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Nicole Duke taking charge. © Janet Hill

Nicole Duke takes charge. © Janet Hill

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

Nicole Duke (Hudz-Subaru) got the hole shot in the women’s 35-39 race, and she held the lead from wire to wire. Kerry Barnholt (Scott-Ritchey) was the early chaser and hung tough for the first couple of laps, but Duke was able to stretch out the gap to as much as 25 seconds.

“I got a good start, I was up there with Nicole, I just couldn’t hold her pace,” Barnholt said. “She powered away from me and I was just in survival mode.”

“It’s cold and sloppy – the air’s not that cold, but the water’s really cold. It’s slow, so it was a lot of power, which was killing me today,” said Barnholt. “It was super-fun conditions though.”

Barb Howe (Ibis-Danger Twins) told Cyclocross Magazine that she’s typically a slow starter, and today was no exception. But the former US national cyclocross team member picked up the pace as the laps unfolded, and she caught and passed Barholt in pursuit of Duke.

With three laps to go, Howe closed to within 15 seconds. A lap later she was within eight seconds of Duke and the front of the race, but she’d get no closer and the Hudz-Subaru rider would have plenty of time to celebrate the win and post up for the photographers as she crossed the line.

Duke’s win capped off a stellar season, including two second places and a third at Jingle Cross. She was third in last year’s 35-39 Nationals. “I feel relieved,” said Duke. “I just tried to stay with Sally Annis, and then she bobbled and I was able to take the lead. I got caught up in the tape once and got really nervous, I lost like ten seconds but I just tried to hammer it back down and had a clean race after that.”

“It feels really good having a second go around,” she said about coming back after a professional downhill career. “I feel a lot more relaxed about it. I was really young when I raced downhill, and this feels really good.”

“I expected Nicole to win,” said Barnholt. “She’s been riding super strong all season, and there are a lot of New England girls here who have been riding really fast, so I knew it was going to be fast.”

Sunday will be Howe’s last Elite race, and she plans to focus on local races during the season while finishing up school and preparing for a career as a clothing designer. Howe was the 2009 Masters 30-34 champ while riding for Vanderkitten, and this year put together her own race program.

Expect Duke to battle for a top-five result in the Elite women’s race on Sunday, and both Barnholt and Howe could very well prove to be factors in the marquee women’s event.

Photos by Janet Hill:

Full Results:

Place Points Name City, State Time License Bib Team
1 150 Nicole Duke (1 – Cat2) Boulder, CO 0:36:11 83337 460 Hudz-Subaru Cycling Team
2 135 Barbara Howe Berkeley, CA 36:29:00 129067 455 Ibis And The Danger Twins
3 120 Kerry Barnholt Mountain View, CA 37:02:00 150226 451
4 105 Sara Bresnick-Zocchi Arlington, MA 37:19:00 166426 474
5 90 Sally Annis Nashua, NH 37:46:00 225263 472 Northeast Bicycle Club (Nebc)
6 85 Linda Sone (2 – Cat2) Northfield, MN 38:30:00 224939 452 Minneapolis Bicycle Racing Club
7 80 Lisa Hudson Golden, CO 38:44:00 223636 461
8 75 Kristal Boni (3 – Cat2) Erie, CO 38:56:00 238717 463
9 70 Nina Baum Albuquerque, NM 39:04:00 180986 483
10 65 Renee Scott Bend, OR 39:09:00 302548 462
11 60 Amy Frykman (4 – Cat2) Bozeman, MT 39:27:00 265248 478 Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club/Ga
12 55 Jennifer Gaertner Coeur D Alene, ID 39:40:00 22279 456 Coeur D ‘Alene Velo Racers (Cda
13 50 Kimberly Flynn Hixson, TN 39:53:00 122752 481 Scenic City Velo
14 45 Sarah Max (5 – Cat2) Bend, OR 40:35:00 320284 464
15 40 Evie Edwards Baltimore, MD 40:37:00 254664 466 Spokeswomen Syndicate Inc./Perf
16 38 Megan Lawson (1 – Cat3) Bozeman, MT 40:38:00 20579 475
17 36 Kristi Berg Arlington, WA 40:54:00 87266 476 Sound Velo Cycling Club/Team Gr
18 34 Allison Snooks (6 – Cat2) Westboro, MA 41:06:00 247307 477 Minuteman Road Club/Ladies Firs
19 32 Hollie McGovern (2 – Cat3) Nevada City, CA 41:18:00 166824 480 Sert/Sho-Air
20 30 Jennifer Jordan (7 – Cat2) San Francisco, CA 41:33:00 250459 484 Team Affinity/Team Ipass
21 28 Deb Sweeney Whitmore Sylva, NC 42:23:00 189097 470 Team Card Womens Cycling
22 26 Jadine Riley Kirkland, WA 42:51:00 187804 482 Sound Velo Cycling Club/Team Gr
23 24 Anna Vaughn (8 – Cat2) Portland, OR 43:04:00 303423 453
24 22 Kristi Carver (3 – Cat3) Boston, MA 43:28:00 323350 459 Northeast Bicycle Club (Nebc)/N
25 20 Margi Bradway (9 – Cat2) Portland, OR 44:36:00 330698 467
26 19 Kimberly Thomas (4 – Cat3) Belmont, MI 45:56:00 300926 465 River City Velo Club/Fusion It
27 18 Camille Terhune (5 – Cat3) Olympia, WA 47:16:00 298157 457 Cbc Racing
28 17 Amanda McNabb (6 – Cat3) Lynnwood, WA 48:20:00 236233 487 Sound Velo Cycling Club/Team Gr
29 16 Angelina Salerno (7 – Cat3) Bend, OR @1Lap 210265 473
30 15 Erin Lindheim (10 – Cat2) San Anselmo, CA @1Lap 251958 468 Team Affinity/Team Ipass
31 14 Maren Nelson (8 – Cat3) Bend, OR @1Lap 302785 469
DNS 0 Sarah Jordan Scotts Valley, CA DNS 158037 454
DNS 0 Carlie Spence Fircrest, WA DNS 315548 458
DNS 0 Becca Blay Boulder, CO DNS 174258 471 Mafia Racing
DNS 0 Beth Burns Portland, OR DNS 302532 479
DNS 0 Ann Mitchell Olympia, WA DNS 285673 485 Cbc Racing/Olympia Orthopaedic
DNS 0 Elizabeth Marzolf Seattle, WA DNS 198270 486 Lake Washington Velo/Hagens Ber
DNS 0 Katherine Sherwin Heber City, UT DNS 173633 488 Hudz-Subaru