Northern Colorado had six riders (Olivia Cummins, Chad Haga, Gavin Mannion, George Simpson, Tayne Andrade, and Cade Bickmore) and various Team Rio Grande riders take part in the 2022 USA Cycling Professional Road National Championships in Oak Ridge Tennessee between June 23rd and June 26th. Olivia Cummins came home with a win in the U23 women’s criterium and a 2nd in the U23 women’s time trial. George Simpson took 3rd in the Pro, 1 time trial and Chad and Gavin were successful in getting their teammate, Kyle Murphy, the win in the road race. Team Rio Grande didn’t nab a result, they were very active in Saturday’s criterium. Chad was a favorite in the men’s TT but it wasn’t his day. He had this to say about the race on his Instagram: “I’ve had a few days now to process and understand what happened in the nationals TT. Success is great (and what we all work for), but failures can teach you a lot if you let them.
I race on feeling alone. No power, no heart rate, no split times. I’m out there to do my race with the legs that I have on the day, and we’ll see the result at the finish. Without the knowledge of whether I’m on a power-record day or a less than stellar day, I have proven many times that I can pull every last watt from myself and fairly consistently finish towards the top of the board.
I have a complicated relationship with the nationals TT. Frustrating weather one year, prohibited from making the trip another, and being left to fend for myself with subpar equipment have left me with 2 silver medals and a lot of what ifs. This year was my year. It had to be. And that’s where the problem started. I became too focused on the end result.
My race started alright. I’d done everything correctly and the team had everything perfectly dialed for me. But I didn’t feel as good as I hoped, with the Tour de Suisse finishing just a few days earlier, followed by a transatlantic flight. After the first lap, when I saw that I was well off the pace to contend for the win, I lost focus on my race.
I had backed myself into a corner of “Win or go home,” and when I saw that I wouldn’t be winning, all that pressure caved in. I suffered just as much as when I went much faster, but I was losing power every minute. So I’m disappointed to say that I don’t think I got everything out of myself that day. The guys who beat me deserved to, and I’m happy to see Lawson in the jersey another year. I’ll be back to try again, and with a better mindset.
That said, the road race is a different beast, and I’m ready to leave it all out there tomorrow!”
NoCo Nats Results
Full Nats results here
- Criterium
Olivia Cummins, U23 Women’s NATIONAL CHAMPION
Cade Bickmore, Men Pro, 1- 14th place
George Simpson, Men Pro, 1- 52nd place
Tayne Andrade, Men Pro, 1 73rd place
- Time Trial
Olivia Cummins Women’s U23 2nd place
George Simpson, Men Pro, 1- 3rd place.
Chad Haga, Men Pro,1-8th place.
- Road Race
Olivia Cummins, Women’s U23- 4th
Chad Haga, Men Pro, 1- 17th
Gavin Mannion, Men Pro, 1- 18th
George Simpson, Men Pro, 1- 49th
Cade Bickmore, Men Pro, 1- DNF
If you enjoy this content and appreciate the hustle that goes into YGR please consider becoming a YGR Supporter.
