Jeremy Powers (Aspire Racing) running the limestone stairs(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz) claims second place(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Stephen Hyde (Cannondale) take the win at the Derby City Cup(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz), Kerry Werner (Kona), and Allen Krughoff (Boulder Cycle Sport) sprint for second place(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Jeremy Powers (Aspire Racing) leading a chase group with one lap remaining(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Stephen Hyde (Cannondale) heading out onto his last lap(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Yannick Eckman (Boulder Cycle Sport), Curtis White, and Gage Hecht head out on their last lap(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Stephen Hyde (Cannondale) dismounting in the sand with one lap remaining(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz) chasing Hyde halfway through the race(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz) leading the race during the opening laps, with Curtis White chasing(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Cody Kaiser (Lange Twins-Specialized) was having a good outing(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Racers round the 180-degree turn in the sand pit(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz) rounding a corner in the sand pit(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Racers climb the steep limestone stairs on the Eva Bandman course(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
USA Champion Jeremy Powers (Aspire Racing) moving up in the peloton late in the race(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Grant Ellwood (Boulder Cycle Sport) taking the hole-shot at Eva Bandman Park(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Grant Ellwood (Boulder Cycle Sport) leading the race during lap one(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Curtis White (Cannondale) and Gage Hecht (Alpa Bicycle) chasing Ellwood during the first lap(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Stephen Hyde (Cannondale) seemed to be biding his time during the first few laps(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Yannick Eckmann (Boulder Cycle Sport) descending on his way to a seventh place finish(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Stephen Hyde (Cannondale) leading Tobin Ortenblad and Curtis White along the river mid-race(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Jeremy Powers (Aspire Racing) did not look himself again today, but surged in the final laps to claim fifth place(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Stephen Hyde (Cannondale) running the limestone stairs for the last time(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Young Gage Hecht (Alpha Bicycles) fighting for a sixth place finish(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Grant Ellwood (Boulder Cycle Sport) leading the race on the pavement(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz) chasing Hyde while riding in the woods along the river(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Curtis White (Cannondale) was left in a position that he could not help chase down his team-mate Hyde(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Grant Ellwood (Boulder Cycle Sport) dismounting in the long sand pit(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Stephen Hyde (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld) opened a gap on his competitors with four laps to go and stayed ahead of two chase groups to repeat as the UCI C1 Elite Men’s winner at Derby City Cup. He won the eight-lap contest in just over one hour.
Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz Factory Racing) and Kerry Werner (Kona Endurance Team) battled in the lead group for the entire race, but could not overtake Hyde, who took his fourth C1 win of the 2016-17 Pro CX season. Ortenblad was second, 10 seconds back, and Werner out-sprinted Allen Krughoff (Boulder Cycle Sport/ YogaGlo) for third.
“The first couple of laps, I definitely held back quite a bit,” said Hyde. “(Before) my attack, yeah, I got a stick or something jammed in my rear derailler just before the pavement. I was able to regroup, get a new bike, and everything was working great again.
“It's one of those courses that rewards punchy efforts between the technical sections,” added Hyde about the course. “I think if you can hold back a little bit on the pedaling sections, and be able to get a couple of pedal strokes between each small section, then you can get a bigger gap without having to use as much effort.”
The big names from 2015 Derby City Cup, Hyde and Jeremy Powers, were sitting near the back for the first three laps. With six laps to go, Ortenblad and White were driving the pace at the front with Hyde beginning to make his way through the field, and others chasing.
With five laps to go, 2015 Derby City Cup C1 runner-up Powers had moved to the third chase group, but he was not able to close the gap any further, and finished eighth.
White, who won the 2016 Pan Am U23 Men’s Cyclo-cross championship last week in Covington, Ky., had a flat during the race that ended his chance to trade punches in the lead group, and he finished fifth overall.
Racing continues at Eva Bandman Park in Louisville on Sunday for C2 races at Derby City Cup.
