Winner Megan Guarnier and family
Megan Guarnier barely nipped young sprinter Coryn Rivera at the finish line at MLK Boulevard in downtown Chattanooga to win the women's USA Cycling national title on Saturday. Tayler Wiles, who led briefly on the final lap, was a close third.
Matthew Busche was one of the handful of finishers on a drenched course to capture the men's title.
Guarner, who finished second at Chattanooga last year, got some help from Boels Dolmans teammate Evelyn Stephens, who pulled away on the last lap before fading in favor of Guarner.
Guarner, who is from Queensbury, New York, and Busche, who is from Wisconsin, will wear the Stars and Stripes jersey in upcoming competition leading to the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Former Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong Savola won the time trials on Saturday, but finished back in the pack. She did make a run on the Market Street Bridge to nearly catch the leaders on the second of the three final laps. However, she and several others were out of the loop after the daunting Kent Street hill.
Amber Neben led the field up Lookout for the final time and was a contender until the end. The women had to climb Lookout Mountain three times on the circuit.
There were 76 pro cyclists at the start of the race, but only 25 remained after the first climb of Lookout.
Kent Street, the ulta-steep street just up from Frazier Avenue in North Chattanooga, was again a crowd favorite.
Alison Powers won the championship last year, but she has since retired.
Stephens, who is from San Francisco, was third and Wiles, of Fairfax, Calif., was fourth last year in Chattanooga.
Busche finished just ahead of Joe Dombrowski, who got up from a three-bike crash on the Veterans Bridge, to finish strong.
There were only 15 riders remaining at the start of the last leg. Andrew Talansky surged ahead on the next-to-last climb of Lookout and led until that final lap. Talansky, who had won the time trials on Saturday, was ahead of the other riders by over two minutes for a long distance.
The rain held off until most of the riders had made their final descent of Lookout, but it was a factor in the final laps through North Chattanooga.
Last year's winner, Eric Marcotte, stayed close until late in the race before fading. Previous winner Freddie Rodriguez was not a factor. Ben King, who was second in the time trials, watched the end of the race from the viewing stand.
It will be announced soon whether Chattanooga will get to keep the national championships after a three-year run.
The close finish