Eric Brunner (CompEdge Racing) has more on his 'to-do' list than just retaining the stars-and-stripes jersey next week at USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships. A win in Louisville, Kentucky on December 15 would give him what really matters when he hits the UCI Cyclocross World Cup circuit in Europe later this month - points. And he's closer to a long-term goal that is still four years away, as he admits "the LA games are 100% on my mind".
The Boulder, Colorado native goes into Louisville seeking a third elite men's cyclocross title, plus another he won in 2019 as a U23 rider. He has had a prolific fall season, winning six of 10 UCI races, even though he delayed entering the US-based cyclocross season until late September.
"My main goal for the US part of the season was to defend my Pan Am and US titles, and so I've accomplished one of those goals already. I'm feeling good for Nationals coming up here in a week and a half," Brunner told Cyclingnews. "And then also to get some points, to have the best call-up possible [at World Cups]. Yeah, the call-ups. That's the key."
With the wins at Pan Ams and US Nationals come the jerseys, yes, and he's been stockpiling a lot over the years. He won his fourth Pan-American title in November, just before his 26th birthday. But those wins bring more points so he doesn't have to start in the back row of a packed field of elite riders at upcoming World Cup races in Europe.
"It sometimes feels like a big investment for what it is, but I think the start position is just so important, particularly in Europe where there are so many guys at a high level," Brunner noted.
"I think my start position last year gave me a little bit of a disadvantage, just because I didn't race as much and so I was ranked in the 30s or so. I was starting third or fourth row. So it'll be really nice if I can be second row, or at least be one of the early call-ups on the third row, and pick my spot in the grid. Second row is just a whole different world from third or fourth."
Last season Brunner competed in two World Cups in Europe and went to the World Championships for a fifth time in his career. While he finished top 20 three times at Worlds, once each time as a junior, U23 and elite, he crossed the line 26th last year in Tabor, handicapped with a deep placement at the start line.
"Since I won both last year, Pan Ams and Nations, I'm just kind of keeping the same points. It's annoying. But yeah, keeping the points is fine, keeping nice jerseys is too."
Straight from Louisville, Brunner will travel to Europe to compete in a string of World Cups, beginning with the Hulst and Zonhoven doubleheader on December 21-22. He'll attend a three-week cyclocross camp with the full CompEdge team in January, then race Maasmechelen and Hoogerheide World Cups in the final buildup for Worlds at Liévin.
Different training and goals
Brunner has a background in road cycling, winning collegiate road and criterium national titles in 2019 and racing for five years with US-based Continental road teams, 303 Project and Aevolo. Riding for a small outfit in 2022, he placed third overall at Redlands Bicycle Classic.
Moving away from a road-only focus in 2022, Brunner won a bronze medal in cross-country at the US Mountain Bike Nationals. Across the next two years, he added some gravel racing, including a ninth-place finish at SBT GRVL in Colorado this past August.
"It was nice there. I felt like that was a big improvement for me, a six-hour type race. Honestly, I wanted to do well there, but I didn't have super-high expectations, or prepare specifically for it," he said about finishing top 10 at the 142-mile Black course at Steamboat Springs.
"The last part of the summer I was, just focusing on trying to get a lot of training in and enjoying myself as well. I did a couple of months where I was running, like three days a week. It was varied, some flat runs, a little bit of work on the track and I did some of the trails and mountains around Boulder that I don't normally get to do, including Longs Peak, a '14er' and then still be in good shape for the beginning of the 'cross season. Of course, I knew there was a little bit of trade-off there, but I think will pay off in the long term."
One of his long training days was a 10-hour day when he rode his bike to the base of Long's Peak, ran to the top and back of the famous 14,000-foot mountain, then rode his bike home.
While he seeks to finish his to-do list with winning another US cyclocross championship, he's already thinking about that long-term payoff. It starts with a road programme with CompEdge for 2025, and then a return to mountain bike racing. The long, long term is the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
"The road will be a big goal for me, and part of that is just to train for the other disciplines. I think that doing stage races on the road is the most effective training for me. And it's kind of impossible to replicate that on your own," he told Cyclingnews.
"And then my other big goal for the season is to establish myself in cross-country mountain biking and to race some of the World Cups. I'm not going to do the full schedule because it's super long, and I don't have any points yet in that discipline. My plan is to race some in Europe and then I would like to do the Lake Placid and Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup races.
"The LA games are 100% on my mind, and that's a big goal of mine. I've never raced a ton of mountain bike but I've seen some potential in that discipline for myself the past couple of years. And so I'm excited to explore more and target the Olympics for mountain bike, and maybe cyclocross."
