Canadian cyclo-cross racers head to their national cyclo-cross championships held in downtown Winnipeg in the province of Manitoba on October 25.
The event is part of a three-day cyclo-cross festival, which takes place at The Forks from October 24 to 26. The weekend will start with the Kick Cancer Cyclo-cross Derby on Friday, the Canadian cyclo-cross championships on Saturday and the Manitoba Grand Prix of Cycloc-ross on Sunday.
Some of the riders that will be racing in the event include five-time cyclo-cross champion Geoff Kabush (Scott-3RoxRacing), Aaron Schooler (H&R Block), Michael van den Ham (Trek Red Truck), who won the under-23 race title last year, and Evan McNeely (Norco).
In the women’s race, defending champion Catharine Pendrel (Luna) will take the start line alongside her teammate Maghalie Rochette. Pendrel won her second mountain bike world title this summer.
Americans turn heads in Valkenburg
American cyclo-cross champions Katie Compton (Trek Factory Racing) and Jeremy Powers (Aspire Racing) turned heads at the World Cup opener in Valkenburg, Netherlands on Sunday. Compton won the elite women’s race and Powers pushed for a ninth-place finish in the elite men’s race.
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Compton is aiming to defend her World Cup title and win the World Championship title. She is off to a promising start taking the victory in the women’s race ahead of Helen Wyman (Kona) and Sophie de Boer (Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team).
“It's always good to win the first one,” Compton said.
Compton’s compatriots Elle Anderson also had a strong race, finishing fifth while Arley Kemmerer finished 11th.
Powers arrived in Valkenburg fresh off a winning streak in the US cyclo-cross scene. He showed his strength on the world-class stage finishing ninth place, 1:10 minutes behind the winner Lars van de Haar (Development Team Giant-Shimano). Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Napoleon) was second and Corné van Kassel (Telenet-Fidea) was third.
Jonathan Page (Fuji-Spyoptics) damaged his bike on the first lap and finished two laps down. Gavin Haley finished 12th and Lance Haidet 20th in the junior men’s race.
The World Cup series includes six rounds and moves on to Koksijde in Belgium on November 22, Milton Keynes in Great Britain on November 29, Namur in Belgium on December 21, Heusden-Zolder in Belgium on December 26 and Hoogerheide in the Netherlands on January 25.
Van Amerongen claims Kiremko Nacht van Woerden
Lars van der Haar (Development Team Giant-Shimano) may have played the winning hand in the Valkenburg World Cup on Sunday but by Tuesday it was Thijs Van Amerongen (Telenet-Fidea) taking the win at the UCI C2 Kiremko Nacht van Woerden in the Netherlands. Van Amerongen won the elite men’s race alone ahead of runner-up van der Haar and Corné Van Kessel was third.
Ellen Van Loy took the win in the elite women's race ahead of Katie Compton in second and Helen Wyman in third.
Dodge takes double wins in HPCX
Cameron Dodge (Pure Energy) had a breakout weekend at the HPCX in Jamesburg, New Jersey on Saturday and Sunday, winning both elite men’s C2 races. Laura Van Gilder won the first round of the elite women’s races and Cassandra Maximenko secured the win on the second day.
The Pro CX series heads to Missouri
USA Cycling’s Professional Cyclo-cross Series heads to St. Louis, Missouri for the Gateway Cross Cup held on October 25-26, both are C2 events. Jeremy Powers (Aspire Racing) and Katie Compton (Trek Factory Racing) are currently leading the series standings.
Men’s standings: Jeremy Powers (Aspire Racing) - 638 James Driscoll (Raleigh-Clement) - 412 Cameron Dodge (Pure Energy) - 393 Ben Berden (Raleigh-Clement) - 372 Lukas Winterberg (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld) - 368
