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Devon Haskell Leads the Charge © Janet Hill

Devon Haskell leads the charge. © Janet Hill

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

The women’s 30-34 race offered an exciting tit-for-tat trade between eventual winner Devon Haskell (Team Tibco/To the Top) and Amanda Carey (Kenda). From the gun the two quickly separated, along with Andrea Smith (Minuteman Road Club), from the rest of the group, making it clear that the rest of the racers were battling for third. Carey’s pro mountain biking skills were apparent as she gained ground in the technical sections, but Haskell’s power continued to neutralize Carey on the boggy straights.

“It was a tough race,” said Haskell. “I had a really tough competitor so I couldn’t let up. It went better than I expected – you can’t expect a win in cyclocross. This win was definitely the sweetest – I had to work hardest for it. It was really fun, the mud was great; the course had a little bit of everything. I had a little bobble on the last barriers, but it worked out.”

“It was a good race, a good battle – and you always prefer to have a good battle,” said Carey. “We broke off into three right off the bat, I knew it was going to be a battle right away. At one point I got a gap, a good healthy gap. But I came up over the hill and completely took myself out, right over my bars and into the tape. Devon caught me right away. I was trying to be sneaky and take tighter lines, but this course just sucks the power out of you, and I was getting more and more tired and getting away with those sneaky lines less and less. I caught her with two to go on the back hill, which I was going to ride but she got off and we ran into each other. She got back on her bike faster and that’s where the gap happened. Devon’s amazing, she rode a really good race and really put the hurt on me on the flats.”

With that final gap, Haskell was able to maintain, and then extend, her lead over Carey, and the former collegiate champion was able to enjoy her National Title with hands raised.

Early on, Andrea Smith  was able to hang on to the leaders but eventually found her own pace in no-man’s-land, holding a secured third position for the majority of the race and crossing the line ready to take that position on the podium.

The big battle came behind, with Emily Thurston (3rd Rail Cycling Club/Missing Link Bicycle Co-op), Nicole Thiemann (Teac Cf-Mass/Team Cf-Elite) and Crystal Anthony (Minuteman Road Club) all battling hard for the last two spots on the podium. Ultimately, Thurston dropped the other two and nearly caught Smith in the process, narrowly missing third place by four seconds. Thiemann was able to get clear of Anthony to take the final podium spot.

Gallery by Janet Hill:

Place Points Name City, State Time Bib Team
1 150 Devon Haskell Santa Cruz, CA 0:37:14 398 Team Tibco / To The Top
2 135 Amanda Carey Victor, ID 37:24:00 399
3 120 Andrea Smith Somerville, MA 38:24:00 411 Minuteman Road Club
4 105 Emily Thurston San Pablo, CA 38:28:00 414 3Rd Rail Cycling Club/Missing L
5 90 Nicole Thiemann Philadelphia, PA 38:39:00 418 Team Cf-Mass/Team Cf-Elite
6 85 Crystal Anthony (1 – Cat2) Beverly, MA 38:57:00 409 Minuteman Road Club
7 80 Kristin Gavin (2 – Cat2) Philadelphia, PA 38:57:00 400 Team Cf-Mass/Team Cf-Elite
8 75 Serena Bishop Bend, OR 39:03:00 405
9 70 Lisa Curry Bozeman, MT 39:21:00 383 Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club/Ga
10 65 Rebecca Blatt (3 – Cat2) West Hartford, CT 39:32:00 396 Central Wheel Of Farmington Ct
11 60 Kristen Kelsey Woodinville, WA 40:03:00 420
12 55 Ann D’Ambruoso (4 – Cat2) Waltham , MA 40:22:00 402 Ladies First
13 50 Marsa Daniel (1 – Cat3) Seattle, WA 40:39:00 406
14 45 Sunny Gilbert (5 – Cat2) Chesterfield, MO 40:43:00 391
15 40 Megan Taylor (6 – Cat2) Denver, CO 40:51:00 412
16 38 Corey Coogan Cisek Minneapolis, MN 41:13:00 395 Team Plan C
17 36 Erika Powers Sandy, UT 41:43:00 403
18 34 Karyn Abraham (7 – Cat2) Issaquah, WA 42:18:00 421
19 32 Kate Shanahan (2 – Cat3) Boise, ID 42:20:00 394 Wild Rockies Inc/Wild Rockies R
20 30 Cara Applegate Black Mountain, NC 42:29:00 387 Spokeswomen Syndicate Inc./Perf
21 28 Julianne Zickovich (3 – Cat3) Bozeman, MT 42:38:00 393 Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club/Ga
22 26 Jessica Cutler (8 – Cat2) Seattle, WA 42:40:00 384 Seattle Super Squadra/Cucina Fr
23 24 Katie DeClercq (9 – Cat2) Soquel, CA 42:41:00 410
24 22 Kristine Church (10 – Cat2) Philadelphia, PA 42:41:00 397 Human Zoom Cycling/Human Zoom
25 20 Haley Juno-Galdes (11 – Cat2) Menlo Park, CA 43:00:00 378 Alto Velo Racing Club/Webcor/Al
26 19 Annie Usher (12 – Cat2) Portland, OR 43:04:00 390
27 18 Ellen Sherrill (4 – Cat3) Southlaketahoe, CA 43:08:00 407 Davis Bike Club/Davis Bike Club
28 17 Lindsay Jones (5 – Cat3) Eugene, OR 43:26:00 379
29 16 Katie Melena (6 – Cat3) Santacruz, CA 43:37:00 389
30 15 Elizabeth Lukowski (7 – Cat3) Albany, NY 43:53:00 416 Capital Bicycle Racing Club/Nyc
31 14 Heidi Swift (8 – Cat3) Portland, OR 44:12:00 417
32 13 alyssa severn (13 – Cat2) Madison, WI 44:15:00 404 Magnus
33 12 Julie Kuliecza Richmond, VA 44:36:00 377 River City Women’S Racing/Fruit
34 11 Corrie Middleton (9 – Cat3) Snohomish, WA 45:03:00 381
35 10 Sarah Barkley (10 – Cat3) Richland, WA 45:25:00 415 Chinook Cycling Club Inc/Chinoo
36 9 Naomi Haverlick (11 – Cat3) Seattle, WA 45:44:00 408 Union Velo Club/Union Velo Club
37 8 Emily Eggers (12 – Cat3) Seattle, WA 45:50:00 392 Avanti Racing Club/Blue Rooster
38 7 Cooper Ambjorn (13 – Cat3) Covington, KY 46:28:00 413 Reser Fusion Velo Experience
39 6 Amber Clark (14 – Cat3) Bend, OR 48:39:00 419
DNS 0 Kari Studley Bothell, WA DNS 386 Mafia Racing
DNS 0 Jennie Mickelson Salt Lake City, UT DNS 380
DNS 0 Carolyn Popovic East Norriton, PA DNS 382
DNS 0 Miss Mary Perez La Selva Beach, CA DNS 385 Velo Bella
DNS 0 Camille Jentgen Kirkland, WA DNS 401
DNF 0 Wendy Stredwick Coeur D’ Alene, ID DNF 388 Coeur D ‘Alene Velo Racers