SoCal Riders Win National Criterium Championship Titles
USA Cycling Reports on the Criterium National Championships:
Labecki retains Elite Women’s title and Patrick wins Under-23 Women’s race.
The 2024 USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships continued Friday evening with the Elite/U23 Women’s Criterium and the Elite Men’s Criterium. With rain forecasted for the evening, riders would not only have to battle the demands of the six corner criterium but would also have to navigate the elements.
ELITE & UNDER-23 WOMEN’S CRITERIUM
The Elite/U23 Women’s Criterium saw 76 riders from across the nation line up to compete for the coveted Stars and Stripes jersey. Returning champion, Coryn Labecki (Tustin, Calif.; EF Education-Cannondale) was the first rider called to the line. With rain predicted to start shortly, riders had to strategically place themselves toward the front. The pack stayed together for most of the race with the occasional rider dropping off the back. Fount Cycling made several moves throughout the race. This caused the group to stay strung out, leaving Elizabeth Dixon (Chicago, Illi.; Fount Cycling Guild) room to break away. Dixon managed to stay away until the last 100-meters of the race. Labecki gave it everything she had out of the last corner to claw her way around Dixon to cross the line first. This win now makes Labecki a 74-time National Champion. When asked about this momentous win she said, “I love racing crits and I love winning… [I’m] really happy to pull off the win there. I needed a lot of patience today, and I think the rain also helped me win as well.”
Elizabeth Dixon finished the race in second, and Kendall Ryan (Ventura, Calif.; L39ION of Los Angeles) rounded out the podium in third. Chloe Patrick (Carson, Calif.; UCI CTW: Cynisca Cycling) was the first U23 rider to cross the line, followed by Mia Aseltine (Littleton, Colo.; Competitive Edge Racing) in second, and Katherine Sarkisov (North Potomac, Md.; UCI CTW: Cynisca Cycling) in third.
Many of the riders who competed tonight will be lining up on Sunday, including Labecki who knows that the course will bring an entirely new set of challenges. “Sunday is a whole different ballgame now. There’s a lot more climbing on Sunday than there is today, but obviously, you know, you take a lot of confidence from a win. [My] sprint is really strong. So, I can take that and bring it into Sunday,” said Labecki.
Elite Women’s Results:
Coryn Labecki (Tustin, Calif.; EF Education-Cannondale)
Elizabeth Dixon (Chicago, Illi.; Fount Cycling Guild)
Kendall Ryan (Ventura, Calif.; L39ION of Los Angeles)
Under-23 Women’s Results:
Chloe Patrick (Carson, Calif.; UCI CTW: Cynisca Cycling)
Mia Aseltine (Littleton, Colo.; Competitive Edge Racing)
Katherine Sarkisov (North Potomac, Md.; UCI CTW: Cynisca Cycling)
ELITE MEN’S CRITERIUM
With exactly 100 riders on the start line, tonight’s Elite Men’s Criterium was one to watch. Racers stayed together for most of the night with the occasional team sending a rider or two up the road, but it didn’t take long for Project Echelon to take complete control. As racers flew around the corners in downtown Charleston, the Echelon train was at the front almost the entire time. With just two laps remaining, the train was interrupted when the third and fourth rider on the Echelon team went down at the front, but this gave the rest of the team an opportunity to get a gap. Rolling across the line in a one-two-three train, the Project Echelon Racing team swept the podium. Stephen Bassett (Knoxville, Tenn.; Project Echelon Racing) was officially crowned champion. When asked about the team’s race tactics Bassett said, “Yeah, that was the plan [to stay out front]. Especially, I think that was the plan regardless of weather. And then with the weather, it just makes it a lot easier and safer for us to just assert position early.” Brendan Rhim (Norwich, Vt.; Project Echelon Racing) crossed the line in second, and Scott McGill (Fallston, Md.; Project Echelon Racing) rounded out the podium in third.
Results:
Stephen Bassett (Knoxville, Tenn.; Project Echelon Racing)
Brendan Rhim (Norwich, Vt.; Project Echelon Racing)
Scott McGill (Fallston, Md.; Project Echelon Racing)
Junior Women’s and Men’s Criteriums
Mclain and Che earn National Titles in the Junior Women’s and Men’s Criteriums.
The 2024 USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships resumed Thursday evening for night one of the twilight criterium. Junior Women 17-18, Junior Men 17-18, and Under-23 Men were the first to take on the course through downtown Charleston.
JUNIOR WOMEN’S 17-18 CRITERIUM
26 athletes from around the nation lined up for the Junior Women’s 17-18 Criterium. Racing for a total of 45-minutes, riders competed on a six-corner criterium course lined with hundreds of fans, including many professional athletes that raced the day before. In a game of cat and mouse, the dcdevo team launched several attacks off the front, which split the main field into two. Only 14 riders remained in the lead group for most of the race. West Virginia native, Alyssa White (Elkins, W.V.; dcdevo Racing Academy) launched a solo attack off the front with just a few laps to go but was caught on the last lap. Back together again just before the last corner, it came down to a group sprint where Landrie Mclain (Bella Vista, Ark.; BMC Walmart Oz Development) and Alyssa Sarkisov (North Potomac, Md.; dcdevo Racing Academy) finished just inches apart in first and second, respectively. When Mclain was asked about her victory ride she said, “It feels amazing to win. Honestly, I’m just so blessed to be able to be here and I thank my parents 100% for their support and I’m just so happy they came here with me. The race was so much fun. It was fast and technical with the mindset where you had to think about where everybody was. I enjoyed it so much!” Bridget Ciambotti (Charlottesville, Va.; Twenty24 Aevolo) rounded out the podium in third.
Results:
Landrie Mclain (Bella Vista, Ark.; BMC Walmart Oz Development)
Alyssa Sarkisov (North Potomac, Md.; dcdevo Racing Academy)
Bridget Ciambotti (Charlottesville, Va.; Twenty24 Aevolo)
JUNIOR MEN’S 17-18 CRITERIUM
The Junior Men 17-18 took the line immediately after the completion of the Junior Women’s 17-18 race. 74 athletes were called up to race for 60-minutes. It was a game of exchanging launched attacks between the Hot Tubes Development Cycling and EF-Education-ONTO teams, with moments of solo breakaways, but the field continued to hang on and stay formed. All together going into the final lap, it came down to a group sprint where Alejandro Che (Torrance, Calif.; Hot Tubes Development Cycling) and yesterday’s Time Trial champion, Ashlin Barry (Toronto, Canada.; EF Education-Onto) finished just feet apart in first and second, respectively. Che was elated after the finish saying, “Oh, it was crazy! It was Hot Tubes vs. EF, and there were fireworks going on everywhere. But in the end, all the cards ended up where they were supposed to be, and it ended up happening how it was supposed to happen. It was perfect.” Eneas Caden Freyre (Redding, Conn.; Kelly Benefits Strategies Cycling) rounded out the podium in third.
Results:
Alejandro Che (Torrance, Calif.; Hot Tubes Development Cycling)
Ashlin Barry (Toronto, Canada.; EF Education-Onto)
Eneas Caden Freyre (Redding, Conn.; Kelly Benefits Strategies Cycling)
UNDER-23 MEN’S CRITERIUM
The night concluded with the marquee event, the U23 Men’s Criterium. The roster was stacked with top teams from around the country. Kelly Benefit Strategies made the first attack but was soon reeled in by the group of over 40 riders. That attack was followed by a big push from Gavin Hlady (Riverside, Calif.; Aevolo Cycling). He was later joined by Caleb Landgrebe (Senoia, Ga.; Work Hard Be Humble Cycling Team) and Luke Elphingstone (Boulder, Colo.; Kelly Benefits Strategies). The group was caught with the tail end of the race approaching. Several riders attempted a flier, but nothing stuck until Gavin Hlady (Riverside, Calif.; Aevolo Cycling) launched another solo attack. Hlady held it and crossed the line first to become the U23 Men’s Criterium National Champion.
Hlady originally had a different plan in his head heading into the last few laps saying, “I spent a lot of the day just rolling some breaks and just trying to help the team out, being up the road. And then just at the end, I was setting up for, maybe a lead out for Brody and the rider from Work Hard Be Humble sent one and I just hoped straight on, rode it for half a lap, dropped him, and by then the group had just completely sat up. So, then it was just a nice little victory lap.”
With hundreds of spectators surrounding the course the energy under the lights was barely insurmountable but Hlady’s win was a special one saying, “It was amazing under the lights, it just could not be better. The atmosphere was great here in Charleston. I could barely hear the crowds over my own screaming, I was super excited.” Finishing in second was Nathan Cusack (Chevy Chase, Md.; Kelly Benefits Strategies Cycling) with Luca Haines (Durango, Colo.; Team California P/B Verge) rounding out the podium in third.
Results:
Gavin Hlady (Riverside, Calif.; Aevolo Cycling)
Nathan Cusack (Chevy Chase, Md.; Kelly Benefits Strategies Cycling)
Luca Haines (Durango, Colo.; Team California P/B Verge)
Photo – Coryn Labecki (Tustin, Calif.; EF Education-Cannondale)
Photo credit: Jered Gruber & Ashley Gruber | Gruber Images
