1-2: Southington’s Dave Rustico was the national champion in his age group in cyclocross last year; this year he finished second

Last year, Dave Rustico of Southington drove 18 hours to the national cyclocross championships in Wheaton, Ill.

It was a long drive (he sat in traffic for five hours in Pennsylvania alone) but it was worth it – Rustico won the national title in his age group, 65-69 years old.

This year, he drove 25 minutes to Riverside Park in Hartford, where USA Cycling and Riverfront Recapture were hosting the national cyclocross championships for the first time since 2017.

This year’s course was technical; last year’s course played more to Rustico’s strengths. He ended up as the national runner-up to Scott Paisley of Charlottesville, Va., who won the 65-69 age group Wednesday.

“Lap 1, [Paisley] went and we caught him and Lap Two, he got away on the hillside,” said Rustico, 67. “I had a 10 second gap and I couldn’t get any closer then he opened up. The last lap I was 20-something seconds down so I rode conservatively, not to make any mistakes. I had a 30 second gap or so on third place.”

Paisley, 65, won the 60-64 national championship in 2018.

“It’s the first time I’ve raced with Scott,” Rustico said. “He’s got a big motor. These conditions, it was anybody’s race.”

It rained in the morning and drizzled throughout the race, which consisted of a 2.2-mile loop course through the fields and woods of Riverside Park. Cyclists had to run up the side of a hill by Interstate 91, carrying their bikes, and the incline became progressively more slippery as the afternoon wore on, as did the turns and the slanted terrain on other parts of the course.

“I was very fortunate last year,” Rustico said. “If I had designed a course for my strengths, last year’s course was it. The conditions were perfect. I like climbs, not really technical.”

Rustico had a large contingent of friends at the race; they carried large cutouts of a picture of his head on sticks and every time he rode by, there were local fans cheering for him – “Go Rusty!”

He started road bike racing in 1979 but in 2016, when he heard that Hartford was going to host the national cyclocross championships in 2017, he decided to try it. He races in about 20 races annually.

“A lot of these guys have been doing cyclocross for years and their skills with turning and figuring out lines to take and stuff, it takes years to learn that,” Rustico said. “Everybody does, but I’m a little behind the curve.

“The sport is like none other I’ve ever done. It’s much different from road racing in that the cyclocross community, everybody supports each other - teammate, not teammate, people you compete against every week - wishing each other the best of luck.”

The national cyclocross championships continue Thursday, with collegiate races and masters women’s competition, through Sunday, when the elite athletes will compete.

For more information, go to: 2022 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships | USA Cycling

Lori Riley can be reached at lriley@courant.com.