It might be winter vacation for a lot of students, but class was in session on Wednesday at the Men’s Collegiate Varsity race in Hartford. Collegiate riders traded their studies of the three R’s for the three M’s – mud, mud, and mud. Brannan Fix (Colorado Mesa University) aced his mud exam and earned his Stars-and-Stripes jersey with a dominant performance from start to finish.
The high road looks to be THE road in the Collegiate men's race. pic.twitter.com/pLCuWQPBnS
— Cyclocross Magazine (@cyclocross) January 4, 2017
Fix jumped out to a fast lead from the opening whistle. After climbing and descending the iconic embankment, he held a 15 second lead on Henry Nadell (Fort Lewis College) and Jonathan Anderson (Fort Lewis College) while a chase group formed behind them. Fix would continue to extend the lead each lap by powering through the muddy straights and staying swift through the many running sections. He would eventually win the race by 55 seconds to take home the National Championship.
The mud was very slippery and this run-up challenged racers all day. Collegiate Men Varsity – Hartford, CT. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
Fix said he was stoked about racing in the mud, “I love this weather. I was hoping for it all week, just checking the forecast over and over again. I’m glad we got some mud finally this season. It feels good to come here and do what I’ve been waiting to do all season.”
Brannan Fix inside bell lap with sizeable lead #cxnats2017 pic.twitter.com/1Nu7vMOA3W
— Cyclocross Magazine (@cyclocross) January 4, 2017
Brannan fix crosses the finish line in victory. 2017 Cyclocross Nationals, Varsity Collegiate Men. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
Despite his love of the mud, it was the power straights where Fix really made the difference, “I did my first year over in Europe a couple of years ago and did a couple of races with a lot of tractor pull and had good results there. I love getting onto those straightaways and just putting the head down and pedaling hard.”
The Fort Lewis duo of Nadell and Anderson had a spirited team battle for the silver medal. The two rode together for the first half before Anderson started to pull away from Nadell with two laps to go. He kept the gap at eight seconds heading into the last lap and kept his teammate at bay to take second. Nadell held on for the bronze, Cody Cupp (Fort Lewis University) finished fourth, and Liam Earl (Colorado Mesa University) took fifth. Full results below.
2017 CX National Championships Hartford Day 2 Results Collegiate Men Varsity
| Place | Bib | Last | First | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 228 | FIX | Brannan | Colorado Mesa University | 45:32:00 | |
| 2 | 263 | ANDERSON | Jonathan | Fort Lewis College | 46:27:00 | 55 |
| 3 | 259 | NADELL | Henry | Fort Lewis College | 46:31:00 | 59 |
| 4 | 261 | CUPP | Cody | Fort Lewis College | 46:50:00 | 1:18 |
| 5 | 227 | EARL | Liam | Colorado Mesa University | 47:01:00 | 1:29 |
| 6 | 280 | NYSTROM | Anders | Marian University | 47:12:00 | 1:40 |
| 7 | 284 | BICKMORE | Cade | Marian University | 47:59:00 | 2:27 |
| 8 | 271 | MCGILL | Scott | Brevard College | 49:53:00 | 4:21 |
| 9 | 258 | TRUJILLO | Skyler | Fort Lewis College | 50:06:00 | 4:34 |
| 10 | 275 | BECKETT | Carson | Brevard College | 50:19:00 | 4:47 |
| 11 | 243 | MULLALY | Keith | Belmont Abbey College | 50:45:00 | 5:13 |
| 12 | 270 | SHAW | Walker | Brevard College | 51:00:00 | 5:28 |
| 13 | 285 | BENDER | Zach | Marian University | 51:18:00 | 5:46 |
| 14 | 241 | GREATHOUSE | Tristan | Belmont Abbey College | 51:33:00 | 6:01 |
| 15 | 251 | MEADVANCORT | Jonah | Lindenwood University | 52:33:00 | 7:01 |
| 16 | 262 | BUCKLEY | Harrison | Fort Lewis College | 52:33:00 | s.t. |
| 17 | 268 | VALDEZ | Zachary | Brevard College | 52:40:00 | 7:08 |
| 18 | 236 | BAILEY | Andrew | Milligan College | 53:00:00 | 7:28 |
| 19 | 279 | SCALA JR | Hugo | Marian University | 53:08:00 | 7:36 |
| 20 | 286 | WINTERS | Sam | Marian University | 53:27:00 | 7:55 |
| 21 | 267 | DOBROZSI | Samuel | Lees-McRae College | 53:37:00 | 8:05 |
| 22 | 283 | FLETCHER | Vance | Marian University | 53:57:00 | 8:25 |
| 23 | 265 | HOOVER | Alec | Lees-McRae College | 54:19:00 | 8:47 |
| 24 | 257 | VICKERY | Sam | Fort Lewis College | 55:11:00 | 9:39 |
| 25 | 282 | HOFFMAN JR. | John | Marian University | 55:54:00 | 10:22 |
| 26 | 274 | DANGELMAIER | Ray | Brevard College | 56:03:00 | 10:31 |
| 27 | 264 | PERRY | Jack | Lees-McRae College | 56:18:00 | 10:46 |
| 28 | 235 | FINCHAM | Sean | Savannah College of Art and Design - Atlanta | 56:43:00 | 11:11 |
| 29 | 233 | SAGAT | Artur | Savannah College of Art and Design - Atlanta | 57:05:00 | 11:33 |
| 30 | 250 | OLESON | Reece | Lindenwood University | 57:37:00 | 12:05 |
| 31 | 273 | KINGSBURY | Trever | Brevard College | 45:47:00 | @1Lap |
| 32 | 254 | GOMES | Austin | Lindenwood University | 45:58:00 | @1Lap |
| 33 | 240 | CAREY | Thomas | Belmont Abbey College | 46:06:00 | @1Lap |
| 34 | 238 | BROOKSHIRE | Grayson | Milligan College | 46:22:00 | @1Lap |
| 35 | 278 | MORKAL WILLIAMS | Samuel | Warren Wilson College | 46:24:00 | @1Lap |
| 36 | 237 | BALDWIN | Andrew | Milligan College | 46:49:00 | @1Lap |
| 37 | 272 | LOWDEN | Zachary | Brevard College | 46:54:00 | @1Lap |
| 38 | 255 | COTE | Derek | Lindenwood University | 48:06:00 | @1Lap |
| 39 | 260 | FROEHLICHER | Bryan | Fort Lewis College | 48:41:00 | @1Lap |
| 40 | 232 | SCARANO | Andrew | Savannah College of Art and Design - Atlanta | 48:42:00 | @1Lap |
| 41 | 230 | TANKERSLEY | Nolan | King University | 48:43:00 | @1Lap |
| 42 | 247 | CARMEL | Zachery | Mars Hill University | 49:11:00 | @1Lap |
| 43 | 253 | JOHNSON | Lane | Lindenwood University | 49:43:00 | @1Lap |
| 44 | 229 | ELLIS | Kyle | King University | 50:36:00 | @1Lap |
| 45 | 248 | HAKE | Nathan | Mars Hill University | 51:21:00 | @1Lap |
| 46 | 288 | SCHOONOVER | Nathaniel | Lindenwood University | 51:50:00 | @1Lap |
| 47 | 234 | FOERSTER | Peter | Savannah College of Art and Design - Atlanta | @1Lap | |
| 48 | 269 | STANIAK | Zack | Brevard College | 52:10:00 | @1Lap |
| 49 | 266 | HARDIN | William | Lees-McRae College | 52:53:00 | @1Lap |
| 50 | 252 | JOHNSON | Cole | Lindenwood University | 53:57:00 | @1Lap |
| 51 | 245 | GUELZO | Andrew | Piedmont College | 54:29:00 | @1Lap |
| 52 | 244 | OWEN | Matthew | King University | 54:58:00 | @1Lap |
| 53 | 256 | COLESTOCK | Jason | Lindenwood University | 56:29:00 | @1Lap |
| 54 | 226 | COOPER | Gregory | Prescott College | 58:38:00 | @1Lap |
| 55 | 231 | VARGAS | Wilman | Savannah College of Art and Design - Atlanta | 1:01:12 | @1Lap |
| 56 | 277 | WAGNER | Harris | Warren Wilson College | 1:01:42 | @1Lap |
| 57 | 287 | MOOREFIELD | Silas | Lees-McRae College | 52:07:00 | @2Laps |
| DNF | 281 | MCSHANE | Ian | Marian University | ||
| DNF | 246 | CANTRELL | Dylan | Piedmont College | ||
| DNS | 239 | WENTWORTH | Samuel | Milligan College | ||
| DNS | 276 | WEST | Bergen | Warren Wilson College |
