Maghalie Rochette (Specialized/Feedback Sports) dominated the C2 elite women’s event on the second day of racing at Kings CX on Sunday, taking back-to-back victories in Deerfield Township, Ohio. Caroline Mani (Pactimo Fierce Team) duplicated her second-place finish from the day before, finishing 1:51 behind the Canadian. While the top two spots remained the same, course conditions changed completely with full-on rain Sunday.
Nineteen-year-old Maddie Munro (Trek Factory Racing), the Junior bronze medalist at 2020 Cyclo-cross Worlds, finished third just nine seconds behind Mani. It was her first elite women's podium in UCI 'cross competitions. Just a week ago she switched disciplines at the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals and took home two gold medals in cross-country events with her Varsity team, Colorado Mesa University.
“In these conditions, you have to adapt. It changes from lap to lap. If you crash on a corner one lap, then you want to figure out how to do it right the next one. I was trying to improve from lap to lap," Rochette told CXHairs Media.
“I did go down a couple of times. It would have been awesome not to, but I think it would have been hard not to. I think these races are won by the person who makes the fewest mistakes, so I was really trying to not make many mistakes."
Consistency gave Mani the inaugural title for elite women in the new USCX Cyclo-cross series. She scored 226 points without a single victory, landing on the podium six times across seven events.
Meanwhile, Rochette had five wins in six events to place her second overall, 24 points back. Raylyn Nuss (Steve Tilford Foundation Racing) was third overall with 168 points.
Cincy CX capped the final two races in the eight-race USCX Cyclo-cross Series, which included doubleheaders at Rochester Cyclocross, Charm City Cross and Jingle Cross. The new series provided points, not prize money, over the early-season of racing, all eight elite races also part of USA Cycling's Pro CX calendar.
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