One Kuhl Customer: Heinrich Attacks Early and Wins First-Ever Nationals in Reno – Report

Christoph Heinrich (Kuhl) knew his competition in the Masters 50-54 race quite well. In fact, he had lost to several of his competitors on several occasions. In short, he knew he was in for a fight on Thursday.

One trick he had up his sleeve was the support of friends and his Kuhl teammates. The 2018 Reno Cyclocross Nationals have brought the West Coast and Western U.S. riders out in droves, and since Heinrich hails from Utah, the trip for his crew was not a long one.

“Oh absolutely,” he said when asked if the positive support helped. “We have a lot of people here from Utah and from my team, and it was great to have that support.”

Heinrich put on a show by getting off the front early and staying on the gas. He was eventually joined by former champion Victor Sheldon, but a roller tubular during the third lap ended his challenge to Heinrich’s supremacy. With no one else close to the Kuhl rider, Heinrich stayed cool and collected and rolled to his first-ever National Championship.

“It feels great,” he said. “First time I have ever won a championship and it feels great.”

One Kuhl Customer

With the strong fields at Nationals, riders know that starting fast can send a message and help put pressure on early. The Masters 50-54 race was no different, and Heinrich started strong and forced the other riders to chase him.

“It wasn’t the plan,” he said about the fast start. “I wanted to be in the elite group, and I happened to be at the front and I said, ‘Well, let’s see what happens.’ I got a gap and kept on it.”

While Heinrich was feeling good, one of the race favorites, former Elite and Masters National Champion Don Myrah got caught behind an early crash. If he was going to get into contention, it would be from nearly last place. Perhaps Masters 35-39 winner Kevin Day had used the small amount of luck allotted gingers for the afternoon.

After the first lap, Heinrich had 11 seconds on a big chase group of six. With the wind in full force, it was fair to expect the group of six to have the advantage pulling through the false flat. However, during the second lap, Heinrich’s lead only grew. He appeared to be a in a good spot.

A Bridge and a Mechanical

The one rider who took it upon himself to bring Heinrich back was Sheldon. Midway through the second lap, Sheldon broke off solo and started to chase down the leader. Heinrich has a sizeable lead, so the feat was a herculean one. At the start of the third lap, Sheldon was starting to close down the time.

Sheldon made the catch shortly after the barriers during the third of six laps. His bridge was successful and the latest tight race appeared to be on. Unfortunately, the excitement would be short-lived.

The second half of the course has been causing an increasing number of flats thanks to the rocks dotting the landscape and transitions between surfaces. Mechanicals appear to be playing an increasing role in the racing in Reno. Sheldon did not flat, but he did roll a tubular on the one of the technical descents. His challenge to Heinrich was over and the course claimed its latest victim.

Sheldon had bridged solo, so Heinrich was now all alone and his lead was massive. He would not be challenged en route to his first-ever National Championship. Kuhl customer, indeed.

“It was tough because I knew there were really strong riders there who beat me in other races,” he said about his win. “I didn’t think I was going to stay away, but it worked.”

Behind Heinrich and after Sheldon’s mechanical, a chase of Roger Aspholm and Paul Bourcier formed. As the race progressed, Aspholm gapped Bourcier, but slowly but surely, former Elite and Masters champion Don Myrah worked his way forward after getting caught behind an early crash. Myrah eventually caught Aspholm and nearly completed his recovery with a second-place finish. Aspholm finished third.

Interviews and results are below.

Men Masters 50-54 Results: 2018 Reno Cyclocross Nationals

Place	Bib	LAST	First	Team	City ST	Time	Gap
1	730	HEINRICH	Christoph	KUHL Cycling Team	Salt Lake City UT	47:58
2	688	MYRAH	Donald	Northern California/Nevada Cycl	San Jose CA	48:10	12
3	653	ASPHOLM	Roger		Haworth NJ	48:17	19
4	671	BOURCIER	Paul		Eugene OR	48:50	52
5	700	FISHER	Mark	KUHL Cycling Team	Sandy UT	49:11	1:13
6	713	FUNKE	John	Team Mikes Bikes p/b Equator Co	San Francisco CA	49:15	1:17
7	719	PRENZLOW	Brent	Celo Pacific	Carlsbad CA	49:44	1:46
8	673	AUGUST	Andrew	Park Ave Bike Shop	Pittsford NY	49:53	1:55
9	696	DAUBERT	Scott	Trek Cyclocross Collective	Lake Mills WI	50:16	2:18
10	717	LAUREL	Steve	Groove Subaru Excel Sports	Longmont CO	50:36	2:38
11	728	BOWEN	Barton	Deschutes Brewery	Bend OR	50:51	2:53
12	677	MORRISSEY	Patrick	Team Cross Colorado	Boulder CO	50:54	2:56
13	676	MUNDELIUS	John		Alamo CA	51:04	3:06
14	693	SHELTON	Matthew		Mill Valley CA	42:45	@1Lap
15	657	TADDEUCCI	Joseph		Boulder CO	43:03	@1Lap
16	714	GAFFNEY	Chris	SunPower Racing	San Jose CA	43:05	@1Lap
17	692	HUETER	David	NoCo Cycling Project	Fort Collins CO	43:08	@1Lap
18	720	COATS	James	Northern California/Nevada Cycl	Bend OR	43:09	@1Lap
19	697	MYALL	Gannon	Hangar 15 Bicycles	Lafayette CA	43:12	@1Lap
20	690	HUDSON	Douglas	Feedback Sports Racing	Golden CO	43:15	@1Lap
21	721	CARAMADRE	Richard	KUHL Cycling Team	Salt Lake City UT	43:28	@1Lap
22	660	TREPESS	Rodney	Deschutes Brewery	Bend OR	43:46	@1Lap
23	706	MILLER	Jw		Madison WI	43:47	@1Lap
24	703	PLANT	Dale		Bellingham WA	43:49	@1Lap
25	652	SCHMIEDEKE	Christopher		Dallas TX	44:08	@1Lap
26	731	SHELDON	Victor		Vista CA	44:16	@1Lap
27	686	HOEFER	Todd	Family Cycling Center	Aptos CA	44:23	@1Lap
28	672	ANDERSON	Chuck		Santa Ana CA	44:42	@1Lap
29	724	KEEP	Miles		Menlo Park CA	44:53	@1Lap
30	674	GRAVER	Doug		Snohomish WA	44:56	@1Lap
31	718	LIPPERT	Dave	Monster Media Racing	La Quinta CA	45:13	@1Lap
32	716	MILLER	Ronald		Boise ID	45:14	@1Lap
33	702	GORRELL	Greg	Feedback Sports Racing	Crested Butte CO	45:18	@1Lap
34	680	HINDMAN	Steve	Pen Velo Racing/Summit Bicycles	Los Altos CA	45:23	@1Lap
35	661	FAST	Christopher	Black Sheep Velo	Seattle WA	45:36	@1Lap
36	668	OUZOUNIAN	Steve		Reno NV	45:55	@1Lap
37	651	HAMLIN	Robert	KUHL Cycling Team	Logan UT	45:56	@1Lap
38	725	FIX	Matthew	NoCo Cycling Project	Ft Collins CO	46:20	@1Lap
39	679	BECKER	Shawn	Pen Velo Racing/Summit Bicycles	Burlingame CA	46:21	@1Lap
40	707	BURKE	Robert	Eastside Cycles-Idaho	Boise ID	46:24	@1Lap
41	732	OFFERMAN	Steve	Rio Strada Racing	Sacramento, CA	46:44	@1Lap
42	683	SPANIER	Gregory		Alamo CA	46:48	@1Lap
43	669	GOTTARDI	Mike		Gold River CA	46:52	@1Lap
44	695	MARSHALL	Warren		Gilroy CA	46:52	@1Lap
45	711	HOWLAND	Mark	Family Cycling Center	Santa Cruz CA	46:56	@1Lap
46	654	BUSTOS	Eric		Alameda CA	47:00	@1Lap
47	678	BERGMAN	Jim	Feedback Sports Racing	Thornton CO	47:07	@1Lap
48	705	LIEURANCE	Thom	Feedback Sports Racing	Arvada CO	47:15	@1Lap
49	694	STRINGHAM	Jack	Drop Bar Racing	Seattle WA	47:19	@1Lap
50	698	MUSGRAVE	Scott	Avout Racing	Littleton CO	47:23	@1Lap
51	659	WILLS	Zachary	NuGo Racing	Pittsburgh PA	47:32	@1Lap
52	699	ISENBERG	Chris	Aggress	Tucson AZ	47:47	@1Lap
53	666	HAGEN	David	Fort Lewis College	Durango CO	47:52	@1Lap
54	670	MASCHKA	Don	Boulder Cycle Sport	Boulder CO	47:55	@1Lap
55	655	TAFT	Todd	KUHL Cycling Team	Salt Lake City UT	48:04	@1Lap
56	656	FERRARIO	Brian		San Jose CA	49:17	@1Lap
57	662	TAYLOR	Tom		San Francisco CA	49:18	@1Lap
58	712	BROWN	Richard	St. Lukes Sports Medicine	Eagle ID	49:20	@1Lap
59	684	DUNLEAVY	Shane	KUHL Cycling Team	Sandy UT	49:35	@1Lap
60	691	DALY	Shawn	ThirstyBear Cycling	Santa Rosa CA	49:49	@1Lap
61	667	MALLORY	Michael	Shuksan Velo Club	Bellingham WA	50:17	@1Lap
62	663	ROLANDSON	Matthew		San Francisco CA	50:26	@1Lap
63	687	SELL	Stacey	Family Cycling Center	Prunedale CA	50:48	@1Lap
64	682	BRATTON	Stuart	Leadoutracing.com CA	Folson VA	50:59	@1Lap
65	734	GALLAGHER	Jon		Heber UT	51:53	@1Lap
66	710	DOLE	Robert	Violet Crown	Austin TX	52:40	@1Lap
67	704	LAWSON	David	Knobbe Cycling	Carlsbad CA	53:03	@1Lap
68	664	WATSON	Mark	Hagens Berman Cycling	RentonWA	43:40	@2Laps
DNF	658	STEPHENSON	Harold	Rally Sport Cycling Team	Boulder CO
DNF	675	MCCLUNG	Richard	Broadmark Capital	Kirkland WA
DNF	726	ROGERS	Trig		Portland OR
DNF	681	SMITH	Christopher	Power Fix CX	Minneapolis MN

For more from Reno, see our continuing coverage of the 2018 Reno Cyclocross Nationals on our dedicated Nationals page.

Photos from the races and reports are available to license here, with more to be added throughout the next week.

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