USA Cycling Women’s National Championships, Knoxville, June 2018
As much fun as the criterium offered on Friday night, the main event in cycling waited for Sunday in downtown Knoxville. The crowds were solid, but unspectacular, but they grew through the day. As was the case last year, I missed most of the women’s race due to the radio show, but I was able to catch the last couple of laps and to see Coryn Rivera cross the finish line first.
The weather alternated between cloudy and tolerable, sunny and nearly unbearable, and rain. Fortunately, there was less rain than had been predicted earlier in the week. It was hot enough after the women’s race, that I took the forty-five minutes to catch some air-conditioning and lunch back at the house. I missed the women’s podium and I regret that.
USA Cycling Women’s National Championships, Knoxville, June 2018
USA Cycling Women’s National Championships, Knoxville, June 2018
USA Cycling Women’s National Championships, Knoxville, June 2018
The men’s race started as a typical long-distance road cycling event: A break away formed and was gathered in by the peloton. More cat-and-mouse followed with the peloton shifting forms and numbers. The cyclists became so strung out that riders were being pulled off the back. As a spectator, it was hard to know who was passing – whether beginning or ending of the pack.
Eventually a four-person breakaway established itself and gained some time. It was still relatively early, maybe six laps into the race, so typically they would be pulled back into the pack. A small chase of six riders formed behind them and then, in a surprising development, the peloton shattered. By halfway through the race there was scarcely a pack to spot. Suddenly, it appeared the race was between the two lead groups.
USA Cycling Men’s National Championships, Knoxville, June 2018
USA Cycling Men’s National Championships, Knoxville, June 2018
USA Cycling Men’s National Championships, Knoxville, June 2018
USA Cycling Men’s National Championships, Knoxville, June 2018
Strategically, the second group, while comprised of six riders, faced a challenge: Two of the riders in the group had a team-mate in the front four and were content to let them contend for the championship. As a result, they declined to take turns pulling the group forward and that likely doomed the group from making up any ground.
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