When the dust cleared, reigning U.S. Cyclocross National Champion Stephen Hyde (Easthampton, Mass./Cannondale p/b Cyclocross-World.com) had secured the lead in the ProCX men’s individual standings and Maghalie Rochette (St-Jerome,Quebec/CLIF Pro Team) had a narrow one-point margin to sit on top of the ProCX women’s individual standings.
Hyde won the C1 contest on Saturday in a three-man sprint, which included Begian rider Rob Peeters (Pauwels Sauzen-Vastgoedservic) and Jeremy Powers (Southampton, Mass./Aspire Racing). Peeters finished second and Powers, who won this same C1 race last year, settled for third. In the C2 race, Hyde again out-dueled Peeters to the line, but this time for second and third places, respectively. Kerry Werner (Birdsboro, Penn./Kona Factory CX Team) made an aggressive move with two laps to go and held on to a two-second margin over Hyde to win on Sunday.
In the ProCX men’s standings, Peeters is 19 points behind Hyde in second place. Powers is in third position and Werner is in fifth. The fourth-place spot is held by 19-year-old Spencer Petrov (Mason, Ohio/Aspire Racing), who had strong showings in Rochester with back-to-back fourth place showings.
“This is a long course and you have to play your cards right. It’s taken me a lot of tries to get my hand correct,” said Hyde about his first win at Rochester Cyclocross. “This was a good start for me. It’s a good mental kick for me, and good for the ego.”
The elite women’s races were both fast and furious at Rochester Cyclocross, with Rochette securing two second-place finishes. This was enough to give her the edge in the ProCX standings over Ellen Noble (Kennebunkport, Maine/Aspire Racing). Noble took her first-ever C1 crown in the elite women’s contest on Saturday, but fell off the podium for the C2 event. In the Sunday race, Rochette attacked and took the lead on the final lap, but had a mechanical over the barriers which allowed Kaitlin Keough (Racine, Wisc./Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld.com) to launch her winning attack.
With two podium finishes at Rochester Cyclocross, Keough is third in the ProCX standings, just seven points behind Rochette. Consistent performances by Emma White (Delanson, N.Y./ Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld.com) and Crystal Anthony (Newberry Park, Calif./Maxxis Shimano Pro Cyclocross) have them rounding out the Top Five, White in fourth and Anthony in fifth.
“It feels really good to come out and win the season opener,” Noble said about her first C1 win on Saturday in Rochester. “The main objective was to stay calm, cool and collected.I felt super smooth and dailed in with all my lines. That allowed me to stay really calm.”
ProCX continues Sept. 15-16 as part of the Jingle Cross Cyclo-Cross Festival in Iowa City, Iowa and Sept. 20 at Clif Bar CrossVegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. All three events will be held under the lights. Jingle Cross hosts both C1 and C2 contests, while Clif Bar CrossVegas is C1 only.
USA Cycling ProCX features the premier cyclocross events in America and uses an overall ranking system to determine the best individual male and female ‘cross racers over the course of the season. The ProCX calendar includes 43 UCI-inscripted Category 1 and Category 2 races in the country. To learn more about USA Cycling, visit usacycling.org, and follow Pro CX all season on Twitter - @USACProCX (#ProCX).