October 09, 2017 (Baltimore, Md.) – Cloudy skies, a little rain and a lot of humidity seemed to ignite the second day of competition on Sunday at Charm City Cross for USA Cycling’s Professional Cyclocross calendar (ProCX). The Category 2 races began with Kaitlin Keough (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com) taking her second victory on the weekend at Druid Hill Park, attacking on the signatures stairs to gap second-place finisher Maghalie Rochette (Clif Bar Pro Team). Reigning U.S. National Champion Stephen Hyde (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com) would narrowly snag the win in the Elite Men’s race over youngster Spencer Petrov (Aspire Racing) in the final turns of the course.
Keough and Rochette would attack with two laps to go establishing a solid lead, with White holding steady in third place. As they reached the pavement for the final time, Keough would just edge Rochette for the win. It would be the fifth time Rochette would finish second in a ProCX event this year, a third time to Keough.
“Maghalie (Rochette) really made me work for it,” said Keough, who earned her seventh podium spot, five of those wins, this ProCX season. “She (Rochette) raced really smart today. She didn’t put her nose in the wind once until the last lap, which was really smart for her. Emma and I were up there together and it was two against one for a while, so that was good. But I was motivated today. This is my last race for a little bit at the end of a big block, so I’m happy to do well here this weekend.”
With the win, Keough continues as the solid leader for the women in the Sho-Air US Cup-CX Series. White and Rochette are second and third, respectively. Rebecca Fahringer (Stans NoTubes p/b Maxxis/gof) and Crystal Anthony (Maxxis Shimano Pro Cyclocross) are tied for the fourth spot.
A group of six would stick together on the tacky course until the final laps in the Elite Men’s race. With four laps to go, 19-year-old Petrov would animate the race with several attacks, forcing Hyde to chase. It would come down to a battle between these two riders and a small crash after the big steps in the final half lap. The results would find Hyde remounting from the mishap cleanly and holding a small gap for the win.
“It was a fight between him (Petrov) and I. I had a little slip of my front wheel, and of course, it was wet right there,” Hyde said about the tumble with Petrov on the final lap in the “W” section of multiple turns. “He rode over top of me, and we both got tangled up. I was the first one back on the bike. You don’t want it to play out like that, you want it to be like legs-on-legs. Then from there on out I had like a four-second gap. I tried to hold it. I don’t think he was able to get into his pedals really quickly after the stairs. I just dug deep and held it. That was it man, I just dug deep.”
Petrov would earn his second runner-up finish in an Elite Men’s ProCX race this year, having finished in the silver spot at the C1 contest at KMC Cross Fest in Conn. last weekend. In the mix all day was Kerry Werner (Kona Factory CX Team), who finished a solid third place on Sunday. Saturday’s winner and current ProCX point leader Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz/Donkey Label Racing) would finish fourth.
It was the second ProCX win of the year for Hyde, the first as a C2. The win kept him close to overall Sho-Air US Cup-CX leader Ortenblad in the men’s standings, in second place. Werner is third overall, followed closely in the points by Petrov. Curtis White (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) is fifth in the series.
The Sho-Air Cycling Group partnered with four ProCX events and offers a total prize purse of $20,000, to be shared equally for the top woman and man at the final event in Louisville, Ky. on Nov. 4.
Next weekend, Oct. 14-15, ProCX will continue with Category 2 competitions in New England and Colorado. The first of four events for the Vittoria Northeast Cyclocross Series presented by Clif Bar will begin at the CRAFT Sportswear Gran Prix of Gloucester in Mass. Elite Women’s and Elite Men’s races will be held at historic Stage Fort Park in Gloucester for a 19th year, which has given the event the label of the “New England Worlds”. Boulder, Colo. will feature the U.S. Open of Cyclocross at Valmont Bike Park. This event will feature UCI cyclocross events for Under-23 Men and Junior 17-18 Men
Results (brief)
Elite Women
1. Kaitlin Keough (USA) Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com 44:13
2. Maghalie Rochette (Can) CLIF Pro Team 0:03
3. Emma White (USA) Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com 0:38
4. Caroline Mani (Fra) 1:01
5. Rebecca Fahringer (USA) Stan’s NoTubes p/b Maxxis / gof 1:26
32. Dana Gilligan (Can) Garneau-Easton p/b Transitions -1 Lap
36. Siobhan Kelly (Can) To Wheels Epic Sports Performance -1 Lap
Elite Men
1. Stephen Hyde (USA) Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld 59:56
2. Spencer Petrov (USA) Aspire Racing 0:07
3. Kerry Werner (USA) Kona Factory CX Team 0:14
4. Tobin Ortenblad (USA) Santa Cruz / Donkey Label Racing 0:21
5. James Driscoll (USA) Donnelly Sports 1:25
12. Michael van den Ham (Can) Garneau – Easton Cycling p/b Transitions Lifecare 3:12
14. Gunnar Holmgren (Can) Team Ontario / Centurion Next Wave 3:25
19. Trevor O’Donnell (Can) Lakeside Storage Cyclocross 4:22
21. Nicholas Diniz (Can) NCCH Elite p/b MGCC 4:59
45. Christian Ricci (Can) Lakeside Storage Cyclocross -3 Laps