Haidet's Donnelly C//C bike uses a 1x setup instead of the 2x opted for by Hecht(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Hecht's name adorns the top tube(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
This lucky Bart Simpson figure joins Hecht on race days(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Donnelly is a Boulder-based company specialising primarily in tyres(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Haidet's 1x set up is made more secure with this K-Edge chain keeper(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Shimano GRX Di2 and a direct-mount hanger will provide rapid wheel changes and super-crisp shifting(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Aevolo is a USA-based continental U23 development team(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Someone's having a bad day. That wheel's officially been tacoed. (Image credit: Patrick Malach)
A trio of pristine-clean Moots 'cross bikes ready to be bathed in mud... minus a front wheel(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
A sneak peek inside the Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld tent(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Former USA CX champ Stephen Hyde's Cannondale Super-X bike was given the stars-and-stripes treatment(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Even the Fabric saddle pays tribute to Hyde's two-year success streak at national level(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Hyde uses SRAM Red eTap AXS, and opts for brave (foolish?) white bar tape(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
His name is incorporated into the USA-themed paint scheme(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Hyde uses Vittoria Terreno tyres with the Graphene 2.0 technology(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
A minimalist chain keeper should do the job of keeping the SRAM 12-speed AXS chain from jumping ship(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Hyde's Super-X isn't the only custom-painted Cannondale on show(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Katie Clouse's Super-X was raced to victory in the U23 women's race(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Clara Honsinger's Kona Major Jake. The bike she rode to victory, ending Katie Compton's 15 year winning streak(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Clara Honsinger's Kona Major Jake(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
The bike's model name is neatly integrated into the design on the top tube(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Clara's nickname adorns the other end near the seat-tube junction(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Challenge provide Honsinger's tyres, paired with HiFi wheels that are hand built in Portland, Oregon(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
A nod to Sellwood Cycle Repair, the Portland based bike shop at which Honsinger worked(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Honsinger's Major Jake wasn't the only Kona on display(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Breadwinner cycles is an award-winning handmade bicycle brand, based out of Portland(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
You've heard of a fire sale, what about a tyre sale?(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Check out this intricate head badge on the Breadwinner Holeshot(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
This Van Dessel belongs to Heidi Franz, who rides for Tete de la Course Cycling(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Is Full Tilt Boogie the best bike name out there?(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Katie Compton's custom-painted Trek Boone(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
A star for each of her 15 consecutive national championship victories(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Ceramic bearings from Enduro replace the standard Shimano jockey wheels(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
KFC. Or Katie F'ing Compton; a nod to her ferocious competitiveness(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Grip tape on Di2 Shifters should make missing a shift a thing of the past(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Not everyone rides carbon at nationals(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
As the chainstay suggests, these Speedvagen bikes are built in house(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
This Niner BSB 9 RDO belongs to Amanda Nauman and was ridden to 9th in the women's elite race(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
Saving the best 'til last. Katie Compton's top tube is finished off with a picture of her dog Pixie(Image credit: Patrick Malach)
The USA Cycling Cyclo-Cross National Championships took place this weekend, and Fort Steilacoom Park in Lakewood, Washington provided a sublime setting for testing tech in the mud-filled subsection of competitive cycling.
Mud, sand and roots tested the riders and their kit, but in cyclo-cross terms, the weekend remained comparatively filth-free.
At a competitive setting like a National Championships, riders and their equipment were always going to be pushed to the limit, and for a particularly unfortunate individual, that very limit was exceeded with wheel- and race-buckling consequences.
One of the major themes of the weekend was custom paint, with many riders taking the spray gun to their pride-and-joy. Katie Compton's fifteen-year winning streak might've finally come to an end, but she'll always have the stars on board to remind her of her outstanding career, along with Pixie the rottweiler to keep her company.
Patrick Malach from Cyclingnews was on hand to snap some of the newest equipment being employed during the weekend, where 23-year-old Clara Honsinger took the win putting an end to Katie Compton's 15 consecutive years on the top step and 22-year-old Gage Hecht took the stars-and-stripes from Stephen Hyde.
Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton. He has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews.
On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years. He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.
