COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Nov. 14, 2017) — The 10th week of competitions on the Professional Cyclocross Calendar (ProCX) bisected the country with two distinctive events, the Verge Northampton International presented by Cycle-Smart in Massachusetts and the Cyntergy Hurtland in Oklahoma. In its 27th year, the Verge Northampton International served up two days of racing for Elite Women and Men that were dominated by teammates with Cannondale presented by Cyclocrossworld.com. The Cyntergy Hurtland one-day event entered its third year and featured two athletes who made captured their first ProCX titles of the season.
Tabulating results from both parts of the U.S. resulted in slight changes in the Top 10 for Elite Women and Elite Men. However, Kaitie Keough (Racine, Wisc./Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com) and Stephen Hyde (Easthampton, Mass./Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) remained on top of the overall standings.
With back-to-back C2 wins in Northampton, Emma White (Delanson, N.Y./Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) overtook Ellen Noble (Kennebunkport, Maine/Aspire Racing) by a slim six points to take over the second spot in the ProCX standings for Elite Women. Noble, now in third place, did not compete this past weekend in ProCX events.
“I’ve been racing this race since I was nine years old. I love coming here, so it’s special to come back,” said White, who is from nearby Delanson, N.Y. and has family in the Northampton, Mass. area. “It is such a rooty course, a rocky course. You want to be cautious in some of the corners. I just wanted to keep it clean. So, I went really hard in all the power sections.”
Caroline Mani (Besancon, France/Van Dessel/ Atom Composites) added her first ProCX win of the year to her resume, taking the victory Nov. 12 at Cyntergy Hurtland. She remained in fourth position overall in the ProCX standings, with Crystal Anthony (Newbury Park, Calif./Maxxis-Shimano) in fifth place. And with two podium finishes in Northampton, Rebecca Fahringer (Concord, N.H./Stan’s NoTubes p/b Maxxis/gofahr) moved up one spot in the standings to sixth. Keough and White’s 18-year-old teammate Ruby West (Hamilton, Ont.) was the big mover, jumping eight positions (now 26 overall) with second and fourth-place finishes at Verge Northampton International.
“I am really happy I came. The course is awesome,” said Mani after her win at Cyntergy Hurtland, which offered one of the largest, single-day payouts for elite riders in a C2 race this year. “Pushing the prize money is a big deal. You know, us racers we complain about prize money. So I wanted to support that because it’s a C2 and a pretty big deal.”
For the Elite Men, the Top 10 saw a little reshuffling in the ProCX standings. In addition to Hyde, Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz, Calif./Santa Cruz/Donkey Label Racing), Kerry Werner (Birdsboro, Penn./Kona Factory CX Team) and Spencer Petrov (Mason, Ohio/Aspire Racing) did not compete this weekend and remained in the Top Five. Jeremy Powers (Southampton, Mass./Aspire Racing) moved past Petrov into the fourth slot in the standings with a fifth place finish on Nov. 12 at Northampton. Powers and Petrov are separated by five points.
Another 26 points behind Petrov is a surging Curtis White (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com), who moves from seventh to sixth in the standings. White, like his sister, swept the C2 Verge Northampton International races. He outdistanced teammate Hyde on day one in Northampton, then rode solo for the win on the second day.
“(Saturday) was more like motor pacing. It was great watching Stephen’s (Hyde) lines the whole day and I definitely learned a lot. Today was just focusing on my race and riding as smooth as I could. I really tried to ramp it up the last two laps, kind of make sure all the efforts I made were really sharp and punchy,” added White about is double wins, a feat he accomplished in 2016 as well at that event.
In Tulsa on Sunday, the Elite Men’s race was a see-saw battle between Cody Kaiser (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Lange Twins/Specialized) and hometown-favorite Skyler Mackay (Tulsa, Okla./KCCX Team). The eight-lap battle went down to a final move to the front by Kaiser through an off camber section and steps. Kaiser moves from 12th in the standings to a tie for 10th with Anthony Clark (Feeding Hills, Mass./Squid Squad). Clark finished fourth and fifth in two races at Northampton.
“Today’s race at Hurtland in Tulsa was awesome,” said Kaiser on Sunday about his first ProCX win of the season.“We got off to a pretty rippin’ start, and then basically from two or three turns in, Skyler and I started throwing punches at each other. All in all a great, great race. I was really stoked to be able to come down and make it happen.”
Vittoria Northeast Cyclocross Series
The Vittoria Northeast Cyclocross Series presented by Clif Bar and Cycle-Smart is made up of four premier event weekends in the Northeast that attract national and international caliber athletes to compete for an overall leader jerseys. Both professional and amateur athletes compete throughout the fall in Gloucester, Mass., Northampton, Mass., Suffern, N.Y., and Warwick, R.I. These races are also part of ProCX. The next two rounds of Vittoria Series events will be at Supercross Cup in Suffern, N.Y. (Nov. 18-19) and NBX Gran Prix of ‘Cross in Warwick, R.I. (Dec. 2-3). Curtis and Emma White lead the elite categories after four races.
ProCX Week 11
The next weekend for ProCX points, Nov. 18-19, will be jam packed with 18 races at three different Category 2 events across the U.S. The Supercross Cup will be held in Suffern, N.Y. It is the third of four stops on the Vittoria Northeast Cyclocross Series. Racing and a full course of family activities will be hosted for a second consecutive year at Rockland Community College.
Racing in Indianapolis, Ind. will return to the Indy Cycloplex for the 2017 Major Taylor ‘Cross Cup. In addition to ProCX points for Elite Women and Men, there will be competitions for Junior 17-18 Men. It is also a stop for the Ohio Valley Cyclocross (OVCX) Series event.
And on the West Coast, the weekend of cyclocross in the Los Angeles area has a new name and a new home. MoVal CX (Moreno Valley) will be held at March Field Park, neighboring March Air Reserve Base. The event is co-hosted by the City of Moreno Valley Recreation and Parks and SoCalCross. Categories will feature ProCX points for U23 Men as well as Junior 17-18 Men, Elite Women and Elite Men.
USA Cycling’s 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 2017 ProCX schedule provides a total of 40 race days across 18 states and the District of Columbia. For information on the ProCX, visit www.usacycling.org/procx/. Follow Pro CX all season on Twitter - @USACProCX (#ProCX).
