All Is Wells: Jake Wells Dominates to Win Masters 40-44 in Reno – Report

by Dave Mable

While temperatures rose in the afternoon, so did racing action. The Masters 40-44 race featured a number of heavy hitters, including a number of former pros. One of the big names, Justin Robinson (Santa Cruz), started the fireworks early by taking the holeshot and getting a jump on the 70-man field. His fast start helped separate things early.

Taking Jake Wells (Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado) with him, Robinson got a bit of a gap on the first lap. Coming through the start-finish straight, Wells went to the front and kept the pace high, hoping to keep the gap on the rest of the chasers that included Alec Donahue (JAM Fund / NCC) and local hero Justin Thomas (Reno Wheelmen).

A gap on Robinson, and the lead, is what Wells got in return.

“We went out onto the start-finish with a little bit of a lead,” said Wells. “I just tried to drill it a little bit going into the wind to see if we could keep the gap. I looked back and I had the up on Justin (Robinson), so I thought, Well, if I can keep on the gas and make those guys chase solo into the wind, it might work out in my favor.”

In the World’s Biggest Little City, the odds were forever in Wells’ favor. He put seconds into Robinson and the rest of the field on every lap, turning 7:28 laps while fighting the wind alone. His were among the fastest of the day so far. With his deep fitness from racing in long gravel and mountain bike races, Wells was able to hold off all chasers, taking his first-ever national title.

Behind Wells, a battle was ensuing for the rest of the podium spots.

Robinson continued to hold on to second, but a hard chase from Steven Stefko (First City Cycling) and Donahue brought him back. Stefko powered by Robinson and was able to put a handful of seconds between the two, but Donahue stuck right with him.

Rounding the final corner ahead of Robinson and Donahue, he would crossed the line in second to take home the Nationals silver medal.

Robinson would be the first around the final corner, Donahue on his tail. The two hit the gas for an all-out sprint for the line, Robinson holding on to take third. The two would share the time of 47:02.

Men Masters 40-44 Results: 2018 Reno Cyclocross Nationals

Place	Bib	LAST	First	Team	City ST	Time	Gap
1	326	WELLS	Jake	Bicycle Racing Association of C	Avon CO	46:09
2	368	STEFKO	Steven	First City Cycling Team	Fort Collins CO	46:55	46
3	311	ROBINSON	Justin	Santa Cruz Factory Racing	Bonny Doon CA	47:02	53
4	354	DONAHUE	Alec	JAM Fund / NCC	Easthampton MA	47:02	s.t.
5	322	THOMAS	Justin	Reno Wheelmen	Reno NV	47:24	1:15
6	362	BAKER	Jonathan		Seattle WA	48:14	2:05
7	315	ANDERSON	Eric	ZIPP Masters Team	Indianapolis IN	48:15	s.t.
8	303	PORTER	Daniel	First City Cycling Team	Fort Collins CO	48:33	2:24
9	341	ESTES	Sean	Cycle Sport - Specialized p/b M	Morgan Hill CA	48:59	2:50
10	308	HUSEBY	Johannes	Boulder Cycle Sport	Boulder CO	49:07	2:58
11	324	HAMMOND	Kent	PAA Cycling	Los Angeles CA	49:44	3:35
12	356	DAHL	Ryan		San Marcos CA	49:52	3:43
13	363	MATTERN	Craig	Park Ave Bike Shop	Rochester NY	50:05	3:56
14	365	SYVERTSEN	Brue		San Francisco CA	50:05	s.t.
15	340	MORGAN	Justin	Top Club	Portola Valley CA	50:10	4:01
16	355	PIGGA	Joe	Lamprey Systems	Bethlehem PA	50:12	4:03
17	316	NIETERS	Jared	SEAVS/Haymarket	Amissville VA	50:47	4:38
18	357	SCHMITT	Damian		Bend OR	42:18	@1Lap
19	307	DELINKS	Chandler	Cannondale Cyclocrossworld	Ipswich MA	42:42	@1Lap
20	301	HENDRICKSON	Jason		Park City UT	42:45	@1Lap
21	351	SPRANGER	Calvin	Mafia Racing	Sammamish WA	43:08	@1Lap
22	347	BIGGS	Jason	Jigawatt Cycling	Raleigh NC	43:16	@1Lap
23	309	BOSCH	Adrian		Medford OR	43:27	@1Lap
24	323	MILLER	Patrick	The Fast Forward	Morgan Hill CA	43:34	@1Lap
25	352	WORK	Alex		Santa Cruz CA	43:44	@1Lap
26	327	CLAYTON	Ryan		Cottonwood Heights UT	43:47	@1Lap
27	749	PATLA	Seth	Portland Titanium	Forest Grove OR	43:48	@1Lap
28	338	PARKER	Jess	Air Assurance Devo P/b Spoke Ho	Tulsa OK	44:08	@1Lap
29	349	VRAMBOUT	Olivier		Bayport MN	44:10	@1Lap
30	343	BURTON	Michael		Park City UT	44:28	@1Lap
31	310	BRESSLER	Brian		Bellingham WA	44:29	@1Lap
32	358	TORIAN	Bryan	CBC Racing	Olympia WA	44:42	@1Lap
33	334	COOLEY	Daniel	Team Velo City	Richland WA	44:53	@1Lap
34	359	ELLIS	Chris	360 Racing p/b Kline Van / Wood	Pleasanton KS	45:14	@1Lap
35	302	HINTZ	Justin		Sacramento CA	45:17	@1Lap
36	360	MCNEAL	David	D9 Foundation / DNA Race Team	North Hollywood CA	45:26	@1Lap
37	306	HOBBS	Ryan	Matrix Cycling Club	Dallas TX	45:46	@1Lap
38	318	ROMAGNA	Tony	Racer X Cycling/ColoBikeLaw	Wheat Ridge CO	46:08	@1Lap
39	346	COANDO	Anthony		San Francisco CA	46:17	@1Lap
40	329	WILKY	Travis	Streamline Insurance Services C	Round Rock TX	46:29	@1Lap
41	320	TUPAZ	Rozel	CBRE Racing	Pleasanton CA	46:49	@1Lap
42	319	MOROCCO	Sonny		Chandler AZ	46:51	@1Lap
43	304	CUTLER	Grant		Berkeley CA	46:52	@1Lap
44	328	BRADLEY	Seth	Rouleur Devo p/b DNA Cycling	Sandy UT	47:32	@1Lap
45	350	PODCZERVINSKI	Alan	Feedback Sports Racing	Broomfield CO	47:41	@1Lap
46	353	DUNHAM	Lanny	Rocky Mountain Road Club	Parker CO	47:55	@1Lap
47	313	KOSTRIKIN	Billy		Modesto CO	48:14	@1Lap
48	305	BILODEAU	Jeff	CBRE Racing	Brentwood CA	48:42	@1Lap
49	314	BALIKA	Andy		Littleton CO	48:46	@1Lap
50	321	WHITE	Michael		Boulder CO	49:08	@1Lap
51	317	ERICKSEN	Spencer	Reno Wheelmen	Sparks NV	49:29	@1Lap
52	364	EDER	Chad	Chinook Cycling	Richland WA	49:41	@1Lap
53	361	TRISKA	Matthew		San Francisco CA	49:54	@1Lap
54	336	WENKER	Ryan		Folsom CA	42:41	@2Laps
55	369	WILDE	John	CoreTechs Cycling Team	San Francisco CA	43:28	@2Laps
56	333	DUMELIN	Joe	Vertical World Cycling	Monroe WA	43:52	@2Laps
57	342	WINTERBERG	Dan		San Francisco CA	45:56	@2Laps
58	348	CATE	Ryan	Category 6 Racing Squad	Reno NV	47:57	@2Laps
DNF	337	SUPER	Peter	Hagens Berman Cycling	Issaquah WA

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.

Haven’t yet entered our Nationals Fantasy Game? Enter your team for a chance to win a set of Vittoria Elusion Disc Wheels and Terreno Dry tires.