Music has always played an important role in Stephen Hyde’s life. One needs to look no further than his Instagram feed to see the soundtrack of Hyde’s life.
Fittingly, the defending National Champion said he did not want to become a “one-hit wonder” after winning the Pan-American Championship in 2016. After all, no one wants to be a “Macarena” or an “Ice Ice Baby.” Hyde wanted to repeat and prove he belonged with Katie Compton as the only two-time winners of the event at the Elite level.
On Sunday, Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz / Donkey Label Racing) and Michael van den Ham (Garneau-Easton p/b Transitions LifeCare) made it clear they were going to make Hyde work for the jersey by getting off to a blistering start. The upstart duo came back to the group and then after a bobble snared the two, it was Hyde’s time to attack. He got the gap and held it despite a challenge from mentor Jeremy Powers (Aspire Racing).
As the climbs and the heavy course began to sap the strength of the other riders, Hyde found another gear and laid down a punishing pace in the last 30 minutes He dropped another hit album and it was just as good as the first.
The #podiumrecord to go with his own podium record? George Jones as it has been all season.
After a frustrating beginning to the season marred by illness, Hyde is now on a roll, with five straight wins to his name as he now packs his bags and heads to Europe for the next two months. While there, Hyde will be proudly sporting the Continental Champion’s jersey, even though he likes the look of the Stars and Stripes kit he has worked so hard to earn.
Cyclocross Magazine’s Brandon Grant interviewed Hyde after the race. The #gingerhero said winning the Continental Champion’s jersey and the right to wear it in Europe means a lot to him.
“The Pan-Ams jersey is great,” he said. “I think as of right now it’s the first year that the race has happened we’ve had a Pan-American podium with non-American riders. It’s getting more clout. It’s getting more and more special. In the future, I will be wearing that over [the Stars and Stripes kit], but right now I’m pretty happy to be wearing this kit too.”
He continued, “It’s fantastic. This is the globalization of the sport and the growth of the sport that we’ve really been trying for a long time. It’s great to get more U.S. racers at the races, but it’s really special to get more South American riders and more and more Canadians back in there. It’s great. I think it legitimizes the sport a little bit more for both continents.”
Hyde had much more to say in this post-race interview.
Stay tuned for more coverage from the Derby City Cup and Pan-American Championships.
