UNDER-23XC WORLD CHAMPS
usacyling.orgVal Di Sole, Italy
The 41st-place finish of the United States in the U23 Cross-Country category at the 2008 Mountain Bike World Championships was achieved by Tim Allen, Flagstaff, AZ. None of the four American competitors completed all six laps. Sam Jurekovic, an American under-23 ranked competitor (Colorado Springs CO), was the first to crash and lost his way.
Over 100 riders gathered in northern Italy’s midday heat to take part in the start. Allen started in the back row. Allen, a first-year pro and making his first overseas visit, didn’t let that stop him from trying, climbing up 40 places in his first two laps.
This was definitely an eye opening experienceincredible, said Allen. It was insane. I have never seen anything like it. It was extremely aggressive and intimidating. On the first lap, I was unable to push myself as hard. With all the crashes and bottlenecks, I just tried to keep my balance and make as many moves possible. Then I felt great and began to move through the field.
Allen finished 41st in a race that only 34 riders completed six laps. Mitchell Peterson (Sandy UT) was also a strong competitor for the U.S., placing 67th after completing three laps. Colin Cares (Boulder CO) finished the race in 85th.
Jurekovic, who started in the 15th position in a call-up system that was based on UCI points and finished the first lap in the top 15, was one of the fastest riders. Unfortunately, luck was not on Jurekovic’s side. He crashed on a downhill and his shoes were left unclipped. This resulted in his bike being completely damaged.
Jurekovic explained that I wanted to push hard from the gate, get among the leaders, and then pick my pace. It worked great until the last descent of the first lap.
The 21.7-mile race, which was held Friday, was won by Switzerland. Three riders were in the top five and four were inside the top 10. Nino Schurter (Swi), overall winner, set a blistering pace and ran sub-18 minutes laps. This was faster than any of the elite male competitors in the Team Relay three days before.
Six athletes were selected by the United States for the finals in the 4-Cross preliminaries. American Brian Lopes, the last World Champion, qualified eighth in San Clemente, CA.
WORLD CHAMPS U23 Cross-Country Results
1. Nino Schurter (Swi)SwissPower 2. Burry Stander, (RSA)GT+ Matthias Fluckiger (Swi)Athleticum 41. Tim AllenVooDoo-1 lap
67. Mitchell PetersonMona VIe Cannondale-2 laps
85. Colin CaresU23 National-3 laps
DNF. Sam JurekovicU23 National
