The rest of the Junior Men 13-14 give chase. © Brian Nelson
Austin, TX- From the start of the race to the end, Nolan Stephenson (Boulder Junior Cycling) implemented his perfect game plan to win the Junior Men 13-14 race.
At the start of the race, Stephenson defined the term holeshot from the starting grid. He didn’t just lead the pack up the pavement, but he was already ahead of the group by four to five bike lengths.
Nolan Stevenson (Boulder Junior Cycling) started with a commanding lead. © Brian Nelson
By the first corner, Stephenson was still in the lead, and behind him, riders were spilling everywhere. Thomas Francisco (Red Zone Cycling) and Nolan Jenkins (Front Rangers Junior Cycling) were giving Stephenson chase on the pavement halfway through the course with one lap to go, but it looked to be too little, too late to catch the phenomenal prowess of Stephenson.
After Stephenson took the big win, we caught up with him to ask how he managed such a great holeshot.
Stephenson getting his interview with the Cyclocross Magazine staff. © Cyclocross Magazine
He had a checklist from coach Pete Webber: “Don’t look down, keep going, get clipped in, and just take off.” Likely the words Lars van der Haar lives by. When asked about his cyclocross role models, Stephenson looked across the pond, answering with “Sven Nys.”
We also caught up with the second place finisher Nolan Jenkins:
Junior Men 13-14 – 2015 Cyclocross National Championships Photo Gallery:
2015 National Championships, Junior Men 13-14
| Place | Bib | Last | First | Team | License | City ST | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 295 | STEPHENSON | Nolan | Boulder Junior Cycling | 364269 | Broomfield CO | 19:19 | |
| 2 | 271 | JENKINS | Nolan | Front Rangers Junior Cycling | 355670 | Colorado Springs CO | 19:40 | 21 |
| 3 | 263 | FRANCISCO | Thomas | Red Zone Cycling | 327052 | Louisville KY | 20:04 | 45 |
| 4 | 282 | MORTON | Alex | Cyclocross Network Racing | 373419 | Saint Clair MI | 20:34 | 1:15 |
| 5 | 250 | RITZOW | Max | 419058 | Eugene OR | 20:48 | 1:29 | |
| 6 | 280 | MCNEILL | Dillon | Midwest Cycling Community NE | 376858 | Bellevue NE | 20:51 | 1:32 |
| 7 | 259 | CLINE | Dakota | Boulder Junior Cycling | 363356 | Boulder CO | 20:56 | 1:37 |
| 8 | 256 | BOBROW | William | Better Cycling of Louisville | 318510 | Louisville KY | 21:00 | 1:41 |
| 9 | 293 | SCOTT | Jared | RealD Cycling Team | 401329 | Boulder CO | 21:01 | 1:42 |
| 10 | 255 | BICKMORE | Torin | Boulder Junior Cycling | 330652 | Longmont CO | 21:03 | 1:44 |
| 11 | 254 | BENDER | Gideon | Rad Racing NW | 271119 | Duvall WA | 21:19 | 2:00 |
| 12 | 286 | PAWLAK | Nathan | Lefthand Velo Corporation | 379737 | Boulder CO | 21:40 | 2:21 |
| 13 | 300 | WHITE | Harrison | Cannondale Cyclocrossworld | 322530 | Delanson NY | 21:50 | 2:31 |
| 14 | 270 | HOWSON | Oliver | Boulder Junior Cycling | 403163 | Boulder CO | 22:08 | 2:49 |
| 15 | 264 | GATCH | Lewis | Lionhearts Junior Racing | 327078 | Terrace Park OH | 22:16 | 2:57 |
| 16 | 257 | CARTER | Nick | NorthStar Development Cycling | 361308 | Minneapolis MN | 22:19 | 3:00 |
| 17 | 289 | REYNOLDS | Tyler | NorthStar Development | 361385 | Pella IA | 22:39 | 3:20 |
| 18 | 298 | VAIL | Adam | Minnesota Junior Cycling Inc. | 388426 | Minnetonka MN | 22:56 | 3:37 |
| 19 | 284 | OBERMEYER | Vince | Be Real Sports | 417562 | Jasper IN | 22:59 | 3:40 |
| 20 | 301 | WILLIAMS | Noah | Dawson School | 363814 | Boulder CO | 23:00 | 3:41 |
| 21 | 247 | KELLER | Aiden | Boulder Junior Cycling | 363875 | Boulder CO | 23:00 | 3:41 |
| 22 | 321 | GOGUEN | Sean | RACE CF | 336584 | Hopedale MA | 23:01 | 3:42 |
| 23 | 278 | LIMPACH | Cole | Midwest Cycling Community NE | 412563 | Omaha NE | 23:04 | 3:45 |
| 24 | 252 | AHO | Mikko | KMS Cycling-Killington Mountain | 359642 | Worcester MA | 23:20 | 4:01 |
| 25 | 266 | HART | Oliver | Lefthand Velo Corporation | 318174 | Boulder CO | 23:20 | 4:01 |
| 26 | 262 | FOSTER | Brennan | Red Zone Cycling | 388740 | Louisville KY | 23:23 | 4:04 |
| 27 | 288 | POUNDER | Alastair | AYC Junior Development Race Tea | 303079 | Cary NC | 23:33 | 4:14 |
| 28 | 277 | KRYNOCK | Jacob | Lionhearts Junior Racing | 323964 | Mason OH | 23:50 | 4:31 |
| 29 | 267 | HART | Nathanael | 458209 | Washougal WA | 24:02 | 4:43 | |
| 30 | 275 | KNIGHT | Harrison | Cycle Youth | 388425 | Ocala FL | 24:03 | 4:44 |
| 31 | 287 | POGGEMEYER | George | Zen Planner Cycling Team | 412403 | Littleton CO | 24:07 | 4:48 |
| 32 | 285 | OTTENSTEIN | Grey | Zen Planner Cycling Team | 382605 | Littleton CO | 24:09 | 4:50 |
| 33 | 297 | TOWNES | Joshua | Rock Creek Velo | 383942 | Bethesda MD | 24:17 | 4:58 |
| 34 | 253 | BAILEY | Anthony | AYC Junior Development Race Tea | 324600 | Piney Flats TN | 24:29 | 5:10 |
| 35 | 299 | WEISGERBER | Joseph | Lionhearts Junior Racing | 358628 | Loveland OH | 24:29 | 5:10 |
| 36 | 273 | KEANE | Calvin | Bend Endurance Academy | 458355 | Bend OR | 24:30 | 5:11 |
| 37 | 276 | KRAUSE | Elijah | Bend Endurance Academy | 457953 | Bend OR | 24:36 | 5:17 |
| 38 | 283 | NORDEEN | Jesse | 441441 | San Antonio TX | 24:41 | 5:22 | |
| 39 | 296 | STOWERS | Ryan | RealD Cycling Team | 381826 | Denver CO | 25:00 | 5:41 |
| 40 | 279 | MCNEAR | Garrett | Papa John's Racing Team | 358698 | Louisville KY | 25:31 | 6:12 |
| 41 | 261 | FERGUSON | Olin | Oklahoma Flyers | 360721 | Tulsa OK | 25:38 | 6:19 |
| 42 | 260 | DUTCZAK | Mitchell | The Pony Shop | 297673 | Crete IL | 25:38 | 6:19 |
| 43 | 281 | MITTELBERG | Joey | Team Mack Racing Assoc. LTD | 392305 | Ewing MO | 25:38 | 6:19 |
| 44 | 272 | KAWALKOWSKI | Bartek | Lionhearts Junior Racing | 358802 | Middletown OH | 26:08 | 6:49 |
| 45 | 292 | SCHEER | Lincoln | xXx Racing | 358371 | Forest Park IL | 26:11 | 6:52 |
| 46 | 269 | HORNER | Cameron | Midwest Cycling Community NE | 403636 | Yutan NE | 27:06 | 7:47 |
| 47 | 290 | RIEFE | Aiden | The Pony Shop | 404082 | Glencoe IL | 27:23 | 8:04 |
| 48 | 265 | HACKETT | Winston | Cycle U | 457378 | Bellevue WA | 27:24 | 8:05 |
| 49 | 251 | ABELL | Luke | 426237 | New Braunfels TX | 31:16 | 11:57 | |
| 50 | 294 | SEITZ | William | GS Montagna Rossa | 326684 | Birmingham AL | 32:10 | 12:51 |
| 51 | 258 | CHILDS | Liam | Cyclocross Project 2015 | 389863 | Austin TX | @1Lap | |
| 52 | 180 | CHILDS | Tynan | Cyclocross Project 2015 | 459078 | Austin TX | @1Lap | |
| DNS | 268 | HAYES | Marek | J's Bikes/Popeye's | 386461 | Brazil IN |
