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After the surprising announcement that the UCI eSports World Championships will be moved to October on MyWhoosh, the USA Cycling eSports National Championships are back on Zwift. Nevertheless, USA Cycling held a three-race omnium to determine his eSport National Championships for elite men and women on some of the most difficult courses available.
Over 100 of the country’s best eRacers put on a show for thousands of viewers following a Zwift community live stream. In the end, the victory for both men and women was held until the last spurt of the final race, and was decided by a narrow margin. But first let’s rewind.
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elite men
Elite Men’s Race #1 kicked off the U.S. Championships with one lap of the 2015 Richmond UCI World Course. There was a flurry of gunfire, but with 4km to go they were completely at the base of Libby Hill. Saris|NoPinz picked up the pace at the top of the climb, turning the crack in the trailing peloton into a chasm.
NeXT eSports’ pb Enshoade took over on the final climb with 1km to go, and it was Zach Nair who took the lead into the final corner where the finish line was in sight.
Neil Fryett (Restart p/b Alex Coh) was the first to jump, but it was Brian Duffy Jr. (NeXT eSports p/b Enshored) who reversed Fryett in the final meters and race # 1 for the win. J Bruhn and Nehr (NeXT eSports pb Enshored) finished in his third and his fourth place, with David Talbot (Saris|NoPinz) in his fifth place.
The final line kick at Richmond was more like a tense drag race than a sprint. Duffy Jr. and Fryette had a 90-second battle in the finale, but it was Duffy Jr.’s timing that put him on top.
Duffy Junior – Race #1 Sprint
time:1 minute 30 seconds
average power: 583w (9.1w/kg)
peak 15ec power:805w (12.5w/kg)
Race #2 is the toughest and most engaging round of the eSport National Championships, completing one lap around the Bologna TT course and ending with a 2km climb at an average of 10%. Pacing was the key to victory, as pushing too hard on the flats could lead to a huge explosion on the climbs.
Hayden Packer (restart, Alex Coe) took the early lead, pushing over 450W on the flat section of the course. A group of National Championship competitors followed Packer by about 15 seconds at the start of the climb. Duffy Jr., Fryette, and Talbot all joined in, screaming.
Weighing 86kg, Packer continued to push close to 600W on the steepest part of the climb, but with 1km to go Duffy Jr. broke away from the pack and began to close in on the leaders. Fryett and Talbot were blown off the wheels of Duffy Jr. who surged at nearly 8w/kg and Duffy Jr. quickly overtook Packer for the win. Packer was rapidly fading, but maintained second place, with Fryette finishing third.
Duffy Jr showed world class power on the final climb clocking in at 6 minutes and averaged over 7w/kg to the finish. The effort is even more impressive considering the fatigue from race #1 and the fact that Duffy Jr. ran TT pace for seven minutes before reaching the start of the Bologna climb.
Duffy Junior – Race #2
time: 14:29
average power: 391w (6.1w/kg)
6 minute peak power: 451w (7w/kg)
Duffy Jr. won two of two races and held a strong lead in the U.S. Championship Omnium with one race left. Numerically, Duffy Jr. only needed to finish 5th or higher in Race #3 for him to become the USA eSport National Champion in 2024.
Race #3 consisted of 6 laps around the Nekyo Critical Course, totaling 24km. At first glance, this course seems fairly easy as there are no major climbs or obvious launch pads for breakaways. But after two races, the third race, with the National Championship on the line, was far from easy.
Saris|NoPinz started the attack from kilometer 0 and did not let up. With most of the NeXT eSport pb Enshored sitting outside the top five in the omnium (myself included), we decided to go all in on Brian Duffy and his Junior.
From 0km to 24km, the NeXT chased our escapes and marked our dangerous moves, no matter how much we suffered. Personally, I was in the injury locker due to dehydration and his repeated VO2 Max efforts.
The most dangerous move of the race came from Talbot, who started with two laps remaining and was holding the lead at 7w/kg. With a few kilometers left he was reeled back in, but we did our best to maintain a high pace for Duffy, his junior, who started his sprint with the remaining 300m. Fryette impressed everyone by drafting Duffy Jr. to 17w/kg and taking the win over Duffy Jr. in race #3.
No one came close to Duffy Jr., who won his first U.S. championship by finishing first, first and second in the three-race omnium.
Duffy Junior – Race #3
time: 30:52
average power: 318w (4.9w/kg)
Peak power for 15 seconds: 861w (13.3w/kg)
elite women
The elite women competed in the same three-race omnium as the men, starting with one lap of the 2015 Richmond UCI course. Kristen Kurczynski (Blue Ridge, Virginia Twenty24), Liz Van Houweling (NeXT eSport pb Enshored) and Stephanie Sidlik (Coalition Alpha) despite contracting COVID-19 days before the race. ) and took the sole victory in race #1.
Known as a climber, Kurczynski certainly packs a punch, racking up over 8w/kg in 40 seconds to take the win.
Won race #1 with Kruczynski’s attack
time: 3:00
average power: 302w (6w/kg)
Peak power for 40 seconds: 409w (8.1w/kg)
The elite women faced the same demanding course as the men in race #2, with pacing being paramount, with a 2km climb lasting over 7 minutes. As expected, Krcycinky took the lead early on in the climb, but was only a few seconds ahead of Elise Gallegos (Wahoo Le Col), Van Houweling and Sidrik.
As the gradient reached 16 percent, Gallegos began to pick up the pace as Kruczynski lost momentum. With 700 meters to go, Gallegos overtook Kurtisinky for the lead and never looked back. Gallegos paced the time trial perfectly, beating Kruczynski by 11 seconds and van Houweling by nearly 30 seconds.
Gallegos – Race #2
time: 17:00
average power: 312w (4.8w/kg)
7 minute peak power: 352w (5.4w/kg)
The Elite Women’s National Championship was all about race #3, and halfway through the race fatigue began to creep in. With 8km remaining, three riders broke out of the peloton, which had already been reduced to 10 members.
Jen Leal (Salis|Norpinz), Sarah Roach and Melissa Aitken (ABUS – Synergy) led the run, with Kurczynski, Van Houweling and Gallegos following behind. The group continued to push and with 5km to go they were within 2 seconds of making the cut, but then the rubber broke. Once Proton got back on his feet, the gap between him and the rest had widened to 20 seconds with just a few kilometers to go.
Roach ran away to take the win and the sprint for the U.S. Championship began. Van Houweling held off Nyquist and Kruczynski, but will fourth place be enough for the NeXT eSport pb Enshored rider?
Van Houweling – Race #3
time:35:44
average power: 222w (3.9w/kg)
Peak power for 20 seconds:586w (10.3w/kg)
When all the points were added up, Kurczynski was in the lead after three rounds of racing, just 10 points ahead of Van Houweling. Real defeated Roach to take the last spot on the podium, with Sidrik completing the top five.
Details for the 2024 UCI Esports World Championship have yet to be announced, but we do know that top athletes will be invited by MyWhoosh to compete head-to-head in Abu Dhabi. Representing the United States as the 2024 Elite National Champions will be Brian Duffy Jr. and Kristen Kurczynski.
***
Power analysis data provided: strava
strava sauce expansion
rider:
brian duffy jr.
Neil Fryett
hayden packer
david talbot
Zack Nair
kristen kulczynski
liz van hauweling
Elise Gallegos