Compton falls then rises to victory

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Katie Compton (Planet Bike/Stevens) won at a muddy Cyclo Stampede, the opener of this year’s Cincinnati UCI3 Cyclocross Festival, despite taking two falls during the race. Surprisingly Compton lost the hole shot to Sue Butler (Monavie Cannondale) at the start of the women’s race.

With only one bike available for this race, Compton never pre-rode the course to try and keep her race bike clean. With that in mind Compton elected not to lead the race early on since she didn’t know where the course went. Compton didn’t have a pit bike because the World Cup leader didn’t have time in her busy travel schedule to assemble the two bikes she used in the World Cup last weekend, so she and husband Mark made the decision to leave one bike in Europe.

With Butler leading into the first off-camber slippery-slide section moments after the start of the race, Compton tried to pass on the low side of the hill. The two riders both careened more-or-less out of control, to a point of convergence just before the course flattened out onto a golf cart path, knocking Compton into the tape and bringing her to a halt as she unhooked her bike.

Just as they got going again, a chain reaction on the same section brought seven riders down. But the momentary stop, and two first lap falls into the mud couldn’t slow down Compton. By the end of the third lap she had a 93 second lead, which she extended throughout the remainder of the race.

“I forgot how to ride mud,” said Compton. “After the second lap I remembered how again and it got better, and the third lap was even better.”

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