From frozen ruts to heavy mud, U.S. riders showcased strong rides with Lopez de San Roman and Funston breaking the top 20 in their respective races.
LIEVIN, France (February 2, 2025) – On the third and final day of the 2025 UCI Cyclocross World Championships, the stacked American teams took on Lieven in the Junior Men, U23 Women, and Elite Men’s races.
Junior Men
Similar to yesterday, today’s course began frozen but quickly transformed as the races got underway, forcing riders to adapt. As the track grew heavier, deep ruts sent riders in unpredictable directions, making composure essential. For many junior men, it was a crash-filled battle from start to finish.
Garrett Beshore (Longmont, Colo.; Boulder Junior Cycling) had the best start for the Americans, riding towards the top 10 for the first lap before gradually dropping back. Benjamin Bravman (Golden, Colo.; Bear National Team) and Aidan Vollmuth (Mendham, N.J.; Finkraft Junior Cycling Team) faced setbacks early on, dealing with technical issues and start line crashes. Despite this, they managed to advance through the pack, navigating the balance between pushing hard and minimizing risks to handle the challenging conditions.
Reflecting on his race, Bravman commented, “I felt pretty good but slipped out of both my pedals at the start. I tried to move up when I could, but I couldn’t really ride smooth. It was still a fun day out there. The fans were crazy, the conditions were hard, but it was a cool race. There is no environment where you can replicate how much energy there was out on course today.”
Vollmuth echoed the sentiment about the tough conditions, saying, “The conditions were really risky. It was icy the first couple laps, then it just got wetter and wetter. Some ruts weren’t ridable in the start, then they became rideable, and it just got faster over time. The key to staying in the race was just learning what lines were faster and making sure you were staying on a wheel in the finish straight.”
Dylan Haynes (Boulder, Colo.; Boulder Junior Cycling) and Ethan Brown (Fishers, Ind.; Midwest Devo) also delivered strong performances. Haynes, despite breaking a shifter on the final lap, maintained a competitive pace throughout the race.
Results:
1. Mattia Agostinacchio (ITA)
2. Soren Bruyere Joumard (FRA)
3. Filippo Grigolini (ITA)
22. Benjamin Bravman (USA)
25. Aidan Vollmuth (USA)
32. Dylan Haynes (USA)
34. Ethan Brown (USA)
38. Garrett Beshore (USA)
U23 Women
The challenging course conditions continued to test the U23 women later in the day. Vida Lopez de San Roman(Sebastopol, Calif.; Bear National Team) had a strong start, riding in the top 10, but multiple crashes on the first lap forced her to take fewer risks for the remainder of the race.
“It was definitely a tough one,” Lopez de San Roman reflected. “I went down a few times on the first lap, which meant I spent the rest of the race chasing and trying to make up a few positions. I played it safer after that since I don’t have much experience riding in frozen ruts. It’s a little disappointing, but overall, it was still a solid effort. I finished just outside the top 10, and I’m pretty happy with that.”
The rest of the American squad – Kaya Musgrave (Littleton, Colo.; Cervelo / OrangeLiving), Katherine Sarkisov (North Potomac, Md.; CXD / Trek Bikes), Cassidy Hickey (Parker, Colo.; CCB Racing), Lauren Zoerner (Highlands Ranch, Colo.; Comp Edge Racing), and Lizzy Gunsalus (Dudley, Mass.; CCB Racing) – rode strong, maintaining their positions and handling the demanding conditions.
Results:
1. Zoe Backstedt (GBR)
2. Marie Schreiber (LUX)
3. Leonie Bentveld (NED)
14. Vida Lopez de San Roman (USA)
25. Kaya Musgrave (USA)
27. Katherine Sarkisov (USA)
29. Cassidy Hickey (USA)
32. Lauren Zoerner (USA)
34. Lizzy Gunsalus (USA)
Elite Men
Scott Funston (Boulder, Colo.; Cervelo / OrangeLiving) delivered a standout performance in the Elite Men’s race, finishing as the top American in the top 20. As the course conditions deteriorated, Funston only got stronger, steadily picking off riders lap by lap.
Achieving his goal, Funston reflected on his race. “I’m very happy. That was a goal of mine –honestly, only in the last month did it become one. I had high ambitions during the domestic season but came up short, so to finish in the top 20 here is incredible for me. The race was tough. I was hovering between 18th and 23rd the entire time. At one point, it felt like the top 20 had slipped away, but within a lap, I was back in contention… It was just about patience and a mental game to keep moving forward as much as it was physical.”
Eric Brunner (Boulder, Colo.; Comp Edge Racing) had an unfortunate setback two and a half laps in when his chain dropped and got stuck. He was forced to run nearly a quarter of a lap to reach the pit for a bike change and found himself at the very back of the race. Brunner dug deep and fought his way back up to 42nd place, salvaging a strong finish.
Results:
1. Mathieu Van Der Poel (NED)
2. Wout Van Aert (BEL)
3. Thibau Nys (BEL)
19. Scott Funston (USA)
42. Eric Brunner (USA)
DNS. Andrew Strohmeyer (USA)
