Weber Wins Masters Women 40-44 at the 2015 National Championships: Race Report, Full Results

Kristin Weber fought a tough battle for first, then broke away for the win. © Cyclocross Magazine

(Austin, TX)- Melissa Barker (Evol Elite Racing) took the holeshot, and maintained the lead for most of the first lap. Kristin Weber (Boulder Cycle Sport/YogaGlo) took the lead right before the group passed the lap line, and Barker stole the front position back a half lap later.

Melissa Barker (Evol Elite Racing) got the hole shot, but the battle with Webber was just getting started. © Brian Nelson

This cat and mouse game defined most of the 40-44 Masters Women’s Race on Thursday, and would continue for all but the last lap and a half.

“I just felt my legs give up,” Barker told Cyclocross Magazine after the race. “I found out what it feels like to bonk,” she continued, describing the lack of energy in the remaining segment of the race. The Colorado-duo had been battling all season long, but Barker felt the effects of her drained legs on the limestone stairs.

She informed us that usually staircases play to her strengths, and she practices the stairs in Boulder’s Valmont Park every week. But the uneven limestone felt like a different matter entirely, she described.

Kristin Weber (Boulder Cycle Sport) putting pressure on Barker. © Brian Nelson

Weber, on the other hand, had no problem with the course as a whole. “I wouldn’t say that I made huge gains anywhere,” she described her race right after the win. “I felt like I had to make small gains [all over the course].” Eventually, those small gains turned into a big gap as she found space on the last lap to take the race for the American jersey.

2015 National Championships, Masters Women 40-44