Start Lists: 2019 Rochester Cyclocross UCI C1/C2 Weekend

With C1s in the U.S. hard to come by in 2019, this weekend’s Rochester Cyclocross “first day of school” has taken on increased importance in 2019. Not surprisingly, the start lists reflect the race’s designation and calendar placement a week before the Jingle Cross World Cup.

The weekend’s racing takes place at Genesee Valley Park and features a UCI C1 on Saturday and C2 on Sunday. Some riders opted to kick off their season at GO Cross in Roanoke, while a number of the top North American riders and some European guests have targeted the Upstate New York race to start their respective seasons.

We take a quick look at start lists for the weekend’s Elite races (via bikereg.com, as of 9/4, 11:00 p.m. EDT).

This year’s C1s are a go at Rochester Cyclocross this weekend. 2018 Rochester Cyclocross. © Bruce Buckley

Elite Women

The Elite Women’s field is a good one, with 7 of the top 10 finishers at U.S. Nationals and two Canadian National Champions—Elite champ Maghalie Rochette (Specialized / Feedback Sports) and U23 champ Ruby West (Pivot – Maxxis p/b Stan’s NoTubes) joining the field. Add in U.S. U23 National Champion Clara Honsinger (Team S&M CX) and Junior 15-16 National Champ Lauren Zoerner (Alpha Bicycle – Groove Subaru) and it is quite literally a star (and stripes … and leaf) studded field.

Top U.S. riders missing from the Louisville honor roll are Katie Compton (KFC Racing p/b Trek Knight), who is still recovering from her crit crash, Lily Williams, who is racing with the Team USA Pursuit team at Track Pan-Ams and Sarah Sturm (Specialized / Rocket Espresso), who is wrapping up her impressive gravel season.

Natalie Redmond (Drops) of Australia is making the trip to the U.S. again and she is joined by American ’cross’ favorite Frenchwoman Caroline Mani (Pactimo Women’s CX-Gravel Project) to add some international flair to the Elite Women’s field.

Last year, Rochette had a strong start to her season, winning both days, while Ellen Noble (Trek Factory Racing CX) joined the Trek program in style with two silvers.

Maghalie Rochette kicked off her season with two wins in Rochester. 2018 Rochester Cyclocross Day 1. © Bruce Buckley

Elite Men

The Elite Men’s field also features 7 of the top 10 from Louisville Elite Nationals as well as Canadian National Champ Michael van den Ham (Easton – Giant p/b Transitions LifeCare).

Missing from the Men’s top 10 in Lousiville? Jeremy Powers, who retired, Merwin Davis (Cycle Smart), who is in China, and Anthony Clark (Squid Squad).

Stephen Hyde returns looking to defend his 2018 wins. photo: Bruce Buckley

Joining the top domestic racers will be several international riders. Swiss riders Scott Kuhn (Scott Development MTB Team), Timon Ruegg (Swiss Racing Academy / VC Steinmaur) and Lukas Winterberg (Focus Bikes) are on the start list along with Belgians Vincent Baestaens (Group Hens – Maes Containers) and Lander Loockx and Dane Andreas Lund Andresen (Team Giant – ASSOS CX).

In 2018, Stephen Hyde (Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld) swept both days to kick off his season.

Start lists for the Elite Women and Men are below.

Elite Women Start List: 2019 Rochester Cyclocross

rochester men start.csv