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by David Mable

Blasting down the snow-covered starting straight-away, Alex Morton (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld/Saint Clair, MI) grabbed the early lead into the first corner of the Junior Men 15-16 race in Hartford.

Alex Morton (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld) leads the charge and takes the holeshot in the Junior Men 15-16 race. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine

Alex Morton (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld) leads the charge and takes the holeshot in the Junior Men 15-16 race. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine

Climbing through the field, Nick Carter (Northstar Development Cycling/Minneapolis, MN) moved into the lead after the big climb up Bonk Breaker hill, and never looked back.

Nick Carter (Northstar Development Cycling) navigates through lapped traffic in the final laps. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine

Nick Carter (Northstar Development Cycling) navigates through lapped traffic in the final laps. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine

“I noticed on the first lap that everyone was falling down,” said Carter. “Our State Championship race was cold like this so I just thought, oh, well this will probably play to my strengths. I only slipped a couple of times. It went pretty good.”

Once in the lead, Carter focused on riding smooth and not making mistakes, confident of his ability to ride in the snow after practicing this winter in his home state of Minnesota.

Torin Bickmore (Boulder Junior Cycling) clears the barriers one last time. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine

Torin Bickmore (Boulder Junior Cycling) clears the barriers one last time. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine

“I just tried to race smooth and not to mess up,” he said. “I had people telling me how far ahead I was so I kept it slow and tried not to fall.”

“Before I came out here [to Hartford] we had half a foot of snow back in Minnesota. I just started riding around the parks seeing how it would feel when it’s slippery and it went pretty well. I came out there and rode the course right before the call-ups to see how it was and it was definitely a lot slipperier than it was before. But I think had I not ridden it [in these conditions], I would not have done as well.”

Dillon McNeil (Trek Cyclocross Collective) chases the lead three while spectators cheer. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine

Dillon McNeil (Trek Cyclocross Collective) chases the lead three while spectators cheer. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine

Behind Carter, in ever-changing conditions, a tight race for the rest of the podium spots was taking place between teammates Torin Bickmore (Boulder Junior Cycling/Longmont, CO) and Oliver Howson (Boulder Junior Cycling/Boulder, CO), as well as Dillon McNeil (Trek Cyclocross Collective/Bellevue, NE), Tyler Reynolds (Trek Cyclocross Collective/Pella, IA) and Alex Morton.

“Yeah, we were riding on an ice rink and the course was changing from the very start of the race, because it was snowing the whole race,” said Bickmore. “Each lap, we would come around and different areas would be covered in snow. So you could easily miss [spotting] an ice spot and slide out your front wheel.”

Torin Bickmore (Boulder Junior Cycling) leads Dillon McNeil (Trek Cyclocross Collective) through a wooded section. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine

Torin Bickmore (Boulder Junior Cycling) leads Dillon McNeil (Trek Cyclocross Collective) through a wooded section. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine

Into the last lap, as Carter continued to lead, lapped traffic made it challenging to vie for podium spots.

“It was a close one and we had lapped traffic, so it was pretty hard to battle throughout the whole lap,” said Bickmore. “There were three of us within just a few seconds for the whole race.”

Despite the shuffling of the top contenders in the final lap, due largely to the icy conditions and pure luck (good or bad), Carter maintained his lead, taking the stars and stripes jersey. Behind him Bickmore took silver and his teammate Howson grabbed bronze.

When asked how he plans to celebrate, Carter was clear.

“I’m gonna sleep and have some ice cream!”

2017 CX National Championships Hartford Day 5 Results Juniors Men 15-16

PlaceBibLastFirstTeamTimeGap
1309CARTERNickNorthStar Development Cycling31:53:00
2306BICKMORETorinBoulder Junior Cycling32:25:0032
3322HOWSONOliverBoulder Junior Cycling32:31:0038
4336MCNEILLDillonTrek Cyclocross Collective32:42:0049
5340MORTONAlexCannondale Cyclocrossworld33:11:001:18
6315FRANCISCOThomasPapa John's Racing Team33:33:001:40
7349REYNOLDSTylerTrek Cyclocross Collective33:41:001:48
8352SCOTTJaredBoulder Junior Cycling33:58:002:05
9330KNOWLESNathan34:03:002:10
10371WHITEHarrisonCannondale Cyclocrossworld34:13:002:20
11367UETRECHTRyderBear Development Team34:27:002:34
12372WILLIAMSKeltonAshton ID34:28:00s.t.
13347POGGEMEYERGeorgeAvout Racing34:58:003:05
14364STIERWALTLucasLionhearts Junior Racing35:29:003:36
15325KEANECalvinBend Endurance Academy35:56:004:03
16318GUSTAFSONJudahSpeed Merchants36:00:004:07
17368VAN KEMPENJules36:07:004:14
18303ATKINSONDylan36:13:004:20
19353SERVETASTommyTeam NYCROSS.com36:37:004:44
20350RITZOWMax36:53:005:00
21342NELSONAndrewNCVC/UnitedHealthcare36:55:005:02
22311CLINEDakotaBoulder Junior Cycling37:13:005:20
23332KRYNOCKJacobLionhearts Junior Racing37:45:005:52
24343OTTENSTEINGreyAvout Racing37:54:006:01
25365STOWERSRyanMelton Design Build / GS CIAO J37:55:00s.t.
26326KELLERAidenBoulder Junior Cycling38:17:006:24
27345PAWLAKNathanMelton Design Build / GS CIAO J38:24:006:31
28317GOGUENSeanRACE CF38:53:007:00
29355SHEFFIELDMagnusPark Ave Bike Shop39:06:007:13
30360SKOVLukeCentral Junior Cycling Devo39:08:007:15
31323KASCHAlexNCVC/UnitedHealthcare39:57:008:04
32313DOUGLASBenMontclair Bikery Development Te40:00:008:07
33362SPURLINColton40:30:008:37
34307BRENNEMANOwen717 Cycling club40:41:008:48
35366STROHMEYERAndrewPatapsco Bicycles43:28:0011:35
36331KRISTYSamuelCrosshairs Cycling29:59:00@1Lap
37310CHABOTNoahNEXT-BMB30:06:00@1Lap
38304BAILEYAnthony30:09:00@1Lap
39314FOSTERBrennanTeam Louisville30:18:00@1Lap
40358SINGHConnorTeam NYCROSS.com30:29:00@1Lap
41333LIPINSKIJaymzAP Junior Development31:08:00@1Lap
42316GIZINSKIConnorCycle U31:16:00@1Lap
43334MALMBERGJordyFamily Cycling Center31:31:00@1Lap
44302AMALONGJohn PaulConstellation Cycling31:33:00@1Lap
45354SHAPIROTommy31:56:00@1Lap
46337MEYERLEJohnnyCT Cycling Advancement Program32:18:00@1Lap
47344OUTLAWGrahamBoulder Junior Cycling32:37:00@1Lap
48369VERNOOYIanHRRT32:42:00@1Lap
49370WALTONWilliamYoung Medalists32:55:00@1Lap
50346PIEPGRASGeorgeNew England Devo33:08:00@1Lap
51319HACKETTWinstonCycle U33:10:00@1Lap
52356SIEDORJeremyKelly Benefit Strategies/LSV33:23:00@1Lap
53301AHOMikkoCorner Cycle Cycling Club34:28:00@1Lap
54361SPAMPINATOLucianBend Endurance Academy34:39:00@1Lap
55341NAVARROHunterKCOI U2035:36:00@1Lap
56374HOURIHANMatthewBaltimore Youth Cycling35:58:00@1Lap
57305BERNSTEINConnorNorthStar Development Cycling36:00:00@1Lap
58335MAPELAidenNorthampton Cycling Club36:04:00@1Lap
59351ROGERSNate37:35:00@1Lap
60359SINGLETONJacobBaltimore Youth Cycling38:02:00@1Lap
61308BULOCKEvanRACE CF38:35:00@1Lap
62312DOBRIENTByrneJunior Dropouts39:08:00@1Lap
63373WILLIAMSRiver De La Vida42:28:00@1Lap
64357SIMONECorbinSea Sports Cyclery and Outdoor42:36:00@1Lap
65363STEPHENSONTimothyCT Cycling Advancement Program43:01:00@1Lap
DNF320HAINESLucaNew England Devo
DNF328KIERNANPeterRACE CF
DNF329KIERNANAidanRACE CF
DNF327KELLYBrendan
DNS339MOREAUKristian
DNS324KAWALKOWSKIBartekLionhearts Junior Racing
DNS348PONZERStephenGuys Racing Club
DNS338MILLIKENAugustRock Creek Velo