News

Zach McDonald Places 12th at UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships

Bremerton's Logan Owen cracks the top 20 in the Junior race.

January 29, 2012

USA Cycling

Colorado Springs, Colo. (Jan. 28, 2012) — Zach McDonald (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Team Rapha-Focus) gave the U.S. its top finish with a 12th-place result in the U23 men’s event on the opening day of the 2012 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Koksijde, Belgium on Saturday. Two American juniors, Andrew Dillman (Fairdale, Ky./Bob's Red Mill) and Logan Owen (Bremerton, Wash./Team Redline) also landed inside the top 20 to contribute to a respectable American showing on the sandy Koksijde course.

Photo by Canadian Cyclist

Zach McDonald places 12th in the U23 men category at Worlds in Koksijde, Belgium.

U23 Men

The damp, cold day did not stop the crowds from lining the course nearly 20-deep for the day’s premier contest.

A 12th place finish in the U23 Cyclo-cross World Cup series earned McDonald a second row call up, but a rough start dropped him into the field as far back as 30th. The USA Cycling U23 National Champion however showed his strength, picking off rider-after-rider and surging back into 12th place. Finishing only 1:48 back, the 21 year-old McDonald showed his progress, improving on his 23rd place result from a year ago.

Photo by Canadian Cyclist

Owen Logan came in 17th in the Junior men's race.

Twenty year-old Cody Kaiser (El Dorado Hills, Calif./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized) finished one lap behind the winners in 38th for the U.S.

Local Dutchman Lars Van der Haar (NED), who won the elite men’s event at last fall’s Cross Vegas, earned his second consecutive world title in 49:20 with Belgium’s Wietse Bosmans and Michiel Van der Heijden of the Netherlands on his heels.

Junior Men

The U.S. team was looking to capitalize on its best starting position ever in the junior men’s event. Things looked good early on with four Americans in the top 20, but the challenging, sandy inclines took their toll soon separating the youngsters.

Dillman, the USICX junior series winner, tackled the loose course with tenacity, moving into 14th place and giving the U.S. its best result since Luke Keough finished 10th in the junior men’s event in 2008. Just behind Dillman, seven-time junior cyclo-cross national champion Owen finished in 17th, 3:15 back from Mathieu Van Der Poel’s (NED) winning time of 43:36.

After battling in the top 20 in the early going Curtis White (Delanson, N.Y./Clif Bar Development Cyclo Cross Team) faded into 34th, 5:45 back and Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz, Calif./California Giant Berry Farms-Specialized) finished in 48th. Battling a series of mishaps, Richard Cypress Gorry (Payson, Ariz./Whole Athlete-Specialized) ended in 55th place.

“For the first time in history we had four juniors start on the third row and that’s about the best we’re going to get without having them all do the World Cups,” explained Geoff Proctor, a cyclo-cross development coach for USA Cycling. “Holistically we accomplished our goals. Worlds is like no other race, especially with this year’s unique course, and these boys gained the valuable experience they will need going forward.”

Sunday’s Elite Contests

The 2012 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships will continue Sunday, Jan. 29 with the elite women’s and men’s races. American Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Rabobank-Giant) will aim to gather the first-ever cyclo-cross world title for the U.S. after finishing third in this season’s World Cup rankings. Viewers can watch live, online at UniversalSports.com. The women’s race will begin at 5 a.m. and the men at 9 a.m. EST.

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