Eric Brunner (CompEdge Racing) has extra on his ‘to-do’ checklist than simply retaining the stars-and-stripes jersey subsequent week at USA Biking Cyclocross Nationwide Championships. A win in Louisville, Kentucky on December 15 would give him what actually issues when he hits the UCI Cyclocross World Cup circuit in Europe later this month – factors. And he is nearer to a long-term aim that’s nonetheless 4 years away, as he admits “the LA video games are 100% on my thoughts”.
The Boulder, Colorado native goes into Louisville in search of a 3rd elite males’s cyclocross title, plus one other he received in 2019 as a U23 rider. He has had a prolific fall season, profitable six of 10 UCI races, although he delayed coming into the US-based cyclocross season till late September.
“My principal aim for the US a part of the season was to defend my Pan Am and US titles, and so I’ve completed a type of targets already. I am feeling good for Nationals arising right here in per week and a half,” Brunner informed Cyclingnews. “After which additionally to get some factors, to have one of the best call-up attainable [at World Cups]. Yeah, the call-ups. That is the important thing.”
With the wins at Pan Ams and US Nationals come the jerseys, sure, and he is been stockpiling lots through the years. He received his fourth Pan-American title in November, simply earlier than his twenty sixth birthday. However these wins deliver extra factors so he would not have to begin within the again row of a packed area of elite riders at upcoming World Cup races in Europe.
“It generally looks like an enormous funding for what it’s, however I feel the beginning place is simply so essential, notably in Europe the place there are such a lot of guys at a excessive degree,” Brunner famous.
“I feel my begin place final 12 months gave me a bit of little bit of a drawback, simply because I did not race as a lot and so I used to be ranked within the 30s or so. I used to be beginning third or fourth row. So it will be very nice if I will be second row, or at the least be one of many early call-ups on the third row, and choose my spot within the grid. Second row is only a complete totally different world from third or fourth.”
Final season Brunner competed in two World Cups in Europe and went to the World Championships for a fifth time in his profession. Whereas he completed high 20 3 times at Worlds, as soon as every time as a junior, U23 and elite, he crossed the road twenty sixth final 12 months in Tabor, handicapped with a deep placement at the beginning line.
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“Since I received each final 12 months, Pan Ams and Nations, I am simply form of protecting the identical factors. It is annoying. However yeah, protecting the factors is okay, protecting good jerseys is simply too.”
Straight from Louisville, Brunner will journey to Europe to compete in a string of World Cups, starting with the Hulst and Zonhoven doubleheader on December 21-22. He’ll attend a three-week cyclocross camp with the total CompEdge staff in January, then race Maasmechelen and Hoogerheide World Cups within the last buildup for Worlds at Liévin.
Totally different coaching and targets
Brunner has a background in highway biking, profitable collegiate highway and criterium nationwide titles in 2019 and racing for 5 years with US-based Continental highway groups, 303 Mission and Aevolo. Driving for a small outfit in 2022, he positioned third general at Redlands Bicycle Traditional.
Shifting away from a road-only focus in 2022, Brunner received a bronze medal in cross-country on the US Mountain Bike Nationals. Throughout the subsequent two years, he added some gravel racing, together with a ninth-place end at SBT GRVL in Colorado this previous August.
“It was good there. I felt like that was an enormous enchancment for me, a six-hour sort race. Actually, I needed to do nicely there, however I did not have super-high expectations, or put together particularly for it,” he mentioned about ending high 10 on the 142-mile Black course at Steamboat Springs.
“The final a part of the summer time I used to be, simply specializing in making an attempt to get plenty of coaching in and having fun with myself as nicely. I did a few months the place I used to be operating, like three days per week. It was different, some flat runs, a bit of bit of labor on the monitor and I did a number of the trails and mountains round Boulder that I do not usually get to do, together with Longs Peak, a ’14er’ after which nonetheless be in good condition for the start of the ‘cross season. After all, I knew there was a bit of little bit of trade-off there, however I feel will repay in the long run.”
One in every of his lengthy coaching days was a 10-hour day when he rode his bike to the bottom of Lengthy’s Peak, ran to the highest and again of the well-known 14,000-foot mountain, then rode his bike house.
Whereas he seeks to complete his to-do checklist with profitable one other US cyclocross championship, he is already enthusiastic about that long-term payoff. It begins with a highway programme with CompEdge for 2025, after which a return to mountain bike racing. The lengthy, long run is the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Video games.
“The highway shall be an enormous aim for me, and a part of that’s simply to coach for the opposite disciplines. I feel that doing stage races on the highway is the best coaching for me. And it is form of not possible to copy that by yourself,” he informed Cyclingnews.
“After which my different massive aim for the season is to determine myself in cross-country mountain biking and to race a number of the World Cups. I am not going to do the total schedule as a result of it is tremendous lengthy, and I haven’t got any factors but in that self-discipline. My plan is to race some in Europe after which I wish to do the Lake Placid and Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup races.
“The LA video games are 100% on my thoughts, and that is an enormous aim of mine. I’ve by no means raced a ton of mountain bike however I’ve seen some potential in that self-discipline for myself the previous couple of years. And so I am excited to discover extra and goal the Olympics for mountain bike, and possibly cyclocross.”
