Top-10 Finishes at Gravel Nationals
The national championships! Which American bike racer doesn’t dream of donning the stars-and-stripes jersey for a year? (I once came close, as a student, when our team finished a very close second at Collegiate Nationals.) The opportunity to race against the very best is a wonderful challenge. The championships are late in the season, when everybody has had time to train and race into their best shape.
In this rarefied atmosphere, winning remains an elusive dream, except for the lucky one who crosses the line first. In that context, we feel honored that two racers in the top-10 chose to ride on Rene Herse tires.
In the women’s race, Jenna Rinehart finished 9th. She wrote about her race:
“Was right up there for the first half, but then ended up solo for a bit and then got caught. Happy to hang on to a top-10 in a competitive field. Tires worked perfect!” Jenna’s result is all the more remarkable since she’s not a full-time racer, but splits her time between racing, training and running her bike shop, Nicollet Bike & Ski in Mankato, MN. For Gravel Nationals, Jenna chose a Rene Herse 48 mm Oracle Ridge knobby on the front and a smooth 48 mm Hatcher Pass on the rear, both with Extralight casings. She installed her tires tubeless with Rene Herse Supple Sealant.
In the men’s race, defending champion Brennan Wertz knew that the course, with its ultra-steep climbs, didn’t favor a tall power rider like him. He still managed 8th place, ahead of many big-name racers. Brennan ran Rene Herse 700×44 Corkscrew Climb semi-slicks with Endurance casings.
More information:
- Brennan’s story from inside the peloton
- Tires in the Rene Herse program
Photo credit: Jim Merithew (@tinyblackbox; used with permission)
