October 02, 2016 (Thompson, CT) – Day one of racing at KMC Cross Fest was defined by muddy, Belgian-like conditions. With steep off-cambers and slick conditions the course made for challenging and exciting racing at the new race venue of Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. Katie Compton motored away to win the Elite Women’s race beating out U23 winner Ellen Noble who took second. Stephen Hyde took the victory in the Men’s race over Jamie Driscoll and Kerry Warner.

After racing the Madison of Cyclo-cross Friday night under the lights, Compton came into the day with a good sense of the course and made her move early on in the race. “On the second lap I had a bit of a gap after the sand drop and so i just tried to keep the pressure on and go hard and make Ellen chase. It worked out well, the course is awesome, I really enjoy racing at a race car track. I think it all came together. I’m feeling fit and feeling better as the season progresses,” stated Compton.

Second place Ellen Noble claimed the U23 win. Noble commented on her ride “I really tried to ride my own pace but stay pretty close to Katie’s wheel but eventually she got away from me.” Holding on for the podium Noble stayed ahead of a charging Rebecca Fahringer. “I tried to keep the pressure on and go absolutely as hard as I can and understand that mistakes happen. This season has just been a lot of learning very quickly but I’m super happy with second and being on another UCI podium.”

Stephen Hyde continued his successes tonight with a commanding win over Jamie Driscoll and Kerry Warner. After the race Hyde spoke about his ride and his teammates. “It feels good, I’m having fun racing this year, I’m really happy with my teammates riding well. I felt good.” After riding together with teammate Curtis White for some time, Hyde eventually slipped away. “At one point I was just going at a little faster than Curtis wanted to go and I wanted to get a really good practice in on this course in the slick.”

Second place Driscoll  rode a steady pace throughout the race. “I had a good consistent race and didn’t fade and was able to move through people that did and hold that gap until the end.” On the new Thompson Speedway course Driscoll painted the scene as a race of extremes. “It was really cool to have that high consequence Euro-style features in the race tonight, that was cool and very rare for the U.S.”

The Elite Juniors took to the course in cold and dark conditions. The winner came from the last row of the starting grid, Denzel Stephenson And was the only rider to bunny hop the barriers each lap of the race.

Day 2
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.

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.”

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.”

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

Day 1

Elite Women
1. Katherine Compton (USA) KFC Racing p/b Trek/Panache    44:45
2. Ellen Noble (USA) JAM Fund / NCC     0:44
3. Rebecca Fahringer (USA) Amy D. Foundation    1:12
4. Courtenay Mcfadden (USA)    1:28
5. Emma White (USA) Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld    1:38

10. Ruby West (Can) Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld    3:52
17. Natasha Elliott (Can) Garneau-Easton Cycling    5:47
23. Erica Leonard (Can) Centurion Nextwave    7:50

Elite Men
1. Stephen Hyde (USA) Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com    1:05:25
2. James Driscoll (USA) Raleigh Clement    0:19
3. Kerry Werner (USA) Kona Endurance Team    0:24
4. Curtis White (USA) Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com   0:24
5. Travis Livermon (USA) Maxxis-Shimano Pro Cyclocross    1:10

14. Jeremy Martin (Can) Focus CX Team Canada    2:03
16. Mark McConnell (Can) Hot Sauce Cycling x Garneau  2:17
23. Derrick St John (Can) Van Dessel p/b Hyperthreads    4:46
27. Mathieu Belanger-Barrette (Can) Pivot Cycles/On The Edge    5:54

Junior Men
1. Denzel Stephenson (USA) Boulder Junior Cycling    0:42:45
2. Gunnar Holmgren (Can) Garneau Easton    0:07
3. Tyler Clark (Can) KMS Cycling – Killington Mounta
4. Lane Maher (USA) Hands-On Cycling p/b GIANT    0:22
5. Kevin Goguen (USA) RACE CF

7. Brody Sanderson (Can) Centurion Nextwave    0:43
16. Vivien Rindisbacher (Can) KMS Cycling – Killington Mounta    3:44
27. Scott Leonard (Can) Angry Johnny’s Cycling    7:07
28. Philippe St.Laurent (Can) Pivot Cycles-OTE    7:13
32. Thomas Hulton (Can) AWI Racing    10:04

Day 2 Results

Elite Women
1. Katherine Compton (USA) KFC Racing p/b Trek/Panache    46:20
2. Caroline Mani (Fra) Raleigh Clement 0:18
3. Rebecca Fahringer (USA) Amy D. Foundation    0:21

10. Ruby West (Can) Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld    3:02
14. Erica Leonard (Can) Centurion Nextwave    4:27
15. Lisa Holmgren (Can) Centurion Nextwave  4:27
DNS Natasha Elliott (Can) Garneau-Easton Cycling    5:47

Elite Men

1. Curtis White (USA) Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com 1:03:32
2. Stephen Hyde (USA) Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com 0:08
3. Daniel Summerhill (USA) Maxxis-Shimano 0:10

6. Mark McConnell (Can) Hot Sauce Cycling x Garneau    0:42
10. Jeremy Martin (Can) Focus CX Team Canada    0:56
29. Mathieu Belanger-Barrette (Can) Pivot Cycles/On The Edge    5:10
DNS Derrick St John (Can) Van Dessel p/b Hyperthreads    4:46

Junior Men
1. Denzel Stephenson (USA) Boulder Junior Cycling    43:48
2. Lane Maher (USA) Hands-On Cycling p/b GIANT
3. Gunnar Holmgren (Can) Garneau Easton
4. Brody Sanderson (Can) Centurion Nextwave    0:07
5. Sam Noel (USA) Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com 0:11

12. Tyler Clark (Can) KMS Cycling – Killington Mountai 1:15
14. Vivien Rindisbacher (Can) KMS Cycling – Killington Mountain    1:45
19. Philippe St.Laurent (Can) Pivot Cycles-OTE    2:48
28. Scott Leonard (Can) Angry Johnny’s Cycling    5:18
34. Thomas Hulton (Can) AWI Racing   -2 Laps