Although the course conditions on Saturday's Cyclocross National Championships were at their worst, that didn't stop the start of the Men's Division 1 Collegiate race from being one of the most viciously contested holeshots of the week. Drew Dillman kept pace with the leaders, but he spent the first lap trying to dial the course in just right. By the second lap, he took off with the race, never giving ground to any of his fellow riders. The following Monday, he took to the course once again, landing on the extended podium in fourth place.
Andrew Dillman (Marian University) takes the D1 Title. © Brian Nelson
When asked about the secret of his success, he answered that he couldn't believe he was the only racer grabbing on to the rails in the Division 1 race, a tactic he was certain propelled him to first. His favorite upgrade of the season? He spent no time considering that answer. He immediately pointed to his bike, telling us how impressed he was with the Trek. Today, we take a look at his Division 1 winning Trek Crockett.
In some ways, his build is not all that different from our last Nationals-Winning Bike Profile: Julie Lockhart's Redline. Both cantilever bikes were finished off with a SRAM groupset with a single chainring, and both had a power meter installed on their bikes for race day.
Dillman, however, had a dedicated narrow/wide CX1 chainring while he opted against bash guards and chain watchers. Secondly, both on Dillman's start line bike and pit bike, he rode the course without a computer mounted to his Zipp Service Course SL stem or handlebars: meaning he likely uses the power meter as a training guide rather than a race day performance indicator. His equipped his bike with a Quarq power meter, mating it to what appears to be a 42t single chainring.
Still, the big story here is the aluminum frame. As Katie Compton proved time and again, Dillman followed by showing that the highest end carbon fiber frames are not a necessity for landing on the top of the podium.
As with most riders for the full Nationals week, he opted to use mud-specific tires, with Challenge Limus tubulars on his Zipp 303 Firecrest wheels. Both his tires, his components and his frame all were tested in the peanut butter mud that made or broke the rides of many on that penultimate day of racing.
Use the arrows to navigate through the images, and check back for more 2015 Nationals bike profiles (we’ve captured each winner’s bike!)
The clutch rear derailleur was able to take a licking during the extreme mud of Austin on Saturday. © Cyclocross Magazine
