Scott Funston Flies to U23 Men’s Title: 2021 USA Cyclocross National Championships Report, Results

The U23 Men took to a softening, slippery, muddy Cantigny Park course as the fourth UCI race at Sunday’s 2021 USA Cyclocross National Championships.

While early racers took to the course on file and mix treads, mud tires were a required ingredient by the time the U23 men hit the course.

2021 USA Cyclocross National Championships U23 Men

Scott Funston, fresh off his Pan Ams win last weekend, took to the muddy course with the confidence from a championship win. If Funston could be the best on a continent, surely he could be the best in the country?

Funston finished third in 2019, and with Eric Brunner and Caleb Swartz moving into the Elite category, Funston was the favorite on paper.

Andrew Strohmeyer, the 2019 Nationals Junior 17-18 winner, exploded off the start, determined to show he was racing for the win in his first U23 Nationals attempt.

Funston remained calm. “My plan was to be second or third on the first lap, which I was after the sand and was stoked,” Funston explained.

Strohmeyer then bobbled after the stairs, slowing and then riding into the course tape, giving Funston a chance to claim the lead.

The Pan Am champ seized his chance and didn’t look back. The former BMXer hopped the barriers, cleaned the climbs was off to a commanding lead.

Meanwhile, Strohmeyer made a series of mistakes in his chase for the win and saw his chance at victory slip down the Cantigny off-cambers.

Back and Forth for Silver

While Funston turned his gap into a chasm, the race for the other medals was on. As Strohmeyer faltered, Daxton Mock and Sam Noel made their way past the 2019 Junior Champ.

Daxton was methodical in getting on and off his bike, while Strohmeyer, determined to ride most sections, lost time. It looked like Noel and Strohmeyer would battle for bronze.

But Strohmeyer wasn’t done, and finally had a clean final lap. He clawed back Mock, who after relinquishing his second place, hit a course pole and went over the bars.

Mock collected himself for third, with Noel in fourth and Jules van Kempen finishing in fifth.

Funston is no stranger to Nationals. We first saw Pacific Northwest-based rider take silver in 2010 in Bend, Oregon.

Full results below.

Featured photo: 2018 Nationals

2021 USA Cyclocross National Championships Results: U23 Men

Rank	Bib	Name	Affiliation	Time
1	102	Scott FUNSTON	Blue Competition Cycles p/b Build	54:15:00
2	103	Andrew STROHMEYER	CX Hairs Devo : Trek Bikes	56:28:00
3	106	Daxton MOCK	Trek Cyclocross Collective	56:58:00
4	104	Sam NOEL	Competitive Edge Racing	57:39:00
5	105	Jules VAN KEMPEN	Alpha Bicycle Co. - Groove Subaru	58:29:00
6	111	Dillon MCNEILL	Trek Cyclocross Collective	58:31:00
7	108	Sam BROWN	Alpha Bicycle Co. - Groove Silverthorne	58:32:00
8	130	Ian MCDONALD	KCCX Elite Cyclocross Team	58:38:00
9	107	Tommy SERVETAS	Competitive Edge Racing	58:52:00
10	124	Dylan ZAKRAJSEK	KCCX Elite Cyclocross Team	59:06:00
11	123	Ivan SIPPY	Team Segment 28	59:50:00
12	132	Peter SWINAND	The Pony Shop p/b KPMG	59:55:00
13	129	Lucas STIERWALT	Aether Racing	1:00:06
14	110	Vin HLUDZINSKI	Boulder Junior Cycling	1:00:18
15	131	Nick CARTER	NorthStar Development	1:00:43
16	109	Kyle JOHNSON		1:01:08
17	135	Luke FEUERHELM	KCCX Elite Cyclocross Team	1:02:00
18	125	Cobe FREEBURN	Fort Lewis College	1:02:16
19	146	Oliver BOYD	Colorado Mesa University	1:02:30
20	142	Nathan KNOWLES	ASU Devo ProCx	1:02:41
21	128	Ian LOPEZ DE SAN ROMAN	Bear National / WCX	1:02:44
22	133	Tydeman NEWMAN	Cannondale/Team Dream	1:02:47
23	166	Isaac BRYANT	Milligan University	1:03:21
24	149	John Paul AMALONG	USAC ODA	1:03:35
25	126	George PIEPGRAS	Fort Lewis College	1:04:28
26	148	Nicholas TABARES	ASU Devo Pro CX	1:04:59
27	139	Henry DANILUK	Action Wheels	1:05:14
28	112	Brody MCDONALD	Milligan University	1:05:57
29	141	Ryder UETRECHT	ASU Development ProCX	1:05:57
30	150	Dakota OLSEN	Move Up	1:06:20
31	152	Joshua FITZGERALD	Lindenwood University	1:06:34
32	153	Jacob OLANDER	USA Cycling Olympic Development Academy	1:07:16
33	163	Henry MCALVANAH	Trek Cyclocross Colletive	53:30:00
34	145	Patrick FRANK	JAM / NCC	39:44:00
35	143	Seamus OCONNOR-WALKER	University of Iowa	39:55:00
36	140	Malaki CALDWELL	LWC Cycling/ Phat Tire Bike Shop	40:22:00
37	144	Luke ELPHINGSTONE		40:54:00
38	137	Brandon GOODWIN	Aether Racing	41:43:00
39	156	Elijah JOHNSON	Milligan University	41:55:00
40	151	Aiden MAPEL	Competitive Edge Racing	41:55:00
41	136	Alex GREEN	Fort Lewis College	42:04:00
42	162	Luke REILLY	Oklahoma Flyers	42:11:00
43	147	Luke ARENS	Adapt Cycling	42:17:00
44	160	Tayton PARKER	Oklahoma Flyers	42:18:00
45	167	William SEITZ	Velocious Sport	44:31:00
46	155	Henry LORD	Kelly Benefit Strategies Elite Devo	28:59:00
47	165	Owen ROGERS	Dark Horse Racing p/b TCNF Legal	29:01:00
48	154	Orion CHILD	Velo Childeric	29:10:00
49	159	Spencer WEISGRAM	Army West Point Cycling	29:33:00
50	158	Max CHILSEN	The Pony Shop	30:17:00
51	161	Eddie STILLMAN	Lindenwood University	30:53:00
52	164	Jacob ARRIGONI	Plus one cycling	36:18:00
53	168	Jacob KUPER	Lindsey Wilson College	17:51
DNS	122	Calder WOOD	Rouleur Elite Team
DNS	127	Patrick BALL
DNS	134	Ivan GALLEGO	Missoula Bicycle Works - Team Stampede
DNS	157	Owen BRENNEMAN	CXHAIRS DEVO : TREK BIKES

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See the course preview videos from Cantigny Park, DuPage County, Illinois here.

Visit our dedicated 2021 USA Cycling Cyclocross Nationals page for all of our 2021 National Championships coverage.