What to know about Vida Lopez de San Roman
Elite National Champion is just 18 years old
On Thursday, a Milligan University freshman won the women’s collegiate varsity race at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships. Her name is Vida Lopez de San Roman, and her weekend was just getting started.
The almost-19-year-old from California piloted her cyclocross bike around the course in Louisville to a second place finish in the collegiate relay race, a leg opener for the elite race on Saturday.
Lopez de San Roman wasn’t sure if she would compete in the elite category until recently. She’s a first year under-23 rider and would have been one of the favorites to win that category. However, she showed up to the North Carolina Grand Prix last month to win both of the weekend’s elite races.
“I didn’t have too many expectations,” Lopez de San Roman said after the race. “I just really tried to race as patiently as possible and stay calm and smart all the way to the end.”
Lopez de San Roman is the daughter of a former pro tennis player and a ballerina, and raced to her first National Championship title as a 13-year-old. Years earlier, she entered a local race in Santa Rosa and realized that she had a passion for racing, even though just going out for a ride wasn’t of much interest to her previously.
The young racer got her first European race experiences through the Euro Cross Academy, honing her skills in the homeland of cyclocross. Fast forward to the past couple of seasons and Lopez de San Roman is continuing to make a name for herself in cyclocross and mountain biking.
Last season, she won a junior National Championship in Louisville before heading on to win the Vestingscross Hulst race and ride to three top-10 finishes in World Cup races. At the World Championships in February 2024, she placed 6th. The next month, she hopped on her mountain bike to win both the National Championship and Continental Championship titles before placing fourth at the World Championships.
And that brings us to Louisville again for last weekend’s race. Pre-race favorite Katie Clouse led the charge, but Lopez de San Roman kept her close as Raylyn Nuss and Natalie Quinn also made the front group. However, Clouse and Lopez de San Roman were the strongest, trading attacks and pulling away from the others. The youngster kept Clouse in check until attacking during the final lap.
Clouse could not respond, visibly slowed down by a leg cramp or pulled muscle, allowing Lopez de San Roman to win by more than a minute to become the youngest elite National Champion to do so.
“The course totally changed as the laps went on, but Katie was a super strong rider, it was a really tough battle out there against her,” she said. “I'd say the first few laps I was kind of just getting a feel for things and all the riders in the field. Then I started to notice the lines in places where I was maybe stronger and could make up time, and I really used that to my advantage. It was a tough battle with Katie out there and it was really cool to race her.”
Lopez de San Roman heads to Europe for more racing soon, but until then, check out her excellent YouTube vlogs.