. “It was my last official race as a junior so there was a little pressure but I was just trying to have fun with it. The actual race was really hard and the whole field was made up of friends and teammates that I train with day in and day out.”
The win marks Valente’s first national title at the elite level. Walker settled for the silver while Tela Crane (Sammamish, WA/Broadmark Capital/Lake Washington Velo) collected bronze. Dana Feiss (Telford, PA/Home Depot Center Team/CPT) and Shelby Reynolds (Cypress, TX/Helens/Cannondale/Helens Racing) rounded out the podium in fourth and fifth.
Matthew Baranoski completes his comeback with a win in the sprint
This weekend, Matthew Baranoski (Perkasie, PA/Pure Energy Cycling-ProAirHFA) is wrapping up what has proven to be a very eventful month for him. The Penn State student won the elite national title in the men’s sprint this evening after beating out teammate Andrew Lakatosh (Trexlertown, PA/Pure Energy Cycling-ProAirHFA) in the gold medal round.
The win comes just one week after the 19-year-old won two collegiate national titles on the track, a feat he completed just 20 days after having surgery for a broken collar bone.
Winning the bronze medal match in the men’s sprint was Giddeon Massie (Cypress, CA/Bike Religion) when he bested the top qualifier, TJ Mathieson (Redondo Beach, CA/Momentum Coaching Group p/b Atomic). Conor Klupar (Fall City, WA/Revel Consulting/Rad Racing NW) grabbed the podium’s final step in fifth.
Olympic silver medalist Tamayo teams up with Higgins and Crowell for team pursuit gold
Team Exergy TWENTY 12 took the top step of the podium twice today. In addition to Valente’s win in the keirin, the team’s trio of Lauren Tamayo (Asheville, N.C.), Cari Higgins (Boulder, Colo.), and Jacquelyn Crowell (Maitland, Fla.) struck gold in the women’s team pursuit. They posted a time of 3:38.027 to beat out the Quads’N Dots squad of Korina Huizar (Roseville, Calif.), Amanda Seigle (Citrus Heights, Calif.), and Elizabeth Newell (Oakland, Calif.).
“We have the ultimate teammate in Lauren Tamayo, an Olympic silver medalist. And we have myself, really experienced, having spent years doing the team pursuit with Lauren so that we read each other really well,” Higgins explained after the win. “And we had a new girl, Jackie, who is so strong but doesn’t have experience in the team pursuit. So the strategy was to really teach her along the way, take all the stress off of her, let Lauren and I worry about the pacing, and just keep the team together.”
Winning the bronze medal match was Team DB’s Amber Gaffney (Claremont, Calif.), Tara McCormick (Long Beach, Calif.), and Joy McCulloch (Yucaipa, Calif.). They won over fourth place team, Now Cycling which was made up of Kate Wilson (Los Angeles, Calif.), Neva Day (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), and Morgan Kapp (Claremont, Calif.)
Team Type Zac takes the men’s team pursuit
The foursome of Charles Eldridge (Alpharetta, Ga.), Zachary Kovalcik (Portland, Ore.), Zack Noonan (Kutztown, Pa.), and Daniel Holt (Atlanta, Ga.) teamed up to form Team Type Zac. They took the gold medal over Team Chicago’s Thomas Briney (Chicago, Ill.), Liam Donoghue (Chicago, Ill.), David Moyer (Chicago, Ill.), and John Tomlinson (Chicago, Ill.). The Other Guys, made up of Daniel Gay (Temecula, Calif.), Andrew Kruse (Minneapolis, Minn.), Martin Vecchio (Detroit, Mich.), and Joe Kolling (Newport Beach, Calif.), grabbed the bronze medal.
Six para-cycling national champs are crowned
Team Wheel’s Kevin Meyers (Greenfield, Wis.) and Robert Springer (Kenosha, Wis.) clocked a 11.700 to claim the win in the Men’s BVI 200-meter time trial.
In the men’s C4 individual pursuit, Aaron Trent (Colorado Springs, CO/Speedfix Racing p/b Zubaz) rode his way into a Stars-and-Stripes jersey when he beat out silver medalist Jonathan Copsey (Colorado Springs, CO/Paralympic National Team). Jeffrey Martin (Oceanside, CA/Crank Cycling) won the pursuit for third ahead of Justin Widhalm (Fountain, CO/Ride 2 Recovery) while Steve Kelly (Draper, UT/Bountiful Mazda Cycling Team) was fifth.
In the men’s C5 individual pursuit, it was Vincent Juarez (San Jose, CA/Team Mike’s Bikes) to take the win ahead of second-place rider Zachary Linhardt (Yukon, OK/G S Adams Avenue Bicycles/Adams Avenue Bicycles).
Kelly Crowley (Redwood City, CA/Primal/Map My Ride Professional Women’s Team), who won Paralympic bronze in both the road race and time trial, grabbed another medal for her collection tonight when she won the women’s C5 individual pursuit.
In the men’s BVI individual pursuit, Chester Triplett (Mooresville, NC/ColoBikeLaw.com) teamed up with Karl Erickson (Boulder, Colo./ColoBikeLaw.com) to clock a 4:37.705 for the win ahead of Kevin Meyers (Greenfield, Wis./Team Wheel & Sprocket) and Robert Springer (Kenosha, Wis./Team Wheel & Sprocket).
In the women’s BVI event, Kara Vatthauer (Tucson, Ariz.) and Mackenzie Woodring (Belmont, Mich./Einstein Racing) took the victory in 3:56.064 ahead of second-place duo Rachael Scdoris (Bend, Ore.) and Lisa Turnbull (Springfield, Ore.)
Jacquelyn Crowell enjoys success at the beginning of her track cycling career
After only racing on the track for about a month, Jacquelyn Crowell (Maitland, Fla./Exergy TWENTY 12) grabbed the national title in the women’s points race tonight.
A roadie by background, Crowell lapped the field once with Elizabeth Newell (Oakland, Calif./NOW and Novartis for MS) and at the end of the 100 laps had scored 32 points to take the win. She adds the gold medal to a collection which also includes a gold medal she earned last night with teammates Cari Higgins (Boulder, Colo.) and Lauren Tamayo (Asheville, N.C.) in the team pursuit.
“I knew I’d race aggressively because I have the endurance from the road, so I went into it knowing that I have that strength over the other riders,” Crowell explained afterwards. “My plan was to attack after the sprints and I did that successfully. I lapped the field with Beth Newell, and after that, I think she was spent and I was able to keep going.”
Finishing second to the new track cyclist was teammate Higgins, who also scored 32 points, and Newell took the bronze medal with 26 points. Lauren Hall (Dolores, CO/UCI WPT: TIBCO to The Top) and Kimberly Geist (Emmaus, PA/Chester County Cycling Foundation) rounded out the podium with 18 and 9 points.
2012 Olympian Bobby Lea takes a lap to win the men’s points race
Right from the get-go in the men’s points race, 2012 Olympian Bobby Lea (Mertztown, PA/Pure Energy Cycling-ProAirHFA) put himself into position to win.
“It ended up falling right in my hands when I got up the road with three other guys, and as luck would have it, I was able to get away from them and take a lap solo,” Lea explained afterwards. “My teammate Jackie Simes was in the field waiting for me. Then it was just recovering, protecting the lead, and taking it ten laps at a time.”
With a total of 39 points, Lea took his 14th national title. Winning the silver and bronze medals were Daniel Holloway (Morgan Hill, CA/) and Liam Donoghue (Chicago, IL/xXx Racing) with 24 and 17 points respectively. Daniel Holt (Atlanta, GA/Team Type 1- Development) and Stefan Rothe (Austin, TX/Tulsa Tough Racing pb ICEdot) grabbed the fourth and fifth steps of the podium tonight.
Walker holds off Godby for the women’s sprint title
After qualifying in second in the 200-meter time trial, Cristin Walker (Houston, TX/Momentum Coaching Group p/b Atomic) held off first-place qualifier and Thursday’s 500-meter time trial champ Madalyn Godby (Louisville, CO/enCompass Racing) in the decider of the women’s sprint final. Earlier in the night, Tela Crane (Sammamish, WA/Broadmark Capital/Lake Washington Velo) won the bronze medal match against Dana Feiss (Telford, PA/Home Depot Center Team/CPT) while Melissa (Missy) Erickson (Cypress, CA/) grabbed the final spot on the podium in fifth.
Massie claims victory in the men’s keirin
Sprint strong man Giddeon Massie (Cypress, CA/Bike Religion) took the gold medal in the men’s keirin tonight after national sprint champion Matthew Baranoski (Perkasie, PA/Pure Energy Cycling-ProAirHFA) crossed the line first but was relegated by officials. Next up for the silver and bronze medals were Andrew Lakatosh (Trexlertown, PA/Pure Energy Cycling-ProAirHFA) and Danny Robertson (Rolling Meadows, IL/WDT-Allvoi International Cycling Team) while TJ Mathieson (Redondo Beach, CA/Momentum Coaching Group p/b Atomic) and Daniel Walker (Orange, CA/Rubicon Cycling) rounded out the podium in fourth and fifth.
Katie Compton teams up with Cari Higgins to dominate women’s Madison
After competing in a ‘cross race yesterday, strong woman Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo.) flew out to L.A. last night to compete in the women’s 25-kilometer Madison with Cari Higgins (Boulder, Colo.) today. The pair made up the Taint Slow team, and together they dominated the field.
“Track suffering is different than any other suffering,” Compton explained afterwards when asked about the duo’s strategy. “We wanted to make sure we kept the pace on, and depending on who was there throwing in Cari for the sprints more than me. And taking a lap is always in the plan just to secure a win.”
The pair raced really smart and took a lap halfway through so that they could finish up by just focusing on the sprints.
Coming in second for the silver medal was the Walshy’s Girls duo of Kate Wilson (Los Angeles, CA) and Lauren Hall (Dolores, CO) while NOW/COG’s Morgan Kapp (Claremont, CA) and Neva Day (Manhattan Beach, CA) took the bronze medal. Shelby Reynolds (Cypress, TX) and Tara McCormick (Long Beach, CA) were fourth while Lindsey Hamilton (Minneapolis, MN) and Erin Glover (Portland, OR) rounded out the podium in fifth.
Bobby Lea and Jack Simes team up for a men’s Madison win
After a thrilling men’s Madison, Bobby Lea (Mertztown, Pa.) found himself on the top of the podium again, this time with Pure Energy Cycling teammate John (Jackie) Simes (New Tripoli, Pa.).
“This is the third crack we’ve taken at the race,” Lea said afterwards. “The last two years we’ve come up a little short so this year we decided to come out of the gates hard and take the bulls by the horn.”
“We wanted to pick up some points early and put the pressure on everyone else,” Simes explained further. “We were about 10 points ahead early on. The Optum guys came back and put some pressure on us at the end but we held it out.”
Optum Raleigh’s Daniel Holloway (Morgan Hill, CA) and Ian Moir (Long Beach, CA) held on for second while the More Than Sport duo of Guy East (Unionville, IN) and Austin Carroll (Orange, CA) collected the bronze. Grabbing fourth place was the HB Kraken team of Collin Berry (Huntington Beach, CA) and Danny Heeley (Hermosa Beach, CA) while Rothe Training’s Zachary Kovalcik (Portland, OR) and Stefan Rothe (Austin, TX) took the final place on the podium in fifth.
More national titles awarded in the men’s kilo and the women’s team sprint
Matthew Baranoski (Perkasie, PA/Pure Energy Cycling-ProAirHFA) clocked a time of 01:03.2 to win another Stars-and-Stripes jersey this weekend in the men’s kilometer time trial. He bested silver medalist TJ Mathieson (Redondo Beach, CA/Momentum Coaching Group p/b Atomic) who posted a time of 01:04.5. Giddeon Massie (Cypress, CA/Bike Religion) won the bronze medal with a time of 01:04.9 while Danny Robertson (Rolling Meadows, IL/WDT-Allvoi International Cycling Team) and Quinn Hatfield (Los Angeles, CA/Velo Club LaGrange) rounded out the podium in fourth and fifth.
In the women’s team sprint, Broadmark Encompass team of Madalyn Godby (Louisville, CO) and Tela Crane (Sammamish, WA) combined forces to outsprint the Panda Express duo of Dana Feiss (Telford, PA) and Melissa (Missy) Erickson (Cypress, CA). Grabbing the bronze medal was Bike Central’s Alissa Maglaty (Piedmont, CA/) and Jen Featheringill (Portland, OR). Portlandia’s Erin Glover (Portland, OR) and Anissa Cobb (Portland, OR) earned fourth while the final step on the podium went to HWTPP’s Emily Thurston (San Pablo, CA) and Mary Glenn Carrasco (Foster City, CA).
Six more national champions crowned in para-cycling
In the Para C3 Men’s 1-km Time Trial, Jason Paxton (Cibolo, Texas) clocked a 1:17.993 to take the win ahead of William Mitchel-Chesebro (Carmel Valley, Calif./Get Crackin’-MS Society) who posted a 1:19.691.
Aaron Trent (Colorado Springs, CO/Speedfix Racing p/b Zubaz) won the C4 men’s kilo ahead of silver and bronze medalists Jonathan Copsey (Colorado Springs, CO/Paralympic National Team) and Justin Widhalm (Fountain, CO/Ride 2 Recovery) while Jeffrey Martin (Oceanside, CA/Crank Cycling) and Steve Kelly (Draper, UT/Bountiful Mazda Cycling Team) were fourth and fifth.
Vincent Juarez (San Jose, Calif./Team Mike’s Bikes) clocked a 1:13.048 over the kilometer to claim the gold medal ahead of Zachary Lindhart (Yukon, Ohio/GS Adams Avenue) in the C5 men’s event.
Team Wheel & Sprocket’s Kevin Meyers (Greenfield, WI) and Robert Springer (Sturtevant, WI) teamed up to win the men’s BVI event over the ColoBikeLaw.com team of Karl Erickson (Boulder, CO) and Chester Triplett (Mooresville, NC).
In the C2 women’s 500-meter time trial, Laura Sobchik (Santa Monica, Calif./U.S. Paralympics) rode her way into a Stars-and-Stripes jersey with a time of 49.208. In more women’s racing, Kara Vatthauer (Tucson, Ariz.) combined forces with Mackenzie Woodring (Belmont, Mich./Einstein Racing) to post a time of 1:16.349 in the women’s BVI kilometer time test and take the win ahead of Rachael Scdoris (Bend, Ore.) and Lisa Turnbull (Springfield, Ore.) who posted a 1:20.078.
Photo Courtesy Dr. Brent Kay
