Back-to-back wins for Compton at Planet Bike Cup

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Katie Compton (Trek Collective) scored her second consecutive victory of the weekend at Day 2 of Planet Bike Cup in Sun Prairie Wisconsin. Compton fought off an early challenge from Julie Krasniak (Rapha-Focus), who stayed close to Compton in the early laps of the race. Compton turned on the afterburners on lap three and started to put distance on her rivals consistently the next following laps. After a slow start Gould (Luna) passed Krasniak on the final lap for second place, leaving the final podium spot for the French national.

"It was a lot faster and there were a lot less turns today, so it was just full gas from the start." said Compton who faced an early challenge from Krasniak and Gabby Day. "The Rapha girls got off really strong. I rode the run up and I got a little gap there, and decided to keep the pressure on and make them chase."

Gould’s day was not quite as smooth as Compton’s. "I don't have that super zippy attack, punch it out of every corner. I'm definitely not blaming my start. Katie is ready for World Cups. Her season is just starting, and she's fast, fast," said Georgia Gould who batted back from a rocky start to pass the main chase group of Miller, Day, and Krasniak. "My strength is more riding hard and steady. I didn't want to leave it down to ‘just sit with these guys and sprint at the end.’ If anybody noticed my fantastic roadie tactics at CrossVegas, well, I might need a little bit of tutoring in that department. "

Compton took charge early in the first lap but was closely marked by Rapha-Focus teammates Krasniak and Day. Krasniak would hold on longer than Day but once the women hit the hill on the third lap Krasniak, who recently relocated to Portland from her native France, could no longer match Compton's pace. "I think I turn my legs as fast," said Krasniak who lost Compton on the steep hill before the start/finish, "But three speeds up."

After losing contact with Compton, Krasniak and Day formed short lived chase group with Meredith Miller (Cal Giant Strawberries) and Nicole Duke (Raleigh-Clement). Duke lost contact after falling for the second day in a row, as Krasniak continuously attacked the group in an effort to get away from Miller and the hard charging Gould. By the fifth lap Compton had stretched her lead to over 30", and while Miller fell off the pace from the chasers, Gould continued her heroic effort to close the gap to Krasniak.

On the final lap, Gould turned in one of the most exciting performances of the day when she overtook Krasniak before the closing section of the course. Krasniak held on for third place followed by Day (4th) and Miller (5th.)

Compton headed to the podium wearing a "WISCOMPTON" hat made for her by the Trek marketing team. When asked, Compton could not recall losing a cyclo-cross event in Wisconsin the past several years, showing that her dominance of US cyclo-cross and sense of humor go hand in hand.

Most of the women's pro field heads to New England for the C1 & C2 events in Gloucester, MA next week except for Katie Compton who is signed up for the Madison at the US Elite Track Nationals with Cari Higgins in Los Angeles on Sunday September 30th.