Trek CXC Cup: Victory for Katie Compton

Katie Compton (KFC Racing-Trek) shook off a disappointing injury she suffered a week ago at the Jingle Cross World Cup to dominate the first day of racing at the Trek CXC Cup on Friday. Compton split the race wide open in the early laps of the race and returned to the top step of the podium at the Trek Factory Headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin.

Compton felt it was a good warm-up for Sunday's World Cup, but that the extreme heat currently hitting Wisconsin made Friday's C2 event an uncertain benchmark.

"I feel good but hot days make everything different because people who are fast can struggle," Compton said. "We'll see, I was happy to win today, and it's been awhile since I won but I'll take it. I want to have a good day on Sunday too."

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Sanne Cant (Beobank-Corendon) jumped out of the grid first to take the holeshot, but Helen Wyman (Kona Factory Team) quickly took over at the front followed by Kaitlin Keough (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com), and Compton. It wasn't long before Compton moved to the front of the race and used her momentum to build a substantial lead.

"The start felt a little slow, but also a hot day and you gotta keep yourself in check," Compton said. "I could see Helen backing off some which made sense after pulling the entire first lap, so I just tried to keep the pace rolling. I looked back, and I saw I had a bit of gap. It was just Sanne and me, and I figured I would keep it going."

Wisconsin native Kaitlin Keough looked to be well positioned in the lead group but dropped her chain and fell off the back and spent the remainder of the race picking riders off and dialing in the course for Sunday. Wyman also fell off the pace, and a new chase group, including Christel Ferrier Bruneau (SAS-MACOGEP), Nikki Brammeier (Boels-Dolmans), and Loes Sels (Crelan-Charles), formed up behind Compton and Cant.

At first, it appeared Cant was giving Compton a run for her money, but the world champion was deteriorating with each acceleration. Compton looked for Cant to pull through but the Belgian decided to pull the plug and focus on Sunday.

"For me, it was too hot to race, the second lap I became dizzy, and I crashed three times, and the last time it was a hard fall on my head, so I had to stop with a big headache," Cant said. "I felt good, but I crashed the first time at the stairs, and I was too dizzy to ride, and I didn't know what I was doing. I wanted to jump it, but I went straight into the trap."

With Cant out of the race, Ferrier Bruneau was left racing Sels for second place. Compton kept the throttle high and finished in first place 18 seconds ahead of Sels who passed Ferrier Bruneau on the final lap. It was an impressive performance for Ferrier Bruneau who returned to the sport last year after an extended hiatus to start a family.

Like the rest of the field, Sels suffered in the heat but rode a steady race in the final laps enabling her to pass a faltering Ferrier Bruneau.

"It was really, really hot, the Belgian weather is bad, but this is also bad," Sels said. "It's a nice course; it's very technical. It is a nice race, it is only the weather. It's not so good but it's the same for everyone."

Racing continues in Waterloo on Sunday with the Trek CXC Cup UCI Cyclo-Cross World Cup at 2:00 Central Time. 

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