Sanne Cant won Saturday’s Elite Women’s race after a tough battle against Katie Compton, Evie Richards won the U23 Women’s race despite a slow start and a mid-race mechanical.
Corey Coogan Cisek joined the Cyclocross Magazine team to provide on-the-ground coverage from the Cauberg all weekend. She got the full Worlds experience in the media scrum after the races and came away with some of the riders’ thoughts about their races.
Post-race quotes from Cant, Compton and Richards are collected below.
Sanne Cant – Elite Women World Champion
Sanne Cant celebrates her second-straight Worlds win. Elite Women. 2018 UCI Cyclocross World Championships, Valkenburg-Limburg, The Netherlands. © Bart Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
2017 versus 2018?
“I think it’s difficult to compare. Last year it was a battle with Marianne Vos, but this year it was with Katie Compton. She also deserved to win. She also rides from September until the end of the season. She’s really really strong, but I am happy I can keep this nice jersey.”
Was she ever relaxed?
“It was really frightening until the end. If you made a mistake, the gap was small. I was happy when I saw the finish line.”
Did she expect to win?
“I don’t believe it now. It’s really nice. I think I’m going to sleep in the jersey tonight.”
Katie Compton – Elite Women Second Place
Katie Compton finds her line on one of the many muddy off-cambers. Elite Women. 2018 UCI Cyclocross World Championships, Valkenburg-Limburg, The Netherlands. © Bart Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
What was it like racing against Sanne Cant?
“I know Sanne, I know how hard she races and how bad she wants to win. She’s really strong at the end of races. There’s always a chance when we’re going back and forth that way, but she was faster at the end. She was stronger. I struggled a bit on the running, and then I just got tired. I did the best I could, and second was what I could do today.”
Thoughts on the running?
“There was more running than I wanted. I would have liked a little more variety because I’m better at that. But you know, it’s a ’cross race. Sometimes there’s running, sometimes there’s riding sand, mud, dry, you gotta do it all. I’m fairly consistent at a lot of courses, just apparently not the best at this one.”
Do you wish you did something different about pitting?
“I lost a little bit of time coming into the pit one time when Sanne didn’t. She closed up the gap there. That was kind of frustrating. But I think we were changing them pretty consistently. I was changing every half lap or at least every lap. The bikes were getting heavy and muddy and rocks were getting in the shifting. I was losing a little bit of the gearing. The conditions were so tough. The fact the electronic shifting works in those conditions is pretty amazing.”
Evie Richards – U23 Women World Champion
Evie Richards, World Champ again. U23 Women. 2018 UCI Cyclocross World Championships, Valkenburg-Limburg, The Netherlands. © Bart Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
Was there pressure on her?
“I didn’t get to bed until about four this morning. I’ve been going through the moment for so long. It’s completely different than [two years ago]. I put the pressure on myself, and that’s the way it should be; I’m a professional cyclist now and that’s my job. Yeah, the pressure should be on me.”
What was she thinking after her early trouble?
“I was like, come on Evie, get yourself together. You need to concentrate now. I dug deep and then got to the front where I wanted to be, away from any crashes and everything. Then I was in my zone, as you could say.”
Were you excited to have Harriet Harnden behind you?
“Hattie is an amazing rider, and I was so pleased when I heard she was behind me. I’m just gutted she missed out on a medal. She’s a first-year and it’s amazing how well she’s riding.”
For more from Valkenburg-Limburg, see our dedicated 2018 Cyclocross World Championships page.
