Nebraska Cycling News

Alex Boyd Wins Collegiate Road National Championships.

Lawrence, Kan. -The 2007 USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships continued Saturday as four individual national champions were crowned in the road race event and teams took another step towards securing overall titles.

In the Men's Division I Road Race, USA Cycling National Development Team member Alex Boyd (Midwestern State University) escaped from a five-man breakaway in the event's closing miles to claim the national title.  Boyd clocked a winning time of 3:46:09 over the 84-mile course as the fastest rider of the 138-man field.  After riding in a late-race breakaway with four other riders, Boyd rolled off the front of the move and held off a closing field by just 25 seconds to claim one of the most significant wins of his young career.

Boyd and four others amassed a lead of nearly two minutes before the peloton started closing in and the move became disorganized.

"We were working together pretty well until the gap came down to about 30 seconds and so I decided to go by myself," Boyd said. "I've never won a national title before and I've been racing since I was 12, so this ranks up there as one of my biggest results."

Boyd's contribution helped move Midwestern State University into fourth place in Division I overall standings with 278 points behind Stanford (351), Fort Lewis College (343) and defending champion University of California-Davis (305). 

In the Women's Division I Road Race, Rebecca Larson (University of Florida) added another title to her résumé by outkicking the remainder of the 83-rider field at the line in the field sprint finish.  Larson, fresh off a six-week trip to Europe as part of USA Cycling's Women's National Team program where she competed in several World Cup and elite-level international races, captured a win in the criterium in 2006.  Her efforts in Saturday's 56-mile road race helped put the University of Florida in fifth place overall in the Division I standings behind Midwestern State with 253 points.

"I'm a little tired, I've been on the road a lot in Europe with the national team," Larson explained after her win. "I'm tired, but collegiate racing is such a good thing and I love supporting it and I have a really great collegiate team."

In the Women's Division II Road Race, pre-race favorite and two-time defending champion Mara Abbott (Whitman College) rode away from her 53 challengers to claim her third consecutive road race title. Abbott finished 39 seconds ahead of runner-up Megan Guarnier (Middlebury College) and four other chasers in the 56-mile race.  After claiming five gold medals in 2006 (road race, criterium, team time trial, individual omnium, team overall), Abbott is on her way to repeating that feat this year with a Whitman College win in Friday's Team Time Trial.  With only Sunday's criterium remaining, Whitman College is only 25 points behind Western Washington University in the Division II standings.

In the Men's Division II Road Race, Toby Marzot (Dartmouth College) earned the stars-and-stripes jersey with a victory in the 84-mile race.  Marzot won a three-up sprint ahead of Todd Nordblom (Colorado College) and Duncan McGovern (Whitman College) to claim the win and help move his squad into third place in the overall Division II standings.

Sunday's criterium in downtown Lawrence will provide the final opportunity for teams to move up in their respective divisions in order to claim overall team titles.  In the Division II standings, Western Washington University leads Whitman College 346-321, while Dartmouth College (294), Mesa State (293) and MIT (276) are still in contention. 

Also on the line Sunday will be individual overall titles as competitors will score points in the criterium to add to their road race points earned on Saturday.  Criterium points and road race points will be combined to name four individual overall champions.

2007 USA Cycling Collegiate Road Nationals

May 10-13

Lawrence Kansas

For complete results, visit http://www.usacycling.org/ <http://www.usacycling.org/>

Division I Men's Road Race

1. Alex Boyd (Midwestern State University) 3:46.09

2. Kiel Reinjen (University of Colorado) +25.90

3. Will Dugan (University of Vermont) s.t

4. Steve Scholzen (University of Wisconsin) s.t

5. Yarden Gazit (Fort Lewis College) s.t

Division I Women's Road Race

1. Rebecca Larson (University of Florida) 2:47.52

2. Erica Allar (Penn State University) s.t.

3. Margaret Shirley (Columbia University) s.t.

4. Susannah Pratt (University of New Hampshire) s.t.

5. Anna McLoon (Harvard) s.t.

Division II Men's Road Race

1. Toby Marzot (Dartmouth) 3:57.24

2. Todd Nordblom (Colorado College) s.t.

3. Duncan McGovern (Whitman College) s.t.

4. Phil Mooney (DePauw University) +1.80

5. Peter Horn (Vassar College) s.t.

Division II Women's Road Race

1. Mara Abbott (Whitman College) 2:57.15

2. Megan Guarnier (Middlebury College) +0:33

3. Devon Haskell (University of Chicago) s.t.

4. Ashley Anderson (Furman University) s.t.

5. Martha Buckley (MIT) s.t.

Division I Overall Standings

1. Stanford 351

2. Fort Lewis College 343

3. University of California-Davis 305

4. Midwestern State University 278

5. University of Florida 253

Division II Overall Standings

1. Western Washington University 346

2. Whitman College 321

3. Dartmouth College 294

4. Mesa State 293

5. MIT 276