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Don Myrah never looked back. © Janet Hill

Don Myrah never looked back. © Janet Hill

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

BEND, ORE. – After a lap assessing his competitors, Don Myrah put the hurt on his 45-49 competitors en route to a dominating Nationals victory. By the time he crossed the finish line for the final time, Myrah had a gap of over two minutes on Mark Noble (Metalmtn Cycling) in second place.

Early on, the race looked to be a rematch of the 2009 45-49 match up between Jonny Bold (Corner Cycle) and Alan Coats (Cal Giant-Specialized), an epic battle that came down to the final climb and some contact that would prove controversial as Bold rode away to the title. Today, Bold stormed to the hole shot with Coats on his wheel, followed by John McCaffery (Bicycle Attorney), Don Myrah and Michael McShane.

A pile up in the first mud section, just after the riders turned onto the dirt and off of the pavement, quickly whittled the pack down and created a cushion for the early leaders. The deep peanut butter mud proved to be a popular area for crashes in the first lap of several races – it was a high speed sprint into a wheel-grabbing muck, with carnage as the recurring  result.

Bold held an early five-second gap as the front group descended into the main grass bowl section of the course for the first time, but it wouldn’t be long before Myrah uncorked an attack. By the second lap, it was Myrah on the front with a five-second margin of his own over Bold, followed by Coats, Noble, Michael Hogan (Justin’s-Titus) and Frank Gonzalez (Montana Velo).

“It was textbook,” said Myrah. “I couldn’t have asked for a better race. I felt good from start to finish, didn’t make any mistakes, no mechanicals – it was steady and great. I was hoping to get it last year but Weber had better legs. This is very cool.”

By the time Myrah hit the stairs, the complexion of the race changed dramatically – Bold was pushing to his max to close the gap and took a tumble as he rounded a corner, knocking his bars out of whack in the process. By the time he got up and running again, Myrah’s gap had stretched dramatically, and no one would see him again.

Myrah’s reputation as one of the best technical riders and an aficionado of mud was well-deserved as he was visibly faster than the rest. “I saw how fast Myrah was taking the corners, and I figured he’d have to crash. He didn’t – it was amazing how quickly he was going, there wasn’t much I could do,” said Bold.

1984 British Olympic track team member Noble would benefit from Bold’s miscue – he’d catch the New England rider and put daylight between the two to claim second place, although Bold narrowed the advantage down to within five seconds by the finish. “I lost both of my contact lenses towards the end there, and the light was fading, so I was definitely struggling late in the race,” said Noble. “And I knew that Bold was coming.”

Not far behind Bold was Coats in fourth, with Richard McClung (Hagens Berman) battling to steadily pass riders throughout the race, with Hogan his last victim as the Northwest rider snagged the final podium spot.

Myrah’s daughter raced earlier in the morning, in the 10-12 category. We asked Myrah about it. “Oh man, I got all teary eyed. It was inspiring watching her ride those technical sections.”

Photos by Janet Hill:

Full Results:

Place Points Name City, State Time License Bib Team
1 150 Donald Myrah San Jose, CA 0:48:36 25636 518
2 135 Mark Noble Ventura, CA 50:46:00 26173 544 Metalmtn Cycling
3 120 Jonny Bold Marstons Mills, MA 51:01:00 117383 501 Corner Cycle
4 105 James Coats Campbell, CA 51:17:00 7200 576 California Giant Cycling/Califo
5 90 Richard McClung Kirkland, WA 51:26:00 23281 621 Lake Washington Velo/Hagens Ber
6 85 Michael Hogan Louisville, CO 51:36:00 191601 554 Justin’S / Titus Mountain Bike
7 80 Arthur O’Connor Salt Lake City, UT 51:56:00 26546 550 Team Big Ring-Realcyclist.Com
8 75 Tim Butler Portland, OR 52:02:00 211505 599
9 70 Eric Martin Bend, OR 52:10:00 22656 506 Webcyclery Racing/Bendbroadband
10 65 Jonathan Card Sylvania, OH 52:13:00 6078 509
11 60 Lance Voyles Valencia, CA 52:21:00 36826 616 None
12 55 Samuel Morse Cohasset, MA 52:25:00 25187 533 Corner Cycle Cycling Club
13 50 Rod Yoder Littleton, CO 52:48:00 39229 560 Natural Grocers Cycling Team/Na
14 45 John McCaffrey Portland, OR 52:53:00 23180 566
15 40 Waldek Stepniowski Littleton, CO 53:04:00 93056 538 Mtb Pro Team: Luna Pro Team
16 38 Matthew Lynch Redmond, WA 53:11:00 282188 619
17 36 Ralf Warmuth Edison, NJ 53:27:00 231788 571 Finkraft
18 34 Michael McShane Louisville, KY 53:30:00 23836 532 Bob’S Red Mill- P/B Focus Bikes
19 32 Frank Gonzalez Helena, MT 53:31:00 201598 572 Montana Velo
20 30 Paul Lennon Redding, CA 53:35:00 20897 515 Owens Healthcare
21 28 Todd Rosier Hillsboro, OR 53:40:00 30603 585
22 26 John Mundelius Alamo, CA 53:58:00 131006 597 Contra Costa Cycling Club
23 24 Shaun Locker Martinez, CA 54:04:00 212488 540 Scott Valley Velo
24 22 Doug Graver Monroe, WA 54:22:00 101059 551 Ragnarok Racing
25 20 harold stephenson Broomfield, CO 54:29:00 271424 623 Boulder Cycle Sport
26 19 Keith Rollins Puyallup, WA 54:31:00 30471 561
27 18 Thomas Fox Incline Village, NV 54:40:00 220351 567 Above Category Racing
28 17 Daniel Casper Northfield, MN 54:44:00 214654 609 Grandstay Hotels
29 16 Tao Bernardi Dublin, CA 54:54:00 3487 583 Van Dessel Factory Team-Califor
30 15 Steve McNamee Scottsdale, AZ 55:03:00 189612 549 Le Scomparse Cycling Team
31 14 Thomas Feix Moss Beach, CA 55:06:00 11403 523 Peninsula Velo Cycling Club/Pen
32 13 Jim Bell Saint Cloud, MN 55:16:00 102936 555 Revolution Cycle And Ski
33 12 Jeffrey Hall Denver, CO 55:19:00 130581 505
34 11 Kurt Brown Seattle, WA 55:24:00 171943 534 Thumbprint Racing/Farestart P/B
35 10 Jeff Cummings Bellingham, WA 55:40:00 8332 614
36 9 Jeff Standish Gresham, OR 55:44:00 283779 503
37 8 Philip Sims Santa Cruz, CA 56:01:00 79185 598 Santa Cruz County Cycling Club/
38 7 John Mitchem Portland, OR 56:11:00 24632 507
39 6 Greg Gorrell Conifer, CO 56:14:00 221265 608
40 5 Jim Albright Olympia, WA 56:25:00 190621 590
41 4 Evan Adams San Francisco, CA 56:34:00 192630 596
42 3 Christopher Adolf Everett, WA 57:02:00 1204 587 Lake Washington Velo/Hagens Ber
43 2 Frank Kalcic Sunnyvale, CA 57:14:00 272461 553
44 0 Geoff McIntosh Concord, NH 57:23:00 138727 620 New Hampshire Cycling Club/Team
45 0 Tim Briley Park City, UT 57:26:00 83978 606
46 0 Mark Mastoras San Francisco, CA 57:39:00 117797 546 Squadra Ovest Cycling
47 0 David Tricamo San Francisco, CA 57:41:00 35925 617
48 0 Christopher Shotwell Colorado Springs, CO 57:44:00 32547 586
49 0 Michael Pederson St Paul, MN 57:45:00 27579 564 Hup United
50 0 Michael Brazel Federal Way, WA 58:03:00 4701 574 Old Town Bicycle (Otb)/Old Town
51 0 Gregory Talbert Portland, OR 1:00:07 46916 604
52 0 Paul Werner Tacoma, WA @2Lap 208014 557
53 0 Jeff Elston Medina, WA @2Lap 303253 568
54 0 Daren Cottle Sandy, UT @2Lap 133750 531 Velocity Cyclists/Canyon Bicycl
55 0 Robert Goss Elk Grove, CA @2Lap 289041 605 Rio Strada Racing
56 0 Scott Clark Carmichael, CA @2Lap 188950 558
57 0 Steve Anderson Monterey, CA @2Lap 236231 602 Velo Club Monterey Inc.
58 0 Harald Graham Vancouver, WA @2Lap 302537 575
59 0 Paul LaStayo Sumner, WA @2Lap 270312 627 Cycle Therapy-4 Corners Cycling
60 0 Troy Krause Lincoln, NE @2Lap 210684 521 Midwest Wheelmaster/Velogear.Co
61 0 Ruben Villarreal Pleasanton, CA @2Lap 140334 603
62 0 Todd Anderson Black Diamond, WA @2Lap 1713 525
63 0 John McManus Durango, CO @2Lap 93502 562 Durango Wheel Club/Durango Whee
64 0 Vern Cole Kent, WA @2Lap 65114 548 Scca/Starbucks Cycling
65 0 Franz Martin Redmond, WA @2Lap 190617 517 Ragnarok Racing
66 0 David Hagen Durango, CO @2Lap 14591 530 Fort Lewis College
67 0 Charles Stearns Boise, ID @2Lap 213180 579 Team Dobbiaco/Team Therapeutic
68 0 Theodore Posch Jr Fullerton, CA @2Lap 109841 511 Team Velocity
69 0 David Masessa Medford, OR @2Lap 253402 502
70 0 Charles Bourdages Kittery, ME @2Lap 4393 573 Noreast Cycling
71 0 Christopher Berge Madison, WI @2Lap 280201 595 Magnus
72 Exp John Meehan Mercer Island, WA @2Lap 194218 578 Bissell
73 0 Brian Glass Seattle, WA @2Lap 13409 510 Seattle Super Squadra/Cucina Fr
74 0 Jon Pearson Portland, OR @2Lap 50609 524
75 0 Kevin English Bend, OR @2Lap 328828 611
76 0 David Haugen Gig Harbor, WA @2Lap 117521 512 Old Town Bicycle (Otb)/Old Town
77 0 Kirk Rhinehart Santa Fe, NM @2Lap 190563 594
78 0 Shane Dunleavy Slc, UT @2Lap 253994 615 Utah Premier-Ski Utah Cycling T
79 0 William Carslay Vancouver, WA @2Lap 90623 536
80 0 George Jackson Tacoma, WA @3Lap 256713 580 Old Town Bicycle (Otb)/Old Town
81 0 Bill OKeefe Baltimore, MD @3Lap 284982 613 Charm City Cycling Llc
82 0 Michael Beck Lakewood, CO @3Lap 3084 504 Violet Crown Sports Assoc
83 0 Ben Suttlemyre Coeur D Alene, ID @3Lap 34700 526 Coeur D ‘Alene Velo Racers (Cda
84 0 John Collins Grass Valley, CA @3Lap 7410 593
85 0 Matthew Lasala Bend, OR @3Lap 226552 584
86 0 Reese Gary Pilot Hill, CA @3Lap 12902 547 Squadra Abruzzo
87 0 Shawn Miller Davis, CA @3Lap 24477 513 Davis Bike Club
88 0 Jon Hicks Winchester, VA @3Lap 273964 588 Winchester Wheelmen Inc/Winches
89 0 Robert Trombley Bellingham, WA @3Lap 143968 508
90 0 Mike Leone San Diego, CA @3Lap 226269 622
91 0 Hiroji McKinstry Madras, OR @3Lap 124911 625
92 0 Chris Mahan Seatac, WA @3Lap 190831 535 Step Down Racing
93 0 Duane Strawser Nevada City, CA @4Lap 34392 626 Sert/Sho-Air