Katherine Sarkisov Picks the Right Lines to Win Junior Women 13-14 National Championship – Report

Although the conditions at Rancho San Rafael Park were not muddy on Saturday morning, several of the corners were rendered rather slick by melting frost. Having a successful race meant knowing where the tricky corners were and making sure to not push too hard on the slick surface.

One of these corners was the 180-degree turn right before the barriers. Several riders went down on the corner, and in the last lap, the turn would give Katherine Sarkisov (Rock Creek Velo) the advantage she needed to win out of a tough group.

In the first lap, Kaya Musgrave (Avout Racing) got a solo lead after a rider crashed on the corner before the barriers. When everything sorted out after the first lap, it was Musgrave, Sarkisov and Keira Bond (Rage Cycling Team). During the next half lap, Sarkisov and Bond escaped off the front.

It was during the second lap that Bond also was bitten by the cursed corner, giving Sarkisov a gap with just half a lap left.

“[Bond] fell on the turn right before the barrier. I actually crashed there during pre-ride and bent my hanger, so I was like, okay, this turn is pretty bad. I wanted to do well on the turn and don’t fall. I didn’t push it too hard through that turn, she fall, and I said, ‘Okay, give it everything you’ve got.'”

Once she had a lead, Sarkisov did not give it up. She came across the line as the new Junior Women 13-14 National Champion.

Sarkisov’s caution on the turns near the barriers was indicative of her attention to line choices and course details.

“There’s this one sweeping turn after the stairs where I took the outside line on the grass,” Sarkisov said. “Some of the other girls who rode on the mud couldn’t go as fast because they could slip.” She continued, “Around the turns before the barriers, I really wasn’t pushing it that hard because I didn’t want to go down. I could gain maybe have a second if I go faster, but I could lose the whole race if I break something.”

Bond finished second for the silver and Reagan Long (Boulder Junior Cycling) took third.

Interviews, photos and results are below.

Junior Women's 13-14 Results: 2018 Reno Cyclocross Nationals

Place	Bib	LAST	First	Team	City ST	Time	Gap
1	125	SARKISOV	Katherine	Rock Creek Velo	North Potomac MD	16:36
2	101	BOND	Keira	Rage Cycling Team	Louisville CO	16:53	17
3	116	LONG	Reagan	Boulder Junior Cycling	Niwot CO	16:56	20
4	113	MUSGRAVE	Kaya	Avout Racing	Littleton CO	17:07	31
5	129	ROBINSON	Callah		Bellevue WA	17:11	35
6	122	GARAOUY	Bronwynn	Rad Racing NW	Mercer Island WA	17:25	49
7	130	VISNACK	Natasha	Bend Endurance Academy	Bend OR	17:35	59
8	103	BENAVIDES PEREZ	Irene	Northwest Cycling Club	College Station TX	18:04	1:28
9	104	STIERWALT	Alexa	Lionhearts Junior Racing	Maineville OH	18:49	2:13
10	106	SANDOVAL	Olivia	Baltimore Youth Cycling	Baltimore MD	19:16	2:40
11	121	FERGUSON	Lilly	Central Junior Cycling Devo	Le Mars IA	19:36	3:00
12	102	MALONEY	Kayleigh		Meridian ID	19:53	3:17
13	107	OLDENBURG	Jordyn	Endurance Boise	Boise ID	19:56	3:20
14	120	CROCKELL	Hope		Orangevale CA	19:57	s.t.
15	112	STOVER	Madeline		Portland OR	19:57	s.t.
16	123	AMALONG	Anne	Constellation Cycling	Chapel Hill NC	20:13	3:37
17	131	BOTT	Charlotte	Baltimore Youth Cycling	Towson MD	20:27	3:51
18	126	LAWSON	Olivia	VeloGroms	Carlsbad CA	20:38	4:02
19	124	MOROCCO	Bella		Chandler AZ	20:38	s.t.
20	109	MCFADIN	Una		Portland OR	21:25	4:49
21	110	DIVIETRO	Caroline		Boise ID	21:26	4:50
22	118	PETERSON	Mahika	Endurance Boise	Boise ID	21:29	4:53
23	114	BROWN	Ella	Boulder Junior Cycling	Boulder CO	21:29	s.t.
24	117	KRULL	Kaisa	TEAM LAS VEGAS CYCLERY	Las Vegas NV	21:31	4:55
25	111	SECRIST	An	Endurance Boise	Boise ID	21:56	5:20
26	105	WORTENDYKE	Avery		Scottsdale AZ	22:46	6:10
27	127	KEEN	Amber		Reno NV	22:51	6:15
28	115	KREDO-BROWN	Grace		San Rafael CA	23:04	6:28
29	128	NAVARRO	Liliana	KCOI U20	Shawnee KS	27:01	10:25
30	108	PATCH	Sophia	Bike Like a Girl	Reno NV	33:09	16:33

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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