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The view of Adam Craig most saw.  © Joe Sales

The view of Adam Craig most saw. © Joe Sales

For full Cyclocross National Championships coverage and information, visit our 2010 USA Cycling National Championships Page.

BEND, ORE. – In the first-ever officially-sanctioned Singlespeed National Championships, the serious one-gear fans lined up to bring home the inaugural jerseys in the Open men’s and women’s categories. The course had been well-trampled by a full slate of Masters racers all day long before the singlespeeders took the start at 3:30 today.

Adam Craig flies to the first ever Singlespeed National Champion title. © Cyclocross Magazine

Adam Craig flies to the first ever Singlespeed National Champion title. © Cyclocross Magazine

Adam Craig Does Justice to Cut-Off Jeans
Former Olympian Adam Craig (Rabo-Giant) had by far the biggest gear of all competitors with a 42×16, and he apparently had the power to push it. He wore cut-off jeans and a skateboard-style hardshell helmet, but he wasn’t racing just for kicks. Craig and Aaron Bradford (Specialized-OnSite Ultrasound) quickly built a gap at the sharp end of the race, with JT and Louie Fountain, Jon Cariveau (Moots), Ian Crane (Hagens Berman), Brennan Wodtli and Bo Pitkin not far behind.

Craig and Bradford would remain together for the first couple of laps, before Craig’s power would slowly start to stretch out a gap. By the fourth lap, the separation had grown to 20 seconds and would continue to extend from there. Craig used his singlespeed setup for his B bike at the Rad Racing GP (which, he told CXM then, was ‘Tits’), and he told Cyclocross Magazine that he’s absolutely loved his time on the bike. “I’m gonna wager five bucks that my lap times today will be faster than [in the Elite race] on Sunday,” said Craig.

“I wanted to ride hard and have a gap in case my chain fell off or I got a flat, which totally could’ve happened,” said Craig. “There were rocks hidden at the bottom of some of those puddles.”

Craig stubbornly insisted on attempting to ride a short, punchy run-up, but never quite made it. He also showed mud on his left shoulder from a crash, but he nevertheless turned the fastest laps of the day, including an impressive 7:36 in the second-to-last go-around. He thought that the singlespeed race was ideal preparation for Sunday’s main event, teaching him where he could push hard and which lines were advantageous without risking a crash on his primary bikes.

Bradford hung tough in second before he started to fade late in the race. JT Fountain, conversely, started slow and then gradually ramped up the speed. “This is my first-ever singlespeed race. It just points out the flaws in my pedal stroke. I need to work on my power I think,” said Bradford. “It was just a matter of staying upright and smooth, trying to hit the turns without having to hit your brakes and lose speed.”

“I want to spend more time on [singlespeed] — these are fun,” said Bradford.

Fountain caught Bradford with a couple of laps left and managed to just edge him out by the finish to claim second. Bradford, for his part, will join Craig in the Elite men’s race on Sunday.

“Pretty early on, Craig and Bradford pulled away, and I got stuck in a chase group and couldn’t go with them,” said Fountain. “I got around them and started passing a couple of people. I didn’t think I’d be able to catch second, but slowly reeled him in.”

“There were more long, straight sections than last year, so you could get up to speed and just power it,” said Fountain. “Not to mention the mucky grass and mud – you had to really give it everything you had to get through it.”

Kathy Pruitt Rides Alone
After almost dying in a MTB downhill race this summer and spending days in the hospital strapped to machines with tubes coming in and out of her body, Pruitt’s returned to the top end of the sport. “It’s the most pain I’ve ever been in,” said Pruitt. “It’s made me appreciate every day, I’m just trying to live life.”

Today’s event was her fourth-ever cyclocross event, and she already has a stars and stripes jersey to her name. Pruitt gunned it and got the hole shot. The first time onto the dirt, she heard and saw a rider go over the bars, and Pruitt stomped on the gas again to create a gap.

CXM at work. © Cyclocross Magazine

CXM at work. © Cyclocross Magazine

That over-the-bars rider was Kari Studley (Redline), the early favorite, and the crash sent her bike flying and clearly shook Studley up. By the time she regrouped and got riding again, she was off the back with 15 seconds separating her from the next rider.

Going into the race, Pruitt said she had no idea that she had a chance to win. “I can’t believe I’m the first-ever singlespeed champion.”

Photo Gallery by Joe Sales

Women – Open – Single Speed
Place Points Name City, State Time Bib Team
1 150 Kathy Pruitt Santa Cruz, CA 0:39:32 562
2 135 Stella Carey Felton, CA 40:40:00 560 Velo Bella
3 120 Megan Lawson Bozeman, MT 41:03:00 561
4 105 Julie Lewis-Sroka N Royalton, OH 42:07:00 564 Lake Effect Cycling Team
5 90 Evie Edwards Baltimore, MD 42:39:00 555 Spokeswomen Syndicate Inc./Perf
6 85 Haley Juno-Galdes Menlo Park, CA 43:26:00 554 Alto Velo Racing Club/Webcor/Al
7 80 Jadine Riley Kirkland, WA 43:54:00 563 Sound Velo Cycling Club/Team Gr
8 75 Dorothy Wong Altadena, CA 44:34:00 556 The Team /The Team Socalcross
9 70 Kathleen McMahon Seattle, WA @1Lap 558 Seattle Super Squadra/Cucina Fr
10 65 Annette Padilla San Diego, CA @1Lap 565 Celo Pacific
DNS 0 Tricia Sandstrom Seattle, WA DNS 557 Sound Velo Cycling Club/Team Gr
DNS 0 Courtney Dimpel Aptos, CA DNS 559 Bike Station Aptos
DNF 0 Marsa Daniel Seattle, WA DNF 552
DNF 0 Kari Studley Bothell, WA DNF 553 Mafia Racing
DNF 0 francesca berrini Portland, OR DNF 566
Men – Open – Single Speed
Place Points Name City, State Time Bib Team
1 150 Adam Craig Bend, OR 0:39:20 420 Giant/Rabobank
2 135 JT Fountain Moscow, ID 40:10:00 401 3Fcx/Cyclocrossracing.Com
3 120 Aaron Bradford Santa Cruz, CA 40:42:00 410 Specialized/Onsite Ultrasound
4 105 Jon Cariveau Steamboat Springs, CO 41:18:00 424 Moots
5 90 BRENNAN WODTLI Bend, OR 41:21:00 415
6 85 Cody Peterson Bend, OR 41:26:00 437
7 80 Louie Fountain Moscow, ID 41:49:00 419 3Fcx/Cyclocrossracing.Com
8 75 Nathanael Wyatt Swannanoa, NC 42:03:00 427 Carolina Fatz Pb Santa Cruz Bic
9 70 Scott Chapin Santa Cruz, CA 42:07:00 425 Rocklobster!!!
10 65 John Rollert Bend, OR 42:12:00 475 Webcyclery Racing/Webcyclery.Co
11 60 Bo Pitkin Park City, UT 42:26:00 405
12 55 Douglas Krumpelman Hayden, ID 42:29:00 426 Coeur D ‘Alene Velo Racers (Cda
13 50 Brent Prenzlow Carlsbad, CA 42:37:00 484 Celo Pacific/B&L
14 45 Douglas Reid Seattle, WA 42:51:00 460 Step Down Racing
15 40 Seth Patla Hillsboro, OR 42:53:00 477
16 38 Ian Crane Bellingham, WA 43:13:00 492 Lake Washington Velo
17 36 Brian Myers Tacoma, WA 43:28:00 488
18 34 Patrick Wilder Portland, OR 43:39:00 454
19 32 Luke DeMoe Eugene, OR 43:46:00 451
20 30 Evan Plews Salem, OR 43:57:00 496
21 28 Justin Morejohn Davis, CA 44:05:00 434 Davis Bike Club
22 26 Matthew Pronovost Steamboat Springs, CO 44:21:00 493 Steamboat Velo P/D Moots
23 24 Eric Colton Los Angeles, CA 44:22:00 439 The Team
24 22 Timothy Cannard Los Gatos, CA 44:41:00 463
25 20 Derek Yarra San Francisco, CA 44:55:00 416 Murder
26 19 Ryan Weaver Portland, OR 44:58:00 441 River City Bicycles
27 18 Michael Kennedy Louisville, KY 44:59:00 428 Fetzer
28 17 Timothy Jones Bend, OR 45:19:00 438
29 16 Reid Beloni Boone, NC 45:19:00 442 Carolina Bicycle Company/Subaru
30 15 Slate Olson Portland, OR 45:24:00 418 Hup United
31 14 Shawn O’Meara Reno, NV 45:28:00 485
32 13 Derek Stallings Bend, OR 45:59:00 483 Webcyclery Racing/Bendbroadband
33 12 Cesar Chavez San Jose, CA 46:16:00 443
34 11 Darron Cheek Breckenridge, CO 46:27:00 458
35 10 Pat Schott Ketchum, ID 46:30:00 402
36 Exp Frederick Bottger South Pasadena, CA 46:32:00 494 Pasadena Athletic Assoc (Paa)/P
37 8 Ty Hathaway Tujunga, CA 46:33:00 500
38 7 Philip Sims Santa Cruz, CA 46:41:00 481 Santa Cruz County Cycling Club/
39 6 David Prause Portland, OR 47:07:00 472
40 5 Jared Reber Bend, OR 47:20:00 413
41 4 Jared Roy St Louis Park, MN 47:25:00 448 Crossniacs
42 3 Bryan Voytilla Portland, OR 47:29:00 501
43 2 Chad Cheeney Durango, CO 47:42:00 502 Durango Devo
44 0 Rainier Schaefer Sanfrancisco, CA 47:47:00 432
45 0 Evan Sarna Oakland, CA 47:48:00 455 3Rd Rail Cycling Club/Missing L
46 0 Geoffrey Albert Altadena, CA 47:49:00 478 The Team /The Team Socalcross
47 0 Brandon Wagner Independence, OR 48:03:00 417
48 0 Alan Zinniker Aliso Viejo, CA 48:37:00 422 Ritte Van Vlaanderen/Ritte Raci
49 0 jeff merwin Bend, OR 48:41:00 503
50 0 Jamaica Lambie Woodland, CA 48:51:00 449
51 0 Steven Chaprnka Bend, OR 48:56:00 479
52 0 Patrick Morrissey Albuquerque, NM 50:09:00 452 Team Cross (Tcnm)
53 0 Kurt Wolfgang Portland, OR @1Lap 423
54 0 Dylan VanWeelden Portland, OR @1Lap 468
55 0 Kenton Berg Sammamish, WA @1Lap 486 Step Down Racing/Second Ascent
56 0 Ian Dewar San Jose, CA @1Lap 473 San Jose Bicycle Club/Sjbc
57 0 mark campbell Bend, OR @1Lap 412
58 0 Kirk Reisinger Schwenksville, PA @1Lap 411 Club Wissahickon
59 0 Christopher Woodruff La Canada Flintridge, CA @1Lap 440
60 0 William Youngman Rocklin, CA @1Lap 406 Squadra Abruzzo
61 0 Brian Milnick Bennett, CO @1Lap 444
62 0 Paule Bates San Francisco, CA @1Lap 409 Team Roaring Mouse
63 0 James Brown Olympia, WA @1Lap 491 Rad Racing Nw/Hagens Berman
64 0 Franz Martin Redmond, WA @1Lap 482 Ragnarok Racing
65 0 Joel Metz Portland, OR @1Lap 446
66 0 David Chiu Brookline, MA @1Lap 447 Northeast Bicycle Club (Nebc)/N
67 0 Daniel Sheerin Eugene, OR @1Lap 414
68 0 paul zweigart Turner, OR @1Lap 505
69 0 Dwight Wyatt Fairview, NC @1Lap 498
70 0 Derek Leckrone Steilacoom, WA @1Lap 465
71 0 Jeffrey Nebolini San Francisco, CA @1Lap 487
72 0 Michael Beck Lakewood, CO @1Lap 435 Violet Crown Sports Assoc
73 0 Reese Lindblad Des Moines, WA @1Lap 474
74 0 John Collins Grass Valley, CA @1Lap 469
75 0 Dylan Cernitz Oregon City, OR @1Lap 430
76 0 R Lee Willmore Seal Beach, CA @2Lap 429 Celo Pacific
DNS 0 Jake Rosenfeld Forest Grove, OR DNS 497
DNS 0 Cliff McCann Grants Pass, OR DNS 403
DNS 0 Von Bortz Boulder, CO DNS 404 Boulder Cycle Sport
DNS 0 Geoff Casey Seattle, WA DNS 407 Stranamanti Cycling/Keller Rohr
DNS 0 Albert Senft Albuquerque, NM DNS 436 Colavita Racing Inc./Colavita R
DNS 0 Sam Whitley Renton, WA DNS 445 Jet City Velo/Byrneinvent
DNS 0 Jason Goff Issaquah, WA DNS 450 Jet City Velo
DNS 0 Corey Green Mason, OH DNS 456 Ghisallo Cycling Team Inc./Team
DNS 0 Graham Christensen Coeur D Alene, ID DNS 461 Coeur D ‘Alene Velo Racers (Cda
DNS 0 Devin Flynn Portland, OR DNS 466
DNS 0 James Medeiros Beaverton, OR DNS 467
DNS 0 Jeff Sobul Oakland, CA DNS 471 Team Oakland Cycling/Kaiser Per
DNS 0 Jason Sager Ogden, UT DNS 480 Jamis Factory Team
DNS 0 Wayne Mackey Sparks, NV DNS 489
DNS 0 Gerald Chabot Bolton, VT DNS 495 Providence Velo Club/Providence
DNF 0 Craig Etheridge Seattle, WA DNF 490
DNF 0 Ron Shevock Folsom, CA DNF 457 Team Mad Cat
DNF 0 Daniel Casper Northfield, MN DNF 408 Grandstay Hotels
DNF 0 Erik Horn Bozeman, MT DNF 433 Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club/Te
DNF 0 Paul Hernandez North Hollywood, CA DNF 453
DNF 0 Christopher Milliman Hanover, NH DNF 431 Hup United
DNF 0 Terry Keele West Linn, OR DNF 470
DNF 0 David Volkert Seattle, WA DNF 464 Team Double Check
DNF 0 David Sarmiento Bend, OR DNF 499
DNF 0 Mike Macdonald Rancho Cordova, CA DNF 476 Jaeger Wheelmen
DNF 0 Eddie Wang Portland, OR DNF 421
DNF 0 Brian Koder Lacey, WA DNF 504 Cbc Racing/Olympia Orthopaedic