Compton Attacks Early to Win at Derby City, Keough Takes Home US Cup-CX Prize – Report, Results

After six climbs of the Koppenberg on Wednesday, one could forgive Katie Compton (KFC Racing p/n Trek/Knight Composites) if she was tired of climbing and wanted to sit out Saturday’s race after getting a glimpse of the course at Joe Creason Park. Never one to miss a good race, Compton headed to the start line for the Derby City Cup C2 and prepared to tackle a course that features three slow, boggy slogs in each of the laps of the Women’s race.

Saturday’s race was also the last of the seven-race US Cup-CX series. Kaitie Keough (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) came into the race with a nearly insurmountable lead in the chase for the overall prize, but there was still the potential reward of making it clear she is the deserving winner of the first U.S. cyclocross series since the USGP folded in 2012.

After over an inch of rain on Friday, conditions at Joe Creason were still muddy in the morning dampness, but the fog gave way to sun in the early afternoon and the course began to tack up. The course was still technical with a ton of climbing and there was work to be done to win the race.

Saturday’s course at Joe Creason Park was still heavy even though the sun was out. 2017 Derby City Cup. © D. Perker / Cyclocross Magazine

Compton said the work was not easy. “It was a really heavy course. It may not look that muddy, but it rode really heavy, so I felt like we were racing in slow-motion because I wanted to go faster, but the conditions didn’t allow that.”

After racing in Europe for the last month, Compton was likely very at home on a course that had a Belgian feel. Keough and the others had their work cut out to knock off Compton at a race that served as a preview of the 2018 U.S. Cyclocross Nationals.

The women head out onto the course for the UCI C2 race at Derby City. 2017 Derby City Cup. © D. Perker / Cyclocross Magazine

Compton Moves Early

Maghalie Rochette (Clif Pro Team) had a strong start to the US Cup-CX series, but gave up a chance to vie for the top prizes when she raced at Canadian Nationals last weekend. Rochette was back in the U.S. for Derby City and ready to get back to the hard racing the US Cup-CX series has engendered thus far. Rochette went out fast and led riders to the flyover for the first time.

Maghalie Rochette goes high on the off-camber while leading the first lap. 2017 Derby City Cup. © D. Perker / Cyclocross Magazine

The second half of the course at Joe Creason featured three climbs. The first led to the off-camber and stair technical features, the second had a steep muddy climb into a long incline on pavement and the third led out of the section toward the finish line.

When the front group hit the pavement on the second climb, Compton decided it was time to go. She pulled to the front and made the rest of the field decide if they were going to chase her. On this afternoon, Compton was showing no fatigue from the Koppenberg and the long plane ride to Louisville.

Katie Compton pushed the pace on the first-lap climbs and established a gap with Kaitie Keough. 2017 Derby City Cup. © D. Perker / Cyclocross Magazine

Riders tried to chase her up the third of the three climbs, but Compton stayed on the gas past the pit on the recovery. Only Keough could go with her.

Kaitie Keough and Maghalie Rochette try to chase Katie Compton up the last climb out of the valley. 2017 Derby City Cup. © D. Perker / Cyclocross Magazine

By the time the lead duo hit the stairs on the lap two, their lead back to third was 20 seconds. Behind them, Rochette, Ellen Noble (Aspire Racing), Emma White (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com) and Crystal Anthony (Maxxis Shimano) grouped up to chase.

Compton and Keough on a hilly course? For a moment it brought back memories of Day 1 of Jingle Cross, where Compton and Keough battled into the night in Iowa City before Keough ultimately took the top honors.

Thie corner after the off-camber became increasingly difficult to ride as the day wore on. 2017 Derby City Cup. © D. Perker / Cyclocross Magazine

On Saturday, there would be no rematch. Compton pushed climb two and opened a gap. She kept pushing up the third climb and again applied the power through the recovery. Her lead was nine seconds after two laps, and when she hit the flyover for lap three, her lead was almost double that.

“She was a bit stronger than me today,” said Keough about her battle against Compton. “I tried, but we have Pan-Ams to race tomorrow and I’ll give it a go and try again. It was a good one.”

Kaitie Keough opted to run the off-camber en route to a second-place finish. 2017 Derby City Cup. © D. Perker / Cyclocross Magazine

On the eve of the Pan-American Championships, Compton was on her way to reminding fans and the field that the jersey is hers to lose on Sunday.

“I was just trying to maintain and be smooth,” said Compton. “I was enjoying the downhills. I was trying to save something for tomorrow because it’s going to be another hard day. I’m pretty sure we will ride a similar course. It’s hard to gauge your effort and still keep pushing so you don’t do something dumb and lose your lead but also not go too deep and make it too hard of a day for Sunday’s race.”

Katie Compton celebrates her win on Saturday. 2017 Derby City Cup. © D. Perker / Cyclocross Magazine

Keough’s consolation prize for the afternoon was a second-place finish and the $12,500 prize for winning the US Cup-CX series. Keough led the in the series standings for all seven races after she took the first two races at the KMC Cross Fest.

Kaitie Keough celebrates her second-place finish and US Cup-CX win. 2017 Derby City Cup. © D. Perker / Cyclocross Magazine

And what is she going to spend the cash prize on? “It’s going toward our garage fund,” said Keough. “We’re trying to build a new garage, so it will be a nice addition to the budget.”

A Fluid Battle for Third

Once Compton and Keough were gone in lap 2, an exciting and fluid, battle for third took shape. The early aggressor was Noble, who rode the stairs on lap two and picked up three or four seconds on Anthony and White. After the fast start, Rochette began to fade a bit as the climbs took their brutal toll.

Ellen Noble pushed the pace in the chase group early on. 2017 Derby City Cup. © D. Perker / Cyclocross Magazine

Noble had a gap, but Anthony quickly erased it on the next two climbs and took over third exiting the valley of the three climbs. It was her turn to be the aggressor. At the end of lap two, Anthony had seven seconds on White and Noble.

Anthony has been a consistent top five to six finisher during the last several years, but she has not won a UCI race since 2015. First was gone when Compton decided to go, but she still had a chance to grab a podium spot against a very impressive field going for it all in the finale of the US Cup-CX field. A third would be a great result for one of the most consistent riders in cyclocross.

Crystal Anthony turned in an impressive ride for third on Saturday. 2017 Derby City Cup. © D. Perker / Cyclocross Magazine

Noble is known for her technical prowess, and on the third lap, she made sure to take advantage of her skills. Sshe pulled to the front into the valley to set her own pace. The move paid off, and she opened up a sizeable gap back to Anthony. The Maxxis Shimano rider closed some time on the climbs again, but Noble was still in a good position with eight seconds heading into the penultimate lap. However, out on the course, conditions were heavy and the race was in flux. Nothing was decided.

Ellen Noble drops into a descent. 2017 Derby City Cup. © D. Perker / Cyclocross Magazine

During the second lap, Noble pounced and exploited her advantage through the technical features. On lap four, it was Anthony’s turn to put the pressure on her fellow New Englander. Anthony regained the advantage on the first climb and was the first to the off-camber section in the shadows of the Joe Creason Park mansion.

The exit from the off-camber section was a right-hand turn at a steep climb. The feature got increasingly rutted and rooty throughout the race and by the time the women hit the course, the feature was a challenge for even the Elites to ride.

On this lap, Noble struggled on her remount after the feature as Anthony pressed her advantage. Then the stairs that had giveth Noble a multi-second advantage during lap two, taketh away when she got held up on the third of the small hops. Anthony now had some breathing room in tussle that had been in flux since lap one. Her gap back to Noble was 11 seconds.

Once clear of Noble, third belonged to Anthony. The podium was her second UCI podium of the season after she finished third at Day 2 of Gloucester.

Crystal Anthony was exhausted after finishing third. 2017 Derby City Cup. © D. Perker / Cyclocross Magazine

As Noble made her way up and down the valley, the threat to her wheel changed hues from White’s bright green to the blue, white and red of Caroline Mani’s Van Dessel / Atom Composites kit. After a slow start, Mani came to life in the second half of the race and began picking off riders one by one. On the penultimate climb out of the valley, she caught Noble and then just kept going.

Caroline Mani came on strong late in the race to finish fourth. 2017 Derby City Cup. © D. Perker / Cyclocross Magazine

During the last lap, Mani’s charge began to threaten Anthony’s hold on third. She closed some of the gap on the final climb of the final lap, but it would prove to be too little, too late. She settled for fourth and Noble took fifth.

Caroline Mani takes a minute after finishing fourth. 2017 Derby City Cup. © D. Perker / Cyclocross Magazine

Saturday’s race marked the end of the seven-race US Cup-CX series. Keough took the overall first-place prize and the accompanying $12,500. White took home $3,000 for second and Noble $2,000 for third.

Kaitie Keough, Emma White and Ellen Noble took home checks for finishing in the top three in the US Cup-CX series. 2017 Derby City Cup. © D. Perker / Cyclocross Magazine

Stay tuned to Cyclocross Magazine for the continuing coverage of the 2017 Derby City Cup. 

2017 Derby City Cup, Louisville, Saturday Results - Elite Women