“I’m the defending national champ but I always race this one for fun,” Coryn said. “I enjoy racing crits. I have a fun time doing it and I do it every year I come to nationals. Defending champ but I really came in with no expectations. This is just a bonus for me but I like the strategy, I like the racing.”

The mile-long course featured a total of six corners. Part way through the 75-minute race, the rain began to fall and the peloton became slightly more cautious. 

“There was a little rain today and we had a solo rider with 11 or 12 laps to go,” Coryn said. “So I just had to stay really patient because I was racing alone so there’s not a lot that I could do. I think luck really paid off and I picked the right strategy to take the dub today.”

Coryn explained her strategy of how to catch the solo rider on the final lap. 

“She had to be within ten seconds to leave her out and I knew that no matter what, I would sprint immediately out of the last corner, no brakes. That’s what I did. I came out of there third wheel. I just hit it as soon as I came out. Luckily I caught her with 75, 50 meters to go and I could post up for my 74th national championship,” Coryn said. 

That is not a typo — Coryn has earned 74 national titles in road, track, mountain bike, and cyclocross over her careers spanning two decades.

She came into the race as the defending champion but Coryn took nothing for granted. Spending the bulk of the season road racing in Europe means she hadn’t had the opportunity to race in the Stars and Stripes crit jersey she won in 2023, so last month she raced Speed Week, a crit series in the southeastern US, where she took the win at one of the four races she did. 

Now, she gets to wear the jersey for another year.

Congratulations, Coryn! What a ride.