US cyclocross champion Eric Brunner returns to road racing in 2026 as ‘three-pronged danger man’ for Project Echelon Racing

Eric Brunner gained his third elite males’s US cyclocross title in mid-December, which was the primary checkbox on his 2025 to-do checklist when the calendar 12 months began. The months resulting in his solo victory on the dust in Fayetteville, Arkansas, have been something however choreographed, nevertheless. It seems that the street to his success actually was on the street.

“I raced much more on the street this summer time than I’ve in a number of years. And that wasn’t my authentic plan going into 2025, to be proper for Venture Echelon Racing in 2026. It actually type of pulled me on this path once more,” the 27-year-old mentioned about his preparations for cyclocross season after which refocusing for the street within the new season.

“I feel racing on the street is one of the best coaching doable, particularly with the ability to stack quite a lot of onerous days back-to-back such as you do in stage races. I used to be planning to race much more mountain bike, however my street season went so properly. I feel that as brief as ‘cross is, you continue to have to coach simply as a lot as street. So street has been nice for placing me in a superb place for the ‘cross season. Nationals is at all times a precedence.”

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Now he is secured a spot again on the Continental stage with Venture Echelon Racing, and is deemed “a three-pronged hazard man” and will probably be one of many group leaders for home and worldwide races. It’s a particular 12 months for the group, now in its tenth season, a fourth 12 months on the professional stage, and a movie concerning the group’s success on and off street race programs will probably be unveiled on December 25, 2025, with a cameo by Brunner from his first race with the group at Maryland Biking Basic simply earlier than ‘cross season began.

In 12 US cyclocross races this season, Brunner completed on the rostrum in 11 of them with seven victories. Together with his deal with ‘cross the final 4 years, he had gained the US cyclocross elite males’s title in 2023 and 2021, and in 5 appearances within the elite males’s division of Pan-Ams, he gained 4 consecutive years.

Brunner began his street racing profession in earnest in 2018 with 4 years on US Continental programmes, 303 Venture and Aevolo, then began his personal cyclocross group in 2021, and he solely did a number of street occasions for a number of years. He returned to a heavy street schedule this season, persevering with along with his small Aggressive Edge Racing setup the place he had prime 5s at nationwide races like Tour de Murrieta, Redlands Bicycle Basic after which completed second on GC on the UCI-level Tour of the Gila.

“My goal was to get Eric right here for 2026 after his efficiency on the Tour of the Gila. He single-handedly was taking all the pieces we have been throwing at him, and it took us till the final metres of the ultimate day to [unseat him] and clinch the general win. He confirmed his depth and his character and his will to win. I knew I wished him on our group,” Venture Echelon Racing group founder and director Eric Hill informed Cyclingnews.

“He is a man that may actually do all of it. He can time trial, he can deal with a motorcycle at a crit race in addition to anyone, and he can climb. I feel he brings a component again to the group that Tyler Stites gave us in 2024.”

Stites was an all-rounder who gave Venture Echelon large outcomes at races in Greece, Portugal, Canada and the US. Brunner mentioned he does see resemblances to Stites, and he does see himself as a robust time trialist, however nonetheless needs to take extra time on the street to outline his personal fashion.

“I am nonetheless figuring it out a little bit bit. Street levels which can be simply plain onerous, not the longest climbs, however I do not thoughts a little bit little bit of climbing. Street racing is just not at all times clear minimize on what rider it may favour. I like to coach on all the pieces, I put quite a lot of work into being a whole package deal.

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“We’re going over to Greece in March to do the Tour of Rhodes and Rhodes Grand Prix. I did a few of these races a number of years in the past with Aevolo, so it will be cool to return and do the identical races, simply type of with extra expertise. I actually like my possibilities for these races too, as a result of onerous, actually type of all-rounder form of programs.”

Brunner mentioned that when he departed 303 Venture for Aevolo, he talked with Hill a little bit concerning the Venture Echelon group. It’s a group he has continued to not simply compete towards, however observe their progress.

“It is cool to see the programme stick round for the best causes. It is cool to see them make these alternatives for American riders, and to do some good issues for veterans alongside the best way. I feel that is the way you construct a profitable and sustainable programme. I am simply wanting ahead to getting the street season going right here fairly quickly with Venture Echelon on the street.”

There will probably be no World Cup cyclocross races later in December or January for Brunner, as he focuses on a street camp in January in Spain for his new street group. He will even keep in Spain for a number of weeks, and mentioned he might leap into one final ‘cross race whereas he’s there.

“I am gonna do group camp, and a little bit coaching camp over in Spain, simply on my own as properly. And so that you would possibly see me in Benidorm. No cause to not,” he mentioned a couple of return to cyclocross for a UCI World Cup on January 18.

‘Outride the Darkness’

On Christmas Day, Venture Echelon Racing will launch a 37-minute function movie known as ‘Outride the Darkness’ that celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the US-based males’s biking group in 2026, in addition to their mission to assist US army veterans “outride their demons” of psychological and bodily struggles utilizing bodily exercise and self-discovery.

“We have been engaged on the movie for a while. It is going to be a beautiful story of resilience,” Hill mentioned simply days earlier than the discharge.

“Our group and group have helped 1000’s of veterans to outride their demons, outride their darkness, whether or not that be loneliness, despair, suicide, dependancy, post-traumatic stress, issues of that nature. Additionally, our group has outridden the darkness and among the struggles that our sport has confronted and simply continues to be resilient and discover a method to compete on the prime stage within the US and overseas. The movie tells these two parallel tales, which I am enthusiastic about.”

Venture Echelon Racing started as a US domestic-elite membership group in 2017 and moved to the Continental stage in 2023. Whereas the elite squad centered on outcomes on the greatest races within the US, after which expanded their goals to European occasions over the past three seasons, Hill mentioned the non-profit organisation went from supporting a handful of veterans to now greater than 500 veteran households in a single 12 months.

“We knew as an elite group we may entry sponsorships and different advantages that veterans on their very own would by no means get. In our first 12 months, we supported 12 veterans. We have been a low-ranking group on the planet of home elite biking, and our objective was to be one of the best group within the Midwest,” Hill mentioned with a chuckle.

“A very large second as a group was profitable the American Criterium Cup in 2022. Two years in the past, we swept the [USPro] Criterium Nationwide Championships podium and obtained wins back-to-back at UCI-level occasions, one in France and one in Portugal. We’ve got developed and gained respect not solely as a North American group, however as a global competitor as properly.”

Throughout 9 years, to date, Venture Echelon has supplied alternatives for army veterans to remain energetic, from mentorship to novice rides and digital biking, and Hill has seen unbelievable achievements, together with veterans profitable world titles and Paralympic medals.

Among the many success tales embody Dennis Connors, a nine-year US Marine, who gained a Para-Biking silver medal on the Paris Paralympics and likewise has two world titles in street males’s trike. On the ladies’s facet, Shawn Morelli, a US Military veteran who fought in two wars, is a three-time Paralympic gold medallist in Para-Biking, incomes wins on the observe and street on the Rio Video games and repeating on the street on the Tokyo Video games.

The movie will be seen on the YouTube channel for Venture Echelon Racing.