Jake Wells Digs Deep to Win Singlespeed Race, Second Jersey of Week – Report

On Thursday, Jake Wells turned in a dominant performance to win the Masters 40-44 race in solo fashion. He returned to the course at Rancho San Rafael Park in Reno on Saturday and swapped his geared bike for a shot at the singlespeed championship.

The task would not be an easy one. The singlespeed race is popular with riders who can best be described as “fast,” and the field featured a number of riders who had already had success in Reno. Wells’ task was cut out for him.

With the course dried out and the sun shining, the track was tailor-made for a fast start in the singlespeed race. A number of the heavy hitters got to the front and kept the pace high in an effort to separate out the field. After one lap, Max Judelson and Wells were off the front, while a number of other riders gave chase.

During the first half of the second lap, Wells got a gap on Judelson. During the second half of the second lap, Stephan Davoust, who finished second in Wednesday’s Collegiate Varsity race, moved up to join Judelson. The stage was set; Wells leading and Davoust and Judelson trying to chase him down.

Wells said the chase was tough because the riders had different strengths. “There definitely were some spots where those guys were closing it down, and there were places where I could extend the lead. Luckily the place where I was extending the lead was right before the finish. I seemed to be getting a little bit of time on the off-camber section.”

From there, the gap between Wells and his chasers stayed between five and ten seconds. Using his 42t front, 18t rear gear combination, Wells was able to ride the steep hill, while Judelson and Davoust were forced to dismount at least once. Still, with one to go, Wells’ advantage was only a few seconds.

“Coming through there with one to go, I got a time check of three seconds, so I was panicked there for a minute,” Wells said about the close race.

Wells was able to find an extra kick in the last lap and hold off Davoust and Judelson to take his second title of the week.

After Davoust caught up with Judelson, he picked up time and eventually moved into a solo second. He would finish the race there for his second second of the week.

Photos, interviews and results are below.

Men's Singlespeed Results: 2018 Reno Cyclocross Nationals

Pl	Bib	LAST	First	Team	City ST	Gap
1	690	WELLS	Jake	Bicycle Racing Association of C	Avon CO
2	678	DAVOUST	Stephan		Durango CO	10
3	670	JUDELSON	Max		Berkeley CA	21
4	747	MELOTT	Brandon	Bike Lab Racing Team	Warr Acres OK	1:05
5	635	CHAPIN	Scott	Santa Cruz Factory Racing	Santa Cruz CA	1:07
6	730	DAY	Kevin	Team Endurance 360	Farmington UT	1:19
7	642	THOMAS	Justin	Reno Wheelmen	Reno NV	1:54
8	717	GRITTERS	Brandon	Southern California Nevada Cycl	Dana Point CA	1:57
9	735	FOSSELL	Eric	COS Racing	Colorado Springs CO	2:13
10	634	POWLISON	Spencer	Team Small Batch	Boulder CO	2:27
11	618	ROBINSON	Justin	Santa Cruz Factory Racing	Bonny Doon CA	2:46
12	683	MYERSON	Adam	Cycle-Smart	Dorchester MA	3:00
13	716	BILLINGS	Brett	Groove Subaru Excel Sports	Colorado Springs CO	3:32
14	626	RINN	Ryan		San Francisco CA	3:37
15	686	MYRAH	Donald	Northern California/Nevada Cycl	San Jose CA	@1Lap
16	734	PREBLE	Kolby		Durango CO	@1Lap
17	710	MORGAN	Justin	Top Club	Portola Valley CA	@1Lap
18	636	WHITNEY	Josh		Salt Lake City UT	@1Lap
19	653	STUCKI	Dylan		Durango CO	@1Lap
20	609	BOURCIER	Paul		Eugene OR	@1Lap
21	754	BRADFORD	Aaron		Auburn WA	@1Lap
22	704	DIREEN	Josh	Groove Subaru Excel Sports	Denver CO	@1Lap
23	615	MCNICHOLAS	Dylan	POLARTEC	Stratham NH	@1Lap
24	675	SPENCER	Kazzle		Oakland CA	@1Lap
25	661	HARTMAN	Jason	Groove Subaru Excel Sports	Centennial CO	@1Lap
26	646	AUGUST	Andrew	Park Ave Bike Shop	Pittsford NY	@1Lap
27	637	LEHMAN	Brendan		Santa Cruz CA	@1Lap
28	724	VICKERY	Sam		Durango CO	@1Lap
29	739	OLSEN	Daniel		Seattle WA	@1Lap
30	633	WALKER	Jason		East Wenatchee WA	@1Lap
31	658	NELSON	Brad		Coupeville WA	@1Lap
32	625	DICKENSON	Omar	Sonic Boom Racing Team	Golden CO	@1Lap
33	647	MILLS	Fred	Point S racing	Portland OR	@1Lap
34	679	WOOD	Jim	HiFi Sound Cycling Componets	Hood River OR	@1Lap
35	703	SEIB	Donald	BMB Racing	Bryant Pond ME	@1Lap
36	729	WEISS	Timber		Reno NV	@1Lap
37	643	BOYCE	Wesley	Cycle City Racing	Papillion NE	@1Lap
38	623	MCKENZIE	Kell	King Kog	Oakland CA	@1Lap
39	614	BENDER	Zach	Cycle-Smart	Waldwick NJ	@1Lap
40	752	STOWE	Ian		Santa Cruz CA	@1Lap
41	746	WORK	Alex		Santa Cruz CA	@1Lap
42	656	HUIZENGA	Jacob	Chicago Cuttin Crew	Chicago IL	@1Lap
43	651	SHEEK	David	Southern California Nevada Cycl	Laguna Hills CA	@1Lap
44	713	TURNER	David		Murrieta CA	@1Lap
45	742	STRAIN	Lucas		Portland OR	@1Lap
46	641	ELLIS	Chris		Bellingham WA	@1Lap
47	681	BOSCH	Adrian		Medford OR	@1Lap
48	606	CARAMADRE	Richard	KUHL Cycling Team	Salt Lake City UT	@1Lap
49	664	BIBKO	Ryan		Morgan Hill CA	@1Lap
50	726	TORRES	Douglas	High Desert Bicycles Team	Albuquerque NM	@1Lap
51	627	MACHADO	Michael		Salinas CA	@1Lap
52	707	SCOTT	Matthew		Boise ID	@1Lap
53	655	SAVIERS	Michael	Team Oregon p/b Laurelwood Br	Vancouver WA	@1Lap
54	631	BURNETT	Ian	Fort Lewis College	Durango CO	@1Lap
55	711	MOODY	Michael		Jacksonville OR	@1Lap
56	741	GRAVER	Doug		Snohomish WA	@1Lap
57	671	CORTOPASSI	Daniel	Team City Sacramento	Rio Linda CA	@1Lap
58	736	DODGE	Ben	SunPower Racing	San Jose CA	@1Lap
59	624	GARTH	Greg		Los Angeles CA	@1Lap
60	727	CHEENEY	Chad	Durango Devo	Durango CO	@1Lap
61	608	BARCHECK	Aaron		Boulder CO	@1Lap
62	677	YOUNG	Brad	No. 22 CX TEAM	Porter Corners NY	@1Lap
63	697	CLAASSEN	Clinton	Northern California/Nevada Cycl	El Dorado Hills CA	@1Lap
64	621	BROWN	Michael		Bend OR	@1Lap
65	725	SELL	Stacey	Family Cycling Center	Prunedale CA	@1Lap
66	676	FOLLMUTH	Garrett	Rebel West CX	Santa Monica CA	@1Lap
67	694	RAPINZ	Paul		Boulder CO	@1Lap
68	732	HOWLAND	Mark	Family Cycling Center	Santa Cruz CA	@1Lap
69	695	LEIZINGER	Matt	All-City X Fulton Racing	Richfield MN	@1Lap
70	666	SEYMOUR	Christopher	Northern California/Nevada Cycl	Felton CA	@1Lap
71	680	HOLICKY	Grant	EVOL DevoElite Racing	Boulder CO	@1Lap
72	743	YOUNGMAN	William	Revs Road Race p/b Kinetic Cycl	Rocklin CA	@1Lap
73	702	BRYER	Regis		Brevard NC	@1Lap
74	603	BROWN	Ariel		Boulder CO	@1Lap
75	684	GENTES	Jim	Northern California/Nevada Cycl	Soquel CA	@1Lap
76	718	IRREBARIA	Cliff		Hollister CA	@1Lap
77	738	MORITZ	Thomas	Team Tom's Bicycles p/b Topeca	Tulsa OK	@1Lap
78	604	GIZINSKI	Connor	Cycle U	Seattle WA	@1Lap
79	605	FOX	Matthew	Bend Endurance Academy	Bend OR	@1Lap
80	628	ZLATNIK	Pete	Folsom Bike	Sacramento CA	@1Lap
81	750	BASS	Zach		San Francisco CA	@1Lap
82	667	LOPEZ	Peter		Denver CO	@1Lap
83	630	GRILL	Nathan		Las Vegas NV	@1Lap
84	705	TAYLOR	Kyle		Santa Cruz CA	@1Lap
85	756	YEE	Andrew		Mountain View CA	@1Lap
86	757	BAILEY	David		Lyons CO	@1Lap
87	620	HAMMOND	Kent	PAA Cycling	Los Angeles CA	@1Lap
88	657	HINTZ	Justin		Sacramento CA	@1Lap
89	629	CHAPPELL	Carter		Pasadena CA	@1Lap
90	654	LANHAM	Kenneth	Team Small Batch	Denver CO	@1Lap
91	611	HENRY	Mark		Incline Village NV	@1Lap
92	622	LIEURANCE	Thom	Feedback Sports Racing	Arvada CO	@2Laps
93	632	NISHIMURA	Douglas		Ellisville MO	@2Laps
94	719	PODCZERVINSKI	Alan	Feedback Sports Racing	Broomfield CO	@2Laps
95	601	ANSELMO	Clay		Trout Creek MT	@2Laps
96	682	MILLER	Jacob	Cycle U	Seattle WA	@2Laps
97	706	CLAY	Jonathan		Davis CA	@2Laps
98	709	BURNHAM	Brody	DMOS Racing Team	Altoona IA	@2Laps
99	638	WENKER	Ryan		Folsom CA	@2Laps
100	733	DEBOOM	Todd		Lyons CO	@2Laps
101	700	STEWART	Marc		Reno NV	@2Laps
102	674	SCHMIDTMANN	Max	Rage Cycling Team	Nederland CO	@2Laps
103	755	ECKERT	Rik	Reno Wheelmen	Reno NV	@2Laps
104	723	STERNBERG	Victor	Team Las Vegas Cyclery	Boulder City NV	@2Laps
105	616	ADAMS	Evan		San Francisco CA	@3Laps
106	669	BALAM	Carlos		Oakland CA	@3Laps
107	640	FERRARIO	Brian		San Jose CA	@3Laps
108	712	SPORTSMAN	Scott	Team Roaring Mouse	Oakland CA	@3Laps
109	758	ANDERSON	Jeff		San Ramon CA	@3Laps
110	701	LEE	Daniel	Velo Fratello Cycling Team	Petaluma CA	@3Laps
111	698	WATSON	Keith		Louisville CO	@3Laps
112	660	MALIN	Sean	Rage Cycling Team	Boulder CO	@4Laps
113	745	SHOEMAKER	Frank	Leadoutracing.com CA	Orangevale CA	@4Laps
114	648	HEYER	Leigh	Team Velosport / Rock n Road Cy	Rancho Santa Margarita	@4Laps
115	753	DUNCAN	Mark	TEAM LAS VEGAS CYCLERY	Las Vegas NV	@4Laps
116	699	LOGAN	Benjamin		Bishop CA	@4Laps
117	639	CHRISTOPHER	Drew		Denver CO	@4Laps
118	610	YATES	Rob	Matrix/RBM	Rowlett TX	@4Laps
119	687	LEWIS	Charles	Team Bikenetic	San Francisco CA	@4Laps
120	617	NELSON	Eric	JAKROO	Oakland CA	@4Laps
121	612	GIZINSKI	Greg		Seattle WA	@4Laps
122	731	ORTENBLAD	Rick		Santa Cruz CA	@4Laps
123	613	TIETZ	William		Helena MT	@5Laps
124	715	ROWTON	Lucas		Durango CO	@5Laps
125	737	WILLMORE	R Lee	Celo Pacific	Seal Beach CA	@5Laps
DNF	714	HARPER	Dan		Saugerties NY
DNF	728	DELINKS	Chandler	Cannondale Cyclocrossworld	Ipswich MA
DNF	689	INGRAM	Callum		Reno NV
DNF	691	WILLIAMS	Steven	Recycled Cycles Racing	Seattle WA
DNF	665	SEITZ	William	Mission Devo Cycling/NGCA p/b T	Birmingham AL
DNF	668	HLUDZINSKI	Brian	Boulder Cycle Sport	Boulder CO
DNF	688	LIVINGSTON	Scott	Horst Engineering Cycling Team	Bolton CT
DNF	662	SHANKS	Daimeon		Boulder CO
DNF	720	SOVEREIGN	Dan		Sacramento CA
DQ	659	REIF	Brandon		San Francisco CA

For more from Reno, see our continuing coverage of the 2018 Reno Cyclocross Nationals on our dedicated Nationals page.

Photos from the races and reports are available to license here, with more to be added throughout the next week.

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