VERONA, WISCONSIN – In the final race of the day, as the temperature dropped and the ground began to turn from the Belgian sop of earlier to a more solid, tacky course, Matt Shriver found himself with a flat tire as the men were lining up. Shriver ran to the pits, changed his wheel, ran back and had to line up in the rear. Then the gun went off. Then, as the rest of the field left him behind, he realized his rear derailleur was frozen. Then he won.
Shriver made his way to the pits, grabbed a functioning bike, then spent all but the final lap clawing his way back to the lead group, which consisted of Kevin Bradford-Parish (Cyclocrossracing.com) and Kevin McConnell (Mercy-Specialized), the two having shed early race leader Robert Marion.
Bradford-Parish gave Shriver a fierce battle, but ultimately had to settle for second as Shriver lit a final match on the last lap climb. Kevin McConnell held on as long as he could, and finished in third a handful of seconds ahead of Ken Benesh (Feedback Sports Racing). Robert Marion, who led much of the first half of the race, struggled in the second half and slipped down to fifth, but rallied to almost nip Benesh at the line.
Interview with Matt Shriver:
Stay tuned for more photos, video interviews and full results. Tune into http://cxmagazine.com for LIVE VIDEO COVERAGE of the Elite races starting at 1:00 p.m. Central time on Sunday. And don’t forget to enter to win a trip to Worlds courtesy of Raleigh!
Masters 30-34 Men Cyclocross National Championship Photo Gallery:
IN THE COWBELL FORUMS:
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