Danny Summerhill repeated his U23 US national title win from last year when he outrode Zach McDonald in Bend, Oregon. In tough cross conditions, with cold snow, rain and driving winds all present, the two were simply above the rest. The duo traded turns until Summerhill stormed away in the final lap.
The duel of the two was an exciting affair to watch from the outside, but hard work for the riders. "That was a difficult race, for sure," Summerhill said after his win. " We were battling the whole time." Summerhill had a crash in lap one, forcing him to chase from behind. For a moment, Summerhill even thought that the race was over. "In the first 30 seconds I thought he won because I got taken out right before the pit."
Summerhill clawed back to the front and then took off with McDonald. "I usually stayed up front on all the straightaways and he'd duck around me on all the technical bits. On the backstretch we were battling back and forth."
It wasn't until the final lap that Summerhill was able to pull away for the win. "Danny was putting the power down and I was trying to stay on him," explained McDonald. "I bobbled just a little bit and he was able to get away."
Garmin Transition manager Jonathan Vaughters was full of praise for Summerhill's performance. "A hearty congrats to Danny Summerhill! This guy seems to win Nat champs with the same regularity as my mail being delivered," Vaughters said on twitter.
Summerhill's biggest cross success so far was the silver medal at the 2007 Junior World Cyclocross Championships.
Results U23
1. Danny Summerhill (Centennial, Colo./Garmin Transitions-Team Holowesko Partners) 0:49:20
2. Zach McDonald (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Rapha Focus) 0:50:05
3. Jerome Townsend (Princeton, Mass./Bikereg.com) 0:50:28
4. Eric Thompson (Banner Elk, N.C./Maplelag-Paramount Sports) 0:50:48
5. Chris Hurst (Lake Geneva, Wisc./Baraboo Sharks) 0:51:11