Nebraska Cycling News

Troy Krause (Lincoln Industries/Lemond) runs up the stairs section in the 40+ Mens race. Photo John Peterson

“A front row start didn’t hurt,” Krause said.

The Lincoln Industries-Lemond racer from Lincoln, Neb., finished second in Thursday morning’s Men’s B 40+ race. Krause was 37 seconds behind Patrick Morrissey (NM Team Cross) of Albuquerque, N.M., and more than a minute ahead of third-place finisher Darron Cheek (A Racers Edge) of Breckenridge, Colo.

Krause enjoyed great form in the closing weeks of the season, finishing first and second at the Jingle Cross races in Iowa City, Iowa, and in the top 10 both days at the Nebraska SOBE No Fear CX Weekend.

Although he got a good look at the nationals course at the Boulevard Cup (where he placed 11th), Krause said the course conditions Thursday were far from the same.

“Kansas had been in a drought most of the summer and the course was concrete hard. So this was a far cry from that,” he said. "The consistency of the mud today was like peanut butter.”

Chasing down Morrissey proved to be a challenge, Krause said, because he couldn’t immediately get around a pair of Team X racers.

“It was like they were almost blocking and slowing up the pace,” he said. “Until I got around them, I couldn’t catch up with him (Morrissey). He was gone. He rode a good race.”

Krause will race again on Saturday in the Men’s 40-44 age division championship.

Kansas City, Kan. - Competitors at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships in Kansas City will not have to endure the freezing rain or snow from a winter storm that gripped a good portion of the Midwest early this week.

Instead, temperatures in the low to mid-30s are forecast for racing on Thursday through Sunday. The conditions are expected to create a muddy course at Wyandotte County Park (126th Street and State Avenue). No precipitation is in the forecast for the duration of the event, according to the National Weather Service's local forecast office, so spectators will be able to take advantage of key viewing points along the course. The heated Expo tent and beer garden will also offer prime viewing spots to see all the muddy action.

Kansas City, Kan. - Defending Elite Men's champion Ryan Trebon and Women's Elite champion Katie Compton are among the nation's best athletes ready to line up at this week's USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships in Kansas City, Kan.

Compton, of Colorado Springs, Colo., has won the past three Women's Elite titles and was the silver medalist at the 2007 UCI Cyclocross World Championships. The 29-year-old is currently the No. 2-ranked female cyclocross racer in the world, according to the latest UCI ratings. Her strongest competition in the 98-rider Elite Women's field is expected to come from Georgia Gould (Ketchum, Idaho) and Kerry Barnholt (Boulder, Colo.).

Kansas City, Kan. - A record number of registrants have signed up to race in the 2007 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships in Kansas City, Kan.

A total of 2,045 entries were received for the nearly 40 races that will take place between Thursday and Sunday, Dec. 13-16. at Wyandotte County Park.

Last year, 1,940 entrants took part in the championships in Providence, R.I. The last time the national championships were held in Kansas City, in 2000, only 600 riders participated.