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The past two weeks were good to a number of U.S. racers. Ellen Noble (Trek Factory Racing CX) finished second at World Cup Waterloo and Kaitie Keough (Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld) won Saturday’s Jingle Cross World Cup.

The two races, however, were not kind to a number of athletes who were struck by illness and bad luck. Readers have probably been wondering about some of the names missing from the results sheets, so for today’s Rumors and Rumblings, we have health and injury updates for Stephen Hyde, Courtenay McFadden, Jeremy Powers, Spencer Petrov and Drew Dillman.

Hyde Out 4-6 Weeks with Broken Sternum

Stephen Hyde (Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld) had a fast start at last Sunday’s World Cup Waterloo, but he was taken out early in the first lap when another rider crashed on a fast off-camber. Last week, we reported that he would miss the Jingle Cross World Cup.

Earlier this week, Hyde got an official prognosis. He broke his sternum in the crash and will miss 4-6 weeks of racing while it heals.

Hyde’s timeline likely means he will be out until after the Pan-American Championships—a race he has won the last two years.

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Well, it's official. Broken sternum. Strained muscles in my chest and shoulders. I've had a lot of falls and this one really takes the cake. Thanks to everyone who have reached out and offered support. You guys rule. For now it looks like 4-6 weeks out of the game. I can ride the trainer in short spurts for now and looking forward to watching all of Trailer Park Boys from season 1. My head is up and healing has started. I've got a great crew around me and of course the ever supportive @haysnail has been my angel. In order to get a lot of healing done as fast as possible I am going to take a quick break from social. I have a lot of time to spend and it shouldn't be constantly staring at my phone. Anyways. I love you all and cannot wait to get back to work with my team. They've all been so amazingly supportive and keep doing their jobs like the pros they are. Cheers. . . . . . . . . . . . @ridecannondale @cannondaleroad @girocycling @sramroad @zippspeed @fabriccycling @quarqofficial @cyclocrossworld @cdalecxworld @thule @feedbacksports @chilmarkcoffeecompany @aj_vcgraphix @horsteng @weathertech @julbousa @julbo_eyewear @skratchlabs @vittoriatires @wahoofitnessofficial @castellicycling

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McFadden Out with Hip Injury

While establishing herself as one of the top riders in the U.S., Courtenay McFadden (Pivot Cycles/Maxxis p/b Stan’s/DNA Cycling) has quietly suffered through hip pain. After Worlds in 2017, she had surgery on one of her hips (Hip 2.0). After the 2018 Worlds in Valkenburg, she had surgery on her other hip (Hip 2.0 2.0).

McFadden crashed before RenoCross while training and re-injured her hip. She raced at World Cup Waterloo but skipped the Jingle Cross World Cup due to the pain and a loss of confidence.

McFadden wrote about her recent injury on her blog (it’s worth reading). In her post, she said that she will be taking a break for a while before returning to race.

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This is why I have a team. Last Saturday I crashed really hard on my mountain bike on my most recent hip surgery side. I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t pedal a bike. I cried, it hurt a lot. I didn’t know if I messed my hip up. I ended up with a pretty big hematoma on my lateral quad. I did everything I knew to help my quad, but walking was still a struggle when I was in Reno. I sat the race out so I could rest some more. The hematoma got better but walking has still been painful. I went into the World Cup today knowing it wasn’t going to be pretty, but it was so much worse than I thought. My left leg had no power, no strength and I struggled hard. I worked really hard this summer to rehab my hip and get my fitness back to race pace. I felt like I was on a really good track, until the crash. I’m frustrated at myself, I’m deeply saddened, but when I look at this photo I know I have the best team behind me to support my endeavors. I don’t cry often, I hold a pretty strong exterior shell, but these people right here warm my heart. 💕 #teamworkmakesthedreamwork #pivotmaxxiscx #pivotvault #maxxistires #onlystans #dnacycling @pivot_cyclesusa @maxxisbike @stansnotubes @dnacycling @eastoncycling 📸 @thepenultimatestage

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Jeremy Powers Contracts Bizarre Illness

Another name missing the past two weeks was that of Jeremy Powers (Pactimo Fuji SRAM). Powers raced well in Rochester, including a second-place finish on Sunday, but then got ill right before RenoCross.

Via Instagram, Powers announced that he contracted retropharyngeal cellulitis, which is a bacterial infection, in his mouth. After missing RenoCross and the two U.S. World Cups, Powers said he is 50/50 to race this weekend at Charm City.

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Little bit of bad news to share with everyone today about this coming week of racing. Unfortunately I caught some bad luck over the last weekend and after a trip to the ER I was diagnosed with a “retropharyngeal cellulitis” in my mouth. (Lucky me 😁) I have no idea how I’ve got it as I’ve never had any problems like this in the past. There’s still a possibility I can race Iowa, WC. But that’s in the air until my body is back at 100% and I can start training again daily. I want to apologize to @crossreno for not being able to come out tonight. I really wanted to be there for the event. And unfortunately @trekcxcup is also going to be a DNS. The good news is, I am getting better with antibiotic, today’s been the best day since this all started, I’m grateful for that!! I’ll see everyone soon. To all my friends racing and spectating, Enjoy it (good luck) and see you all soon! 📸 @bruce_buckley

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Spencer Petrov Recovering from Concussion

Spencer Petrov (Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld) also missed both World Cup races. Petrov suffered a concussion in a crash on Day 1 of Rochester.

Petrov was with his new team during the Waterloo weekend but was back at home during Jingle Cross. As of now, he is not expected to race this weekend, and given the danger of head injuries, his return to racing is uncertain right now.

Drew Dillman Suffers Broken Hand in Waterloo

During Friday’s Trek CX Cup C2, Drew Dillman (SDG-Muscle Monster) had a monster ride, finishing just outside a field loaded with Euros.

On Sunday, Dillman was running well until he ran into a metal post, breaking his hand. Dillman is now resigned to the trainer for the next two weeks and then hopefully a quick return to the bike.

Get Well Soon!

We wish all the cyclocrossers facing injury and illness a speedy recovery. Hopefully we will see everyone back to full health on the cyclocross course soon.

Featured image: Robert Clark