Rochette wins elite women's race at Canadian Cyclo-cross Championships
Jackson and Walter complete podium
Maghalie Rochette (Specialized/Feedback Sports) mastered the conditions to defend her elite titles at the Canadian cyclo-cross Championships on Saturday, in Peterborough, Ontario.
The women's race came down to a battle between Rochette and last year's silver medallist, the mountain biker Jenn Jackson (AWI Racing p/b The Crank and Sprocket). Last year, Rochette immediately rode Jackson off her wheel to win by 1:34, but in this year's race, she struggled to distance herself from her rival, and Jackson even gapped Rochette on the second lap.
Rochette finally opened a gap on the third lap and eventually won by 38 seconds, but she admitted that Jackson pushed her all race. Sandra Walter (LIV Cycling Canada) took third.
"It was a hard day today," said Rochette. "I knew Jenn would come out firing today and she really did. She brought a solid battle which really brought the best out of me. I had to ride hard to shake her. I stayed pretty calm [when she got a gap]. I've been working on that, so I let her go in front for a bit and used this opportunity to recover a bit. So I stayed calm, but I also realized that if I wanted to win, I had to do it from the front, so I quickly went back to the front and tried to put the pressure from there."
Pos. | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Maghalie Rochette (Can) | 0:49:31 |
2 | Jennifer Jackson (Can) | 0:00:38 |
3 | Sandra Walter (Can) | 0:03:24 |
4 | Siobhan Kelly (Can) | 0:08:01 |
5 | Jodi Wendland (Can) | |
6 | Natascha Piciga (Can) | |
7 | Emily Lafleche (Can) |
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