McFadden wins in Northampton

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Courtenay McFadden (Pivot-Maxxis p/b Stans-DNA Cycling) rode solo to victory in the elite women's field at on day 2 of the NohoCX in Look Park in Northampton, Massachusetts, on Sunday, claiming her first UCI and ProCX victory this season.

A group of four separated themselves early from the 42-racer field, and joining McFadden in the lead group were Rebecca Fahringer (Kona Maxxis Shimano), Caroline Nolan (Voler / Easton / HRS / Rock Lobster), and Crystal Anthony (Liv Cycling).

McFadden escaped the group after a crash behind her in the woods on the upper deck of the course in the second lap. Although she'd not planned to attack so early in the race, McFadden took full advantage.

"It was kind of unintentional," McFadden explained. "I wanted to sit in a little bit more today, so I was trying to do that for the first couple of laps. I think it was me, Caroline and maybe Becca, and we were kind of yo-yoing back and forth, but I realised that I was a little bit quicker through the woods.

"So I went around Caroline after that first section, before the first downhill, and she ended up sliding out on some gravel and so I just pinned it from there. I was, like, 'Well, I've got to go because that's the opportunity to hit it,' and so I did."

Behind McFadden, Fahringer and Nolan had to spend a few seconds to regroup following the mistake. The pair worked together in the chase group for the next two laps. 

"I mini-attacked on Caroline but she was working hard to stick with me," Fahringer said. "At some point, I said, 'We're not going to close it on Courtenay,' as it's just too fast of a course, so I started going hard when I could, and tried to play it conservatively where I might lose it.

"I even ran a section that I had been riding because I was, like, 'This is where I'll slide out, and lose second place, and I'm not going to get first.' It was a game of 'play it smooth' after that."

McFadden continued to ride strongly at the front, using the wind when she could. 

"I tried to play the wind," said McFadden. "On the tailwind, I'd try to catch my breath and then hammer through the headwind. I knew that I was pretty proficient in the woods so I tried to stay smooth through there and put all the energy down here [lower section] and catch my breath a little bit more through the woods."

McFadden finished with a 29-second lead after riding much of the race alone. She finished the five-lap event in 44 minutes, 55 seconds.

Northampton is McFadden's fifth UCI event of the season and her first UCI win following two hip surgeries.

"It feels good to be racing, strong, and definitely a lot better than pre-surgery. There's still some post-op pain, but you don't notice them when you're racing."

Fahringer accelerated away from Nolan by the bell lap to finish in second place, for her second podium of the weekend. Nolan crossed the line 16 seconds later for third place.

"I gave it everything I could to stay with Becca, so I'm happy to stay on the podium," said Nolan, who was emotional after the race. She dedicated her ride to her hometown of Chico, California, which is currently dealing with large wildfires.

"I have big fires going on back in my hometown, so in this race I wanted to do as best I could since I'm not home to volunteer, to raise money and awareness for the wildfires back in California, so I did that. I'm happy with it."

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