Compton solos to Cyclo-Stampede win

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Katie Compton (Rabobank-Giant Offroad) secured a solo victory in the opening round of the Cincy3 Cyclo-cross Festival’s Cyclo-Stampede held at the Devou Park in Kentucky. Meredith Miller (Cal Giant-Specialized) rode into a respectable second place ahead of the young Kaitlin Antonneau (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com).

“I love this weekend, it's my favorite ‘cross weekend all year and one I always look forward to,” Compton told Cyclingnews. “I like the overload of racing three ‘cross races back-to-back and each course is completely different but all fun and hard. It's also a beautiful time of year in Ohio and a nice place to be. I think the promoters do a really good job and the payout is great. As long as this weekend fits into my training and race prep I'll keep doing it. I think it makes me stronger while at the same time good for my head; I look at it like a working vacation and it makes me happy to do something I love.”

The Elite women raced a 40-minute UCI C2 event for a prize purse of $1680 awarded to the top 15 riders. Executive Director Mitch Graham commented on the main features of the course as having continuous twists and turns along with several lengthy straightaways were each rider’s power played a large factor in the outcome of the race. Compton agreed, adding that it might be the toughest course all year.

“The course was hard all the way around, if we weren't climbing then we were powering through thick and sticky mud,” Compton said. “I think we concluded that this was the hardest course so far this year. It was fun and challenging in every way. Kinda glad we got the hardest one out of the way today, at least I hope.”

Compton opened a significant gap ahead of her competitors early in the race. Miller was her nearest rival, staying with her for much of the opening laps. The Fort Collins native rode in with a strong and relatively uncontested second place on the day.

“Meredith and I got a gap on the second lap and raced together for the next lap and a half or so then I started pushing harder on a couple tough sections of the course where drafting wasn't going to help, and once I saw I had a gap I just went hard until the finish,” Compton said. “It was such a power sucking course and easy to make mistakes that I just focused on being smooth and getting to the finish line unscathed.”

One of the most consistent rides of the day was from Antonneau, who rode the course at her own pace and gradually picked off riders in front of her during the 40-minute event. The youngster caught and passed top five contenders Georgia Gould (Luna Pro Team), Sue Butler (River City Bicycles) and Carolina Mani (SRAM) on her way to third place.

“I’m happy with how my start went, I was smart about it and was in a group of two for a little bit,” Antonneau told Cyclingnews. “I went in front of Sue and Caroline and then rode with in myself on the hills and the whole course. I slowly caught Georgia and eventually ended up by myself. I went hard where I could, the uphills, and tried to recover where I could, on the downhills. I’m really happy that I was able to get on the podium. It is really motivating and helps my confidence.”

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