September 12, 2018 (Rochester, NY) – Sunday proved to be a repeat double feature for the elite competitions at Rochester Cyclocross, the second weekend stop for the 2018 USA Cycling Professional Cyclocross Calendar (ProCX). Back-to-back victories were taken for the Elite Women by Maghalie Rochette (St-Jerome, Quebec/CXFever p/b Specialized), and for the Elite Men by Stephen Hyde (Easthampton, Mass./Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld).

Rochester Cyclocross, now in its 11th year, hosted a second day of racing Sunday with Category 2 events for Elite Women and Elite Men. Fall-like temperatures hovered close to 60 degrees fahrenheit on a cloudy afternoon at Genesee Valley Park, unlike the hot conditions from a year ago.

Women’s Elite C1 Race — Ellen Noble (Kennebunkport, Maine/Trek Factory Racing) would take the holeshot on Sunday to enjoy clean air in front of the other 34 riders covered in a cloud of dust. A similar scenario to Saturday’s C1 race began to play out, with Rochette taking the front position halfway through the opening lap.

Rochette and Noble would safely negotiate Double Trouble on the first pass. Following in third position, Kaitie Keough (Colorado Springs, Colo./Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld) would fall in the serpentine climbing section on the banks of the New York State Barge Canal near the Genesee River. This same section would cause Keough to hit the dirt again on lap two.

Rochette opened an eight-second lead on the second lap over Keough, with Ruby West (Hamilton, Ont./Specialized – Tenspeed Hero) now riding third. Noble would take a spill and drop from third to seventh.

By lap three, Rochette drive on autopilot for a 30-second lead, having no trouble with Double Trouble. Keough and others would dismount to run part of that section. And on lap four, now two more circuits to go, Noble continued to power through the strung out field and pass Keough for second.

“It was a little bit different today,” Rochette explained about how the race progressed on Sunday. “In the first lap, Ellen got a tiny bit of a gap, so I was chasing back to her. As I was making the connection to her, she slid out in a corner on the first lap. That gave me the opportunity to go. I didn’t necessarily attack, but I just kept the pace that I was at and the gap opened there. I could see it (the gap) growing. For three or four laps I really pushed to open the gap. Then I was conservative to make sure I kept the gap.”

Without any more major mishaps, the Top 3 would finish in that order – Rochette, Noble and Keough. The winning time for Rochette was 48 minutes, 16 seconds.

“I’m super happy about that,” Rochette said about going two for two at Rochester Cyclocross. “I was trying not to think about it too much. I try to really focus on what I can execute and what I can control, and not think about the end result too much. That is what I did this weekend. I surprised myself. I’m happy with how things went.”

Noble would secure second place for a second day, 32 seconds back.

“It’s a little bit bittersweet,” Noble said about finishing second again on Sunday. “I had way better legs today, but I also had way more problems. I ended up crashing twice, unfortunately. It’s frustrating, but I’m really feeling confident going into the World Cups that with more speed work I’ll be ready to go. I regrouped and I was like ‘just go as hard as you possibly can until the race is over.’ And it ended up getting me into second, so I was pretty happy with that.”

A charging Keough would finish just six seconds behind Noble for third.

“I’m a little under the weather with a cold, so yesterday was a bit rough,” Keough said. Last year in the C2 race, Keough would edge Rochette for the victory. “Also just with it being just the first ‘cross race of the season and the first time I have raced in a while. It was getting the cobwebs out. Today was a lot better and I’m happy with it.”

In two weeks Telenet UCI Cyclocross World Cups will be hosted in the U.S. again at Waterloo, Wisc. (Sept. 23) and Iowa City, Iowa (Sept. 29). Rochette is excited about these competitions. “They (Kaitie and Ellen) are both super strong. I am so excited that the level of the U.S. women is so strong. Every weekend we have great battles. It prepares us better when we go to Europe or when we race with the Europeans. I love the state of the sport right now.”

Caroline Mani (Besacon, France/Van Dessel Factory Team) worked her way to fourth place and Erica Zaveta (Brevard, N.C./ Garneau-Easton Cycling) would finish fifth, the same positions they earned on Saturday.

Men’s Elite C2 Race — Hyde, the two-time U.S. Cyclocross National Champion, reigned supreme for a second day in a row, but not without a fight.

“The game plan for me was to go out as hard as I could and maintain that until I either exploded or won the race,” Hyde explained. “It was definitely faster than yesterday. We went hard today, from the gun. We kept that pace up and kept pushing it.”

Taking the reigns from the start, Hyde had multiple chasers in the early circuits of the eight-lap affair. With four laps to go, a sold foursome had made separation – Hyde, Kerry Werner (Birdsboro, Penn./Kona Maxxis Shimano), Gage Hecht (Parker, Colo./Alpha Bicycle Co./Groove Subaru) and Jeremy Powers (Southampton, Mass./Aspire Racing). From among the 33 other riders, a select group of three followed 15 seconds back – Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz, Calif./Santa Cruz/Donkey Label Racing), Lance Haidet (San Luis Obispo, Calif./Donnelly Sports) and Spencer Petrov (McKinney, Texas/Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld).

“It was a big group. We were changing up,” explained Hyde about the group of four pushing each other. “Guys were coming off, coming back and coming off. We never let up. I think there was some back patting, like ‘come on man, let’s do this, go hard.’ We all needed it. It was a great kick in the pants. It just worked out.

With three laps to go out of eight, the foursome had increased the lead to 30 seconds. Separation in the lead pack then took place with 1.5 laps to go, when Hyde and Powers powered up the stairs section. Powers made a big move and pushed into a higher gear on the final lap, not allowing Werner or Hecht to make up any time.

“I don’t think any of the guys were expecting me to do much,” the 36-year-old Powers said. “I think they all have results. I think I’m the guy that doesn’t have results (this year). I’m also the oldest guy. I might as well take advantage of that. I truly didn’t know where I was at fitness wise. When I decided with two to go that I would turn the screws as hard as I could, I didn’t know what would happen. Either I blow up and I go backwards, or these guys blow up and I go forward. Stephen was better in the final for sure. In the final lap he rode away. I couldn’t do anything else. He was worthy winner. Today was really hard.”

Both Hyde and Powers pedaled across the Full Moon Vista barriers in the final section of the course, and Hyde gained the few seconds that he needed to get a little gap. He would sprint to the win in a time of 56 minutes, 58 seconds. Powers improved on his seventh-place finish Saturday, scoring second overall, five seconds behind Hyde. Werner would round out the Top 3, finishing 16 seconds back, earning his second podium finish for the weekend. Last year in the C2 Elite Men’s race at Rochester Cyclocross, Werner topped Hyde for the top prize of the day.

“It was nice just to be up there racing,” Powers added. “Today was way better than yesterday. Yesterday, the bike just wasn’t dialed, things weren’t quite 100 percent. Today, I made some adjustments, rode things a little bit differently, and played my cards a little better. I’m very happy. If I had gotten first, or fourth, today I’d have been with the effort.”

Hecht and Petrov would finish in fourth and fifth, respectively. It was the same order of finish for the 21 year olds that they had in January’s U23 contest at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships. Jack Kisseberth (Westhampton, Mass./Garneau Easton p/b Transitions), who was fourth on Saturday, did not finish the C2 race due to illness.

Sept. 15-16 ProCX races continue in Breinigsville, Penn. After a one-year absence on the ProCX calendar, Nittany Lion Cross returns with two days of Category 2 events for Elite Women and Men. Now in its 13th year, Nittany Lion Cross also features two days of racing for Mid-Atlantic Cyclocross series. Online registration is open until 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Sept. 12.

Results

Men
1. Stephen Hyde (Cannondale P/B Cyclocrossworld.) 56:58
2. Jeremy Powers (Aspire Racing) 0:05
3. Kerry Werner Jr. (Kona Maxxis Shimano) 0:16
4. Gage Hecht (Alpha Bicycle Co./ Groove Subar) 0:22
5. Spencer Petrov (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.) 0:49
6. Brannan Fix (Alpha Bicycle Co.-Groove Subaru) 0:54
7. Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz / Donkey Label Racin) 1:08
8. Lance Haidet (Donnelly Sports) 1:34
9. James Driscoll (Pivot-Maxxis p/b Stans-DNA) 1:46
10. Cody Kaiser (LangeTwins / Specialized) 2:04
11. Bjorn Selander (Donkey Label/Bingham Built) 2:10
12. Yorben Van Tichelt (Neon Velo) 2:25
13. Andrew Dillman (SDG Factory Team) 2:35
14. Matthieu Boulo (Team Pays de Dinan) 2:52
15. Lane Maher (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld) 3:13
16. Troy Wells (Team CLIF BAR) 3:34
17. Trevor O’Donnell (Lakeside Storage Cyclocross) 3:40
18. Michael Owens (RSCX – House Ind – DWR – HM) 4:01
19. Derrick St John (Van Dessel p/b HyperThreads) 4:22
20. Daniel Chabanov (RSCX – House Ind – DWR – HM) 4:24
21. Andrew Borden (Your Name Here) 4:30
22. Sam O’Keefe (RSCX – House Ind – DWR – HM) 4:45
23. Brody Sanderson (AWI Racing P/B The Crank and Sp) 5:19
24. Scotty Albaugh (3T / Q+M) 5:57
25. Gregg Griffo (Park Ave Bike p/b Borah Teamwea) 6:24
26. Greg Gunsalus (RSCX – House Ind – DWR – HM) 6:58
27. Christian Sundquist (Twin Six Metal) 7:07
28. Joseph Thomas (S’Ville bikes/Giant Race Team) 7:18
29. Ian Gielar (JAM / NCC) 7:30
30. Daniel Fitzgibbons (GREEN LINE VELO driven by Zipca) 7:54
31. Cameron Jette 8:18
@2Lap Christian Ricci (Lakeside Storage/Bicycles Plus)
@2Lap Peter Mancini (Crank Studio)
@2Lap Edouard Tougas
@3Lap Erik Carlson (Hyperthreads/Apex/NBX)
@5Lap Spencer Perry (Ferretti Cycles)
DNF Jack Kisseberth (Garneau Easton p/b Transitions )
DNF Kevin Bouchard-Hall (Velocio Northeast)

Women
1. Maghalie Rochette (CXFever p/b Specialized) 48:16
2. Ellen Noble (Trek Factory Racing) 0:32
3. Kaitlin Keough (Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld) 0:38
4. Caroline Mani 1:17
5. Erica Zaveta (Garneau-Easton Cycling) 1:29
6. Rebecca Fahringer (Kona Maxxis Shimano) 1:45
7. Jenn Jackson (AWI Racing) 2:09
8. Crystal Anthony (LIV Cycling) 2:15
9. Raylyn Nuss (Maplewood Bicycle) 3:02
10. Arley Kemmerer (Fearless Femme Racing) 3:04
11. Ruby West (Specialized – Tenspeed Hero) 3:15
12. Jennifer Malik (Carpe Diem Racing) 3:38
13. Sarah Sturm (Specialized/ Ten Speed Hero) 3:42
14. Cassandra Maximenko (Van Dessel Factory Team) 3:48
15. Kim Hurst (Cowbell Coaching/Niner NZ) 4:08
16. Natasha Elliott (Van Dessel p/b HyperThreads) 4:16
17. Amanda Nauman (SDG – Muscle Monster) 4:36
18. Natalie Tapias (JAM / NCC) 5:14
19. Erica Leonard (Highgate Racing) 5:22
20. Emily Shields (Amy D. Foundation) s.t.
21. Rachel Rubino (Fearless Femme Racing) 5:55
22. Luarel Rathbun (Donnelly Sports) 5:59
23. Natascha Piciga (Giant Toronto Pb Liv) 6:06
24. Turner Ramsay (Alpha Bicycle Company – Groove ) 6:14
25. Brittlee Bowman (RSCX – House Ind – DWR – HM) 6:22
26. Alexandra Campbellforte (Vanderkitten Entourage Racing/V) 6:24
27. Elizabeth Sheldon (CXHAIRS Devo) 6:26
28. Kelly Paduch (Rocktown Bicycles) 7:11
29. Kelly Lawson 7:26
30. Leslie Lupien 7:42
@2Lap Anna Savage (JAM Fund / NCC)
@2Lap Madeline Smith (NYCROSS)
DNF Erin Faccone
DNF Siobhan Kelly (Black Dog Racing)
DNF Taryn Mudge (Fearless Femme Racing)
DNS Julie Hunter (Mapleworks Coaching)