Nash sweeps final Exergy USGP weekend

Katerina Nash claimed back to back victories in the Exergy USGP Deschutes Cup weekend, soloing away in the third lap to seal her overall win in the series over Nicole Duke (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld), who also took second on the day. Teal Stetson-Lee (California Giant Berry) took third in the race, but her teammate Meredith Miller claimed the third spot in the series after a first lap flat knocked her out of contention.

It was a bittersweet victory for Nash, the now ex-Czech champion, who missed her national championships to take part in the final round of the American series.

"I wanted to do the entire USGP series this year, and they overlapped," Nash said. "I've had a lot of national championships to this point, and I skipped both the mountain bike and cyclo-cross nationals this year. It gives a younger riders a chance to get more sponsorship back home. Maybe I was missed, but it's ok."

Duke put in an aggressive start, taking her fourth Avid Shorty Hole Shot of the series and pocketing another $250 in cash for her efforts, but then the Cannondale rider sat back and let Julie Krasniak (Rapha-Focus) set the pace.

Krasniak led through the first lap with Duke and Nash in tow. Also present was Stetson-Lee as the sole representative of her team after Miller suffered and ill-timed flat tire on the first section and had to run half a lap to the pits.

Duke came around Krasniak, but it was only a matter of time before Nash would pounce. The Czech rider surged out of a twisty section, only Duke could hold her pace.

For Nash, it was just a matter of choosing the right moment to put in an unmatchable effort. "I'm not a fast starter, but there was no rush to get away," she said. "It's good to ride with people for a while, and they went out pretty fast in the first two laps, so I was happy to sit in for a while."

Duke said her goal was to stay with Nash for as long as she could, and that lasted through the midpoint of the race when Nash surged and finally edged out a ten second lead.

Once Nash was away, Stetson-Lee was able to make her way across to create a two-woman chase group as Krasniak held onto the fourth place position for the entire race.

As in the previous day, the two evenly matched chasers traded blows until the final lap when, this time, Duke fended off the bike gremlins which have plagued her over the past few weeks. She dislodged Stetson-Lee with a surge early in the final lap and cruised to second place just nine seconds behind Nash.

"In my past three races I had two flats, and then the derailleur yesterday. Today I finally got the placing that matched where my fitness is, and what I deserved with all the training I put in. I'm really pleased," Duke said.

"I didn't realize my body had it until the last lap when I tried to push away from Teal, and I realized I had more in me than thought I did. I'm completely happy with where I was. I had no idea that second in the series was even possible. My luck went bad yesterday, but today I had good luck - unfortunately for Meredith she had bad luck and that's what put me second in the series."

Stetson-Lee was happy with third, her second consecutive podium finish and a big leap up in consistency in her second year in the elite ranks.

"Nicole just rode me under the table. She has some super smooth lines. I managed to stick with her for the second to last lap, and then she was just super smooth on the back section on the last lap, and I made just the slightest mistake, a sloppy corner and it was enough for her to get a gap on me. I think she felt she had it and took advantage of it. It was still a great weekend."

Miller was disappointed to drop to third overall in the series, but kept racing through to the end, finishing 24th and out of the points.

"Unfortunately the flat happened early, and it was hard to see the other riders finishing the lap as I was still running to the pits," Miller said. "But I kept pushing. I had no idea what place I was in or what it was doing to my standing in the series, but it was just a matter of making it to the finish."

Full results

Swipe to scroll horizontally
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Pro Team0:37:24
2Nicole Duke (USA) Cannondale Pb Cyclocrossworld.Com0:00:09
3Teal Stetson-Lee (USA) California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized0:00:12
4Julie Krasniak (Fra) Rapha-Focus0:00:35
5Kaitlin Antonneau (USA) Cannondale Pb Cyclocrossworld.Com0:00:54
6Susan Butler (USA) Hudz Subaru0:01:03
7Amanda Carey (USA) Kenda/Felt0:01:08
8Andrea Smith (USA) Ladiesfirst Racing0:01:11
9Maureen Bruno Roy (USA) Bob'S Red Mill Pb Seven Cycles0:01:15
10Coryn Rivera (USA) Team Exergy Twenty120:01:30
11Alice Pennington (USA) Team S&M0:01:39
12Kelsy Bingham (USA) Roosters/Bikers Edge0:02:12
13Katherine Sherwin (USA) Stan'S Notubes Elite Cyclocross Team0:02:23
14Pepper Harlton (Can) Juventus Cycling ClubRow 13 - Cell 2
15Devon Gorry (USA) Team Rambuski Law0:02:27
16Sage Wilderman (USA) Unsponsored0:02:48
17Kari Studley (USA) Team Redline0:03:13
18Heather Clark (USA) Bend Memorial Clinic Total Care Racing0:03:15
19Jenni Gaertner (USA) Raleigh AmericaRow 18 - Cell 2
20Rebecca Blatt (USA) Rebecca BlattRow 19 - Cell 2
21Courtenay McFadden (USA) Cycling Northwest0:03:32
22Beth Ann Orton (USA) Team S+M0:03:41
23Kristi Berg (USA) Cycle U-Popcap0:03:56
24Meredith Miller (USA) California Giant Cycling0:04:06
25Melanie Lewis (USA) Cycle U-Popcap0:04:13
26Courtney Dimpel (USA) Team Rambuski Law0:04:27
27Anna Dingman (USA) Cycleution0:04:55
28Shannon Gibson (USA) Stan'S Notubes Elite Cyclocross Team0:05:32
29Katrina Baumsteiger (USA) Team Rambuski Law0:05:36
30Serena Bishop (USA) Silverado Jewelry Gallery P/B Sunnyside0:06:03
31Alexandra Burton (USA) Upper Echelon Fitness0:06:44
32Patricia Dowd (USA)0:07:24
DNFSarah Maile (USA) Ventana Mountain BikesRow 32 - Cell 2
DNFJoele Guynup (USA) Condo Group/Shimano/MarinRow 33 - Cell 2
DNFJessica Cutler (USA) Cucina FrescaRow 34 - Cell 2
DNSMarne Smiley (USA) Bob's Red Mill CyclocrossRow 35 - Cell 2
DNSKaren Oppenheimer (USA) Yard Sale CyclocrossRow 36 - Cell 2
DNSRebecca Gross (USA) Tough GirlRow 37 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Exergy USGP final series standings
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Pro Team364pts
2Nicole Duke (USA) Cannondale Pb Cyclocrossworld.Com197Row 1 - Cell 3
3Meredith Miller (USA) California Giant Cycling190Row 2 - Cell 3
4Katherine Compton (USA) Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team190Row 3 - Cell 3
5Kaitlin Antonneau (USA) Cannondale Pb Cyclocrossworld.Com187Row 4 - Cell 3
6Susan Butler (USA) Hudz Subaru148Row 5 - Cell 3
7Caroline Mani (Fra) CC Etupes138Row 6 - Cell 3
8Georgia Gould (USA) Luna Pro Team132Row 7 - Cell 3
9Teal Stetson-Lee (USA) California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized123Row 8 - Cell 3
10Chloe Forsman (USA) Race Club 1197Row 9 - Cell 3

 

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Laura Weislo
Managing Editor

Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura's specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.

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