Cyclocross racers got their first look at the venue that will host the 2018 U.S. Cyclocross Nationals on Saturday at the Derby City Cup and by all reports, the course is a good one. Joe Creason Park in Louisville featured a combination of technical features and climbing that made Saturday’s winners work for their wins.
In the Junior Men’s race, Ben Gomez-Villafane (Top Club Cyclocross) narrowly beat out his best friend Alex Morton (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) in a memorable battle between the two future stars.
Katie Compton (KFC Racing p/b Trek/Knight Composites) showed no signs of her journey from Europe in the Elite Women’s race and escaped a challenge from US Cup-CX winner Kaitie Keough (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) to win ahead of her Pan-American Championship defense on Sunday.
Stephen Hyde (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) came into Louisville on a three-race win streak and made it number four after Gage Hecht’s (Alpha Bicycle – Vista Subaru) challenge was ended by a flat.
Winner interviews from the three UCI races are below. Stay tuned for more interviews from Saturday’s racing at Joe Creason Park.
Junior Men: Ben Gomez-Villafane
Elite Women: Katie Compton
Elite Men: Stephen Hyde
Stay tuned for our continuing coverage of the weekend at Joe Creason Park in Louisville.
