October 3/16 11:57 am - KMC Cross Fest: Day 2

Posted by Editoress on 10/3/16
 

Curtis White All In for the Win, Compton Doubles Up

It was another exciting day of racing at the Thompson Speedway for the KMC Cross Fest. Katie Compton (KFC Racing pb Trek/Panache) picked up her second win of the weekend for the Elite Women and Curtis White took the win for the Elite Men over Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com teammate Stephen Hyde. The Category 2 races are part of the USA Cycling Professional Cyclo-cross Calendar (Pro CX).

Course conditions changed significantly from the racing on Saturday. With no additional rain today the course dried out and was a fast, challenging track. Athletes faced new features on day two with a huge run up and a new, tricky line through the off-camber.


Women
Compton had a tough start to the day but remained calm. “I missed my pedal at the start and didn’t get off to a great start. I was probably fifth or sixth going into the first turn. Then I had a mechanical. I had something stuck in my shifter, so I wasn’t shifting and was stuck in too big a gear. I lost some spots, I couldn’t accelerate quickly enough. So I went to the pit and grabbed a bike and I lost more spots. I spent the first two and a half laps chasing and getting through traffic.”

Despite the mishaps, Compton managed to rally and hold off second and third place riders, French National Champion Caroline Mani (Raleigh Clement) and Amy D. Foundation rider Rebecca Fahringer. Mani rode the technical sections well, “I tried to be smart, keep everything together and not make a mistake.”

Fahringer had a brilliant weekend of racing. “I think it might be my first double podium. It was definitely my first C1 podium yesterday. I found myself at the front of the race, and it was the first time I had been at the front. I took a little spill and from there Katie was able to get away.” 

Top Canadian was Ruby West (Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld.com) in tenth at 3:02 back, West was also second in U23.

Men
The Elite Men spent a large portion of the race with a massive super group of 16 riders. White spoke with us about his race and stated “Today I feel like I raced a much smarter race. Yesterday I went a little gung-ho in the beginning. Today I was way more conservative with my efforts.” On the group racing, White told us at times the group was a little too big. “I just tried to stay towards the front of the group, tried to stay out of trouble. When I went that was the first move I had made all night. That was the one move I needed to make.”

Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com took first and second, with another solid performance from Hyde, Saturday’s C1 winner. “We had a good group dynamic. I know Curtis is riding really strong right now. So he was able to get off on his own. Kerry and Danny were driving it pretty hard. I was able to jump in on a couple technical sections and ride at my pace, and let Curtis get more of a gap. Pretty textbook teamwork. I think going into the last lap, I made my jump into the turning section, down in the embankment, and sprinted as hard as I could once I hit the pavement.”

Top Canadians was Mark McConnell (Hot Sauce Cycling - Garneau) finishing sith, at 42 seconds back.

Junior Men

The UCI Elite Junior win went to Denzel Stephenson for the second day in a row in a sprint to the line with second and third placed riders Lane Maher and Gunnar Holmgren. Stephenson stated “The last lap I realized it was going to be a sprint. We got a little gap over Gunner over the barriers, because I hopped and he’s really fast running, and it was a two-up sprint for the end and I was able to get him.”

Results

KMC Cross Fest: Day 1