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Baker and Stevenson gasp for air after their sprint finish. Cyclocross National Championships. © Cyclocross Magazine

Baker and Stevenson gasp for air after their sprint finish. © Cyclocross Magazine

BEND, ORE. – Just as he did last year, Jonathan Baker came back from a slow start to win the 35-39 National Championship. Baker rode back to a lead group that included former 35-39 champion Justin Robinson (Cal Giant-Specialized) and Masters newcomer Russell Stevenson (Cycling Northwest), before dispatching both in the final lap. For many of the rest of the field, however, the race ended before the first turn, as a massive pileup split the race, giving a selection of 20 riders an insurmountable gap.

Jon Baker wins his second 35-39 title. © Tim Westmore

Jon Baker wins his second 35-39 title. © Tim Westmore

Baker, although he didn’t get caught up in the crash, had “A slow start. I couldn’t get into my pedal, so I was kinda coming back, and those guys started really fast.” “Those guys” were 20-year veteran Robinson and Seattle-based racer Stevenson, who came from nowhere last weekend (or, more accurately, from the last row) to win Day 2 of the Portland USGP.

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Robinson leading Stevenson early in the 35-39 race. © Cyclocross Magazine

Baker stayed calm, though, and rode calmly back up to the duo over the first lap-and-a half. Baker even naysayed the ever-enthusiastic Richard Fries, who asked him “How deep did you have to go in the pain cave to ride back up to those guys?” Baker replied: “I knew it was going to be a hard race, so I just kept my own pace.” That pace suited him just fine, as the group of three quickly distanced the rest of the already diminished field. Stevenson admitted that once Baker made the bridge, the trio went tactical and “soft-pedaled” for a couple of laps. Baker agreed, saying the riders tried to find shelter in the wind and push it in the muddy sections.

During the penultimate lap, Robinson came off the group and had to fight to get back on, re-connecting with about half a lap to go. That effort proved a bit too much, though, as Robinson bobbled at the top of a hill at the west end of the course: “We were all together going through the barriers, and then I missed my pedal at the top of the hill when they were all stuttering over the top, and that was it. The gap opened up, and I had to get off and run for a second, and you can’t make up gaps on this course very easily.”

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Baker trailling Stevenson on the final run-up. © Cyclocross Magazine

The last selection didn’t occur until the final turn, when Baker came from the left side of the course to the inside of the turn, and was able to get the jump on Stevenson. “I didn’t want to just lead him and show him all my secrets,” Stevenson said about trying to outfox Baker. “But obviously Jonathan had the best secret, the biggest of all – the final turn secret.” Baker looked at it similarly, saying that he waited until the last moment to make his move, which “worked out.”

Not far back from the leading trio, JT Fountain defied belief, as he rode to a fourth-place finish on a singlespeed. When asked if we was surprised by his performances, Fountain said, “Yeah, I was surprised – but over the last few days I’ve been getting used to being surprised by things.”

“I don’t think it slowed me down at all, except for the real boggy, slow grass sections, like down below the stairs,” Fountain said about his decision to stick to his singlespeed for the geared race. “And on the far stretch, I was not moving very fast.”

A jubilant, but exhausted, Baker greeted Stevenson after the finish. Both riders were complimentary towards each other and the course, saying that organizer Brad Ross had really gotten the course design just right, with the right amount of running, mud and power sections. Stevenson summed up the race, and the conditions, saying: “That was epic. It’s just such a hard course, and muddy! You’re better off to lead in that crap, in the muck. I thought I had him, but in the final turn I had an in-to-out line, he came out to in, and that was the difference. Baker was strong to make a bridge like that.”

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

Photo Gallery:

Full Results:

Place Points Name City, State Bib Team
1 150 Jonathan Baker (1 – Cat1) Boulder, CO 301 Groove Subaru Cycling Team
2 135 Russell Stevenson (2 – Cat1) Seattle, WA 351 Cycling Northwest
3 120 Justin Robinson (3 – Cat1) Bonny Doon, CA 393 California Giant Cycling/California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized
4 105 JT Fountain (1 – Cat2) Moscow, ID 312 3FCX/cyclocrossracing.com
5 90 Troy Heithecker (4 – Cat1) Ft Collins, CO 348 Echelon Energy
6 85 Grant Berry (5 – Cat1) Durango, CO 311 Rocky Mtn Chocolate Factory
7 80 Benjamin Thompson (6 – Cat1) Bend, OR 337
8 75 Bo Pitkin (2 – Cat2) Park City, UT 368
9 70 Eric Sheagley (7 – Cat1) Portland, OR 379 Essex County Velo
10 65 Brian Sheedy (8 – Cat1) Banner Elk, NC 383 Raleigh Allstars Cycling Club
11 60 Scott Frederick (9 – Cat1) Raleigh, NC 316 Inland/Back to Dirt/Inland Construction
12 55 Kristopher Holden (10 – Cat1) Spokane, WA 323 Vertical Earth Specialized
13 50 Louie Fountain (3 – Cat2) Moscow, ID 353 3FCX/cyclocrossracing.com
14 45 Michael Gallagher (11 – Cat1) Portland, OR 399 Cyclocrossracing.com P/B Blue
15 40 John Rollert (12 – Cat1) Bend, OR 358 WebCyclery Racing/WebCyclery.com
16 38 Timothy Jones (13 – Cat1) Bend, OR 338
17 36 Maurice Gamanho (4 – Cat2) Lebanon, NJ 389 Van Dessel Factory Team
18 34 Andrew Messer (14 – Cat1) Bloomington, IN 346 Don Galligher-DRT Consulting/DRT Racing
19 32 Chris Brandt (15 – Cat1) Carbondale, CO 370 Brandt-Sorenson.com
20 30 Evan Plews (16 – Cat1) Salem, OR 350
21 Exp Kevin Koen (5 – Cat2) Cypress, TX 390
22 26 Benjamin Kubas (17 – Cat1) Eugene, OR 398 TAI Cycling/Gen8
23 24 Joel Wilson (6 – Cat2) Eugene, OR 354
24 22 Chris Snyder (18 – Cat1) Portland, OR 359
25 20 Eric Anderson (7 – Cat2) Indianapolis, IN 331 Indianapolis Cycling Club/NUVO Cultural Trail
26 19 Aaron Bouplon (19 – Cat1) Boulder, CO 396 RockyMounts~Izze Racing
27 18 Jerry Long (8 – Cat2) Moscow, ID 410 Coeur d ‘Alene Velo Racers (CDAVR)/Vertical Earth
28 17 Christian Litzsinger (9 – Cat2) Eagle, ID 308 Lost River Cycling Club/Team Reed Cycle
29 16 Michael Carroll (10 – Cat2) Durango, CO 305 Durango Wheel Club
30 Exp Frederick Bottger South Pasadena, CA 412 Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)/PAA / RE/MAX
31 14 Kyle Wuepper (11 – Cat2) Bend, OR 415
32 13 Craig Faulkner (20 – Cat1) Mendota Heights, MN 318 crossniacs
33 12 Joshua Whitmore (21 – Cat1) Sylva, NC 339 Globalbike Racing/Team Globalbike
34 11 Nate Woodman (12 – Cat2) Lincoln, NE 414
35 10 Todd Dye (13 – Cat2) Corvallis, OR 314
36 9 Michael DiCenso (14 – Cat2) Seattle, WA 327 Mafia Racing
37 8 Tim Joslin (15 – Cat2) Portland, OR 321
38 7 Peder Horner (1 – Cat3) Denver, CO 361 ColoBikeLaw.com
39 6 David Sheek (16 – Cat2) Huntington Beach, CA 326
40 5 Adam Whitney (2 – Cat3) Waitsfield, VT 362
41 4 Chris Winans (17 – Cat2) Bend, OR 420
42 3 Robert Braun (22 – Cat1) Gardnerville, NV 320
43 2 Barney Gill (3 – Cat3) Vashon, WA 344 Cycle Therapy-4 Corners Cycling
44 0 Chris Matthews (4 – Cat3) Redwood City, CA 329 Third Pillar
45 0 Eric Bostrom (5 – Cat3) Las Vegas, NV 425
46 0 Jason Jablonski (18 – Cat2) Wenatchee, WA 400
47 0 Slate Olson (23 – Cat1) Portland, OR 376 Hup United
48 0 Craig Virr (24 – Cat1) Austin, TX 343 Team Lifesize
49 0 Nicholas Brown (6 – Cat3) Kirkland, WA 384 Boat Street Cycle Club (BSCC)/Recycled Cycles Racing
50 0 Dean Poshard (25 – Cat1) Santa Cruz, CA 378
51 0 Andrew Rigel (26 – Cat1) Seattle, WA 349 Mafia Racing
52 0 Michael Schindler (27 – Cat1) Bend, OR 387
53 0 Zachary Daab (19 – Cat2) Seattle, WA 392 Hup United
54 0 Chip Sloan (20 – Cat2) Vancouver, WA 413
55 0 Eric Russell (21 – Cat2) San Anselmo, CA 408
56 0 Adam Carroll (7 – Cat3) Bend, OR 419
57 0 John Craft (8 – Cat3) Bend, OR 388
59 0 Alan Vos (22 – Cat2) Phoenix, OR 409
60 0 Ryan Brown (9 – Cat3) Richland, WA 340 Chinook Cycling Club Inc/Chinook Cycling
62 0 Keith Heinzelman (10 – Cat3) Bainbridge Island, WA 402
63 0 Graham Christensen (23 – Cat2) Coeur D Alene, ID 366 Coeur d ‘Alene Velo Racers (CDAVR)/Vertical Earth
64 0 Luke Mason (24 – Cat2) Bend, OR 426
65 0 Chad Berg (28 – Cat1) Arlington, WA 407 Pilchuck Cycling Club/Collision 1
66 0 Andrew Weir (25 – Cat2) Ann Arbor, MI 364 Ann Arbor Velo Club/Two Wheel Tango/Morgan & York
67 0 Mike Beretta (11 – Cat3) El Dorado Hills, CA 357 Team Revolutions
68 0 Brian Fuller (26 – Cat2) Eagle, ID 333 Broken Spoke Cycling
69 0 Mark Roughgarden (12 – Cat3) Kirkland, WA 345 Puget Sound Cycling Club
70 0 Seth Graham (13 – Cat3) Bend, OR 335
71 0 Eric Teel (27 – Cat2) Ashland, OR 367
72 0 Christian Martin (14 – Cat3) Portland, OR 371
73 0 Justin Morgan (29 – Cat1) Portola Valley, CA 397 CalNorte VC Switchbacks
74 0 Rick Jerabek (15 – Cat3) Seattle, WA 347
75 0 Aaron VanderWaal (16 – Cat3) Seattle, WA 325 Mafia Racing
76 0 Mark Albrecht (17 – Cat3) Draper, UT 372 Revolution Cafe Rio
77 0 Ron Shevock (28 – Cat2) Folsom, CA 427 Team Mad Cat
78 0 Arthur Nease (18 – Cat3) Kirkland, WA 386 Seattle Super Squadra/Cucina Fresca Cycling Team
79 0 Marcus Biancucci (19 – Cat3) Bend, OR 365
80 0 doug laplaca (30 – Cat1) Bend, OR 421
81 0 Greg Miranda (20 – Cat3) Bend, OR 423
82 0 Michael Prater (21 – Cat3) Seattle, WA 322 Lake Washington Velo/Hagens Berman Cycling
83 0 Matthew Triska (22 – Cat3) San Francisco, CA 429 Squadra Ovest Cycling
84 0 Jeffrey Bonsall (23 – Cat3) Lincoln, NE 406
85 0 James Gantz (24 – Cat3) Portland, OR 416
86 0 Darren Smith (25 – Cat3) Bend, OR 332
87 0 Alex Telitsine (26 – Cat3) Renton, WA 417 Thumbprint Racing/FareStart p/b Cobalt Mortgage
88 0 Paul Hernandez (27 – Cat3) North Hollywood, CA 405
89 0 Jerry Bueno (28 – Cat3) Austin, TX 355 Team Hotel San Jose
90 0 Jesus Ortega (29 – Cat3) Downey, CA 380 Celo Pacific
DNS 0 Alex Work Santa Cruz, CA 324
DNS 0 Brendan Connolly Seattle, WA 328
DNS 0 Scott Keiper Seattle, WA 330
DNS 0 Paul Adams Cortez, CO 341
DNS 0 Eric Denning Meridian, ID 342 Treasure Valley Cycling Club/Team Reel Theatre
DNS 0 Marc Bavineau Gloucester, MA 352 Centraal Cycle Devo Team
DNS 0 Joshua Roeser Montrose, MN 356 Flat City Cycling Club Inc.
DNS 0 Joel Liefke Langley, WA 360 Bikeman.com
DNS 0 Shane Gibson Portland, OR 369
DNS 0 Oliver Vrambout Marine, MN 373 Chilkoot Velo
DNS 0 Matthew Kraus Pleasantville, NY 374 North American Velo/North Atlantic Velo/ClassBook.com
DNS 0 Erik Bergstrom Bend, OR 375
DNS 0 Anthony Coando San Francisco, CA 377 Squadra Ovest Cycling
DNS 0 John Cutler Washington, DC 382 CycleLife/Raw Talent Ranch Racing
DNS 0 Edwin Bull Mendham, NJ 385 Van Dessel Factory Team
DNS 0 Andrew Shatz San Francisco, CA 391 Team Roaring Mouse
DNS 0 Patrick Murphy Folsom, CA 394 Team Mad Cat
DNS 0 Jason Sager Ogden, UT 395 Jamis Factory Team
DNS 0 Arn Allemand Meridian, ID 401
DNS 0 Patrick Wilder Portland, OR 403
DNS 0 Daniel Studley Bothell, WA 404 Mafia Racing
DNS 0 Daniel Langlois Philadelphia, PA 411 Bicycle Therapy
DNS 0 paul zweigart Turner, OR 418
DNS 0 Dean Dealy Aptos, CA 629 Verge Sport/Test Pilot/Verge Sport / Test Pilot
DNF 0 Michael Trowbridge Bellingham, WA 303
DNF 0 James Bender Seattle, WA 306 Berkeley Bicycle Club (BBC)
DNF 0 Rolando Roman Austin, TX 307
DNF 0 Wayne Mackey Sparks, NV 309
DNF 0 Gabriel Keck Fairfax, CA 310 Summit Bicyles
DNF 0 Ariel Brown Boulder, CO 313
DNF 0 Andrew Kennedy Martinez, CA 315 CalNorte VC Switchbacks
DNF 0 Timothy Spence Fircrest, WA 317 Mafia Racing
DNF 0 Lane Miller Lafayette, CO 319