24 June, 2017, Knoxville,Tennessee (USA)
Joey Rosskopf was crowned US National Time Trial Champion in Knoxville today after an impressive performance saw him take the title ahead of BMC Racing Team teammate Brent Bookwalter.
After setting off in the second-to-last wave of riders, Rosskopf settled into an impressive rhythm quickly, posting the provisional best time at the halfway point of the four-lap course before powering across the line to move into the hot seat.
As the final riders set off, Rosskopf’s time of 36’25” remained unshaken and eventually it proved enough to see him take the title and the stars and stripes jersey for the first time in his career.
Bookwalter was the final rider to start his 19.2 mile effort and out on the course, he put in a strong performance to clock the second-fastest time of the day, 57 seconds behind Rosskopf, and head onto the podium.
The Winner’s Interview with Joey Rosskopf
Congratulations, Joey! How was it out on the course?
“With the laps, you knew what to expect from the parcours and as they were only 7.5km long, you could learn from every one. The corners were maybe a little more technical but we did a good recon this morning and I think that helped me a lot.”
How did you feel when you were sat in the hot seat?
“I was a little unsure as to whether my time would stick until the final time check of the last wave. I started in the fourth wave so I had to wait to see if I had done enough and I knew that the final group of riders had a really good chance of winning also.”
How will it feel to wear the stars and stripes skinsuit at your next time trial?
“It will definitely make me look forward to time trials more. It will make the day of pain a little more pleasant for the next year. It will be really cool and I have never worn the national champion’s jersey before so I am looking forward to it.”
“We wanted to prove that it was worthwhile making the trip to the US National Championships and it is always nice to give back to the team when they invest in you.”
And looking ahead to the road race?
“I think it is a good course for us and if it is a hard race I think we have a good chance with Brent Bookwalter and me. I think we will have to play off the bigger teams here but we’re off to a good start already and we will see what happens”
Quotes from the Finish Line
Brent Bookwalter:
“Like we expected it was hot and humid today and I think that has been the theme running through a lot of the championships this week. It was a good course and the four laps kept it interesting. Success breeds confidence across the team whether that is at the races we do over the season or at the National Championships. There has been some amazing results from the team already this week and seeing this made us hungry for the same results here. Joey Rosskopf and me went into today confident and I think we were looking at each other as our biggest rivals. In the end, it turned out that Joey had a really great day and mine was maybe not as good but it is awesome for him to take the title and finishing first and second is a testament to the depth of our team.”
“The road race is always a little different. It’s very tactical and I think it will be a tall order to go up against some of the teams with eight or more riders but we will try to keep ourselves in the mix. We’ve started well though and that takes the pressure off us a little and hopefully we can shine in the later stages of the race where the consistency and form that we have gained from the longer races this year will be an advantage.”
Race Profile
US National Time Trial Championships
Knoxville > Knoxville, 19.2 miles (30.9km)
Top 3: 1. Joey Rosskopf (BMC Racing Team) 2. Brent Bookwalter (BMC Racing Team) 3. Neilson Powless (Axeon Hagens Berman)
