Fort Lewis Cycling earns 5th at Road Nationals

Skyler the Skyhawk and Team Manager Dave Hagen

Day one- Once again Fort Lewis Cycling showed their force at this years road nationals located in Fort Collins, Colorado. Racing got started on Friday, with a 70 mile road race for the men, and a 50 mile road race for the Women. The Women began at 8:00 a.m. with Sabina Kraushaar, Emma Millar, Sarah Sturm, and Tina Dominic, representing the FLC road team. The woman’s race, filled with the top D-1 collegiate women, made for a challenging day! Sturm had a breakthrough ride in her first road nationals, placing 31st for the woman. Krashaar was close behind with a 35th position and Millar and Dominic finished within 50th place.

The men’s race was exciting to watch, with groups quickly breaking up into lead and chase groups. The FLC men’s road team included Allister Ratcliff, Rotem Ishay, Yardin Gazit, Jesse Dekrey, Cody Stephenson and Russell Brown. The guys fought hard, with Ishay, Dekrey and Gazit remaining in the lead group until the end, with an outstanding 5th place podium finish for Ishay, with great finishes for Dekrey and Yardin, with 11th and 15th place finishes. Ratcliff experienced a mechanical at the start, but remarkably rode his way back to finish 21st! Stephenson was close behind, finishing in the top with a 26th position. Brown had a solid race, finishing in the top half of the race with a 54th position.

Tina Dominic rides the front in the Criterium

Day two- Day two was a great spectating event, once again showing collegiate cycling that FLC means business. The ladies started the day off with excellent performances from our criterium team of Missy Erickson, Sabina Krashaar and Emma Millar and Tina Dominic. The woman started fast and showed our competition that FLC woman can do work! Dominic and Erickson finished with the group placing 30th and 42nd. Erickson was a hopeful for a top place finish in the criterium but was unfortunately involved in a crash at the last moment but amazingly managed to jump back in and finish with the group. Krashaar and Millar worked hard during the race and respectively placed 46th and 53rd, with Millar taking prime points home for the team. The men’s crit, with a starting field of 106, was an amazing spectacle. The men’s team of Allister Ratcliff, Ian Burnett, Cody Stephenson and Jesse Dekrey were a huge power house during the men’s race. Ratcliff had a stunning race, and jumped in the break, taking a 5th place podium position. The rest of the FLC men worked together in front to control the race. Stephenson had a remarkable finish, placing 12th, with Dekrey and Burnett finishing their day in 26th and 78th places.

FLC Women's Team Time Trial line up.

Day three- The final day was the most intense out of the three events. Much emphasis on this event is placed between teams, as the final marker of rivalry. With a change in weather from the previously two sunny days, our TT teams kitted up in cold weather gear as the rain and wind took affect. The men’s team of DeKrey, Burnett, Ratcliff, and Gordon, worked hard, and respectively landed a podium position of 4th place, with only seconds apart from the top 2nd and 3rd teams. The women’s team composed of Sturm, Erickson, Millar, and Kraushaar gave it their best, with Erickson recovering from her crit crash, to land a 7th place overall. This ended the season with FLC earning a top five team omnium award! Well done FLC nationals riders, you were some fierce competition!