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The future of TC cycling arrived in style last night, with the bulk of the top ten made up of Juniors, and Junior/miniSOL heating up! Even WorldTour leader John O’Hearn couldn’t wrangle all the rug rats Thursday night. On what became Cyclocross/Ladies/Vintage Night, it was more of a Kid’s Night than anything else. It was apparent early that the kids were feeling alright, and the first selection over the CC Climb was nearly all under 18. Here’s a quick list of things they could be doing so the old people don’t feel bad about themselves:

-Summer job
-Summer School
-Snapchatting
-Learning Mandarin
-Reading to the blind
-Reading to the elderly (like books on tape, but LIVE!)
-Hanging out at the mall
-Buying $1 coffees and bugging Kickbush at Brew

Tim Coffey was the first to make a move aboard his Kona Private Jake, with a flotilla of chasers breaking up in pursuit. On the last roller to the bench, Braiden Voss pounced, erasing the gap and bridging with Garrett Jenema doggedly attached to his wheel. Their styles are a study in contrast; Voss’ standing, bouncing, spirited climbing next to Jenema’s crouched and seating grind. They proved equally effective, however, pulling clear with Jason Johnson and O’Hearn and leaving a calm but distanced Tim Coffey just behind Cody Sovis, who looked a bit like lukewarm tuna on a night he would have expected to contend.

Sovis drew on his (relative) old man strength to drag himself and Coffey back into touch on the Power Section, and gamely went to the front to keep the pace steady. That was dumb, and when Voss coiled up and attacked again, it was Jenema and O’Hearn to make bridge, with Sovis and Coffey now relying on Jason Johnson to bring them back.

Voss and Jenema provided all of the firepower, with the CX mounted O’Hearn waiting in the wheels. He finally unleashed his WorldTour leading legs just before the chasers caught up, damning them to scrambling to the line solo.

Voss nipped it for a historic stage win, the youngest rider ever. He and Jenema also ensured O’Hearn has all but wrapped up the WorldTour title, barring some disaster. Now, he’ll turn his sights on taking the Giro-Tour double when Stage One takes off next week.

Lauri Brockmiller gets the Ladies’ Night win on the heels of a flying ride from Jon Zelinski. Brockmiller survived the early salvos to find a steady group to stick with, putting down a 40:24 for the night. Emma Schwab, Kasey Wierzba, and Shannon Kochis were next through for the women, all tightly packed in the 44 minute range.

Now, it’s all eyes for the biggest Grand Tour of the season. We’ll have a full Tour preview next week, including a look at each stage, the top favorites for overall glory, and a special look at the Queen Stage, the infamous two-lap SOL that happens just once a season.

And now, Peter Worden with the Junior/miniSOL write-up, in Comic Sans, just to bug me. 

Not one of the kiddos chose to ride a cyclo-cross bike or wear retro clothing to earn double points — not one.  Though, Porter Kochis came close to going sort-of retro with his older sister Sophia’s hand me down bike.  Otherwise it was all 29ers with disc brakes and the latest in spandex technology for the tiny set.  Why Moses Coco was even heard to ask “How many bikes does one person need, anyway?”  You just wait, Moses — you’ll learn soon enough.

The biggest buzz at the start line was the apparent defection of the Stuart brothers, Caden and Stuart, from Brick Wheels to Norte.  Caden lost no time in flying the flag for Team Orange, going from a DNF due to illness two weeks ago into a blistering first place performance — all the while wearing pajama pants.  We’re not kidding, pajama pants!  Liam Wierzba was not far behind in second, with his Sutton’s Bay Bikes teammate Hayden Murray just seconds behind in third place.  Their teammate Chick Cullen also put in a strong performance.  The SBB boys have been consistently among the strongest MSOL contenders this year, and the season is still young — they are only going to get faster.

Sander Stuart came in 4th, and Moses Coco in his first ever miniSOL appearance broke loose with some of his Norte Ninja skills to round out the top 5.  The Kochis siblings also made their long-awaited return to the fold, along with Norte’s Rocco Elkins.  And Adrian Edson rode his first bike race ever!!

Liam remains in first place in season WorldTour points at 54, followed closely by his teammate Hayden with 50 points — proving that showing up every Thursday and staying consistent pays off in the long run.

Here are the full evening results and season points for MiniSOL: