Hyde wins slippery US cyclo-cross championship

Stephen Hyde (Cannondale-Cyclocrossoworld.com) rode to his first elite men's title at the USA Cyclo-cross National Championships Sunday in Hartford, Connecticut, breaking the three-year grip of defending champ Jeremy Powers on the stars-and-stripes jersey.

Hyde, runner-up in 2016, overcame a difficult opening lap to open up a clear lead by the midway point of the event, ultimately jogging across the finish line after breaking a derailleur in the final corners.

Jamey Driscoll (Clement) put up a race-long chase but was unable to catch Hyde, holding on for second place ahead of Kerry Werner (Kona Endurance Team) in third. Powers finished well back in the strung-out field.

"I'm elated," Hyde said at the finish. "I'm so excited. This is such a hard course, and these guys were so good today. I knew I was strong coming into it, but a course like this really limits how much you can pedal. It really brought out the best in all these guys, and they are some of the best bike handlers I've ever seen. I'm just glad I stayed away from them."

Hyde was the fastest rider off the line, leading the field through the first corner, but he got tangled trying to remount after running up the first major climb of the race. He then found himself caught up in a traffic jam that left Powers and others making up ground as well.

"My big goal, I think everyone's goal, was to be first up that hill, and I was, but man did I botch it," Hyde said. "I tripped and then I couldn't get on my bike. Everything was going wrong. But I kept it cool, and, like I said, there was a big speed limit here, so I had to take a couple of risks and was with some really good bike drivers like [Jonathan] Page for awhile. It paid off, because I got to watch his lines."

Yannick Eckmann (Boulder Cycle Sport-YogaGlo) was the first rider to cross the start/finish line after lap one with Werner just behind. By the second lap, Hyde was back at the front with Werner, Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz Factory Racing) and Jack Kisseberth (Jam Fund), and Hyde began to distance the field just before the start of lap three.

From there, no one was able to bring the 29-year-old-back, with Hyde delivering one strong lap after another en route to his ninth and final trip around the course. A strong second-half performance by Driscoll saw the Clement rider surge past Werner into second. Powers, meanwhile, never managed to work his way back to the head of the race.

"The start was fine and everything felt good," Powers told Cyclingnews. "I felt good on the bike and I felt good in the lead-up. But it just ended up that basically the first time up that hill we just kind of got a little sideways, and then shortly after that, next lap, I had a pretty good crash in the woods and hit my knee real good.

"Truly, the other guys were better today. That's the fact."

Asked about the absence of the defending champion in the front group, Hyde said it didn't affect the way he approached the race.

"I wasn't thinking about anyone in particular, to be honest," Hyde said. "I knew that it was who could ride this course the fastest, not who could out-pedal each other. It's just not that kind of course. There was a decent group in the first couple of laps, but it's really about who could stay up the longest. I even had a crash on the last lap and had to scoot across the line."

Indeed, Driscoll came tantalizingly close to Hyde at the finish line. Hyde hit the deck making his way up and over the last climb of the race and came away from the crash with a broken derailleur, forcing him to coast part of the way down the finishing straight before picking up his bike to cross the line on foot.

"It was so close, and Jamey is really good in these conditions," Hyde said. "The guy lives in Utah and he rides in the snow a lot. He's a skier, he's an incredible snow rider. I actually had a front flat tubular for the last half lap, too. So it was sketchy. I was scared."

Ultimately finishing two seconds ahead of Driscoll, Hyde secured the red, white and blue jersey for the first time in his career just a short trip away from his Massachusetts home.

"This is my adopted home now," he said. "I live 40 minutes from here in Easthampton and I consider the people here my family. My mom and my dad flew up here from Florida and some of my best friends came out from across the country. It means everything to me."

Full Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Stephen Hyde (Cannondale Cyclocrossworld)1:05:03
2James Driscoll (Clement)0:00:02
3Kerry Werner (Kona Endurance Team)0:00:31
4Jack Kisseberth (Jam Fund / NCC)0:00:56
5Tobin Ortenblad (San Cruz Factory Racing)0:01:04
6Yannick Eckmann (Boulder Cycle Sport/ Yogaglo)0:01:33
7Jonathan Page (Fuji)0:01:40
8Todd Wells (Sram-Troy Lee Designs Racing Team)0:02:49
9Cody Kaiser (Lange Twins/Specialized)0:03:57
10Allen Krughoff (Boulder Cycle Sport/ Yogaglo)0:04:27
11Jeremy Durrin (Neon Velo Cycling Team)0:04:31
12Justin Lindine (Apex/NBX/Trek)0:04:32
13Scott Smith (Jam Fund / NCC)0:05:32
14Merwin Davis (Cyclus Sports)0:05:35
15Bjorn Selander (Borah Teamwear)2 Laps
16Kevin Bradford-Parish (Set Coaching)Row 15 - Cell 2
17Tristan CowieRow 16 - Cell 2
18Andrew Juiliano (Rock Lobster)Row 17 - Cell 2
19Daniel Chabanov (House Industries - Withings)3 Laps
20Casey Hildebrandt (The Underground Project)Row 19 - Cell 2
21Robert Marion (American Classic Cyclocross Tea)Row 20 - Cell 2
22Eric Thompson (Hed P/B Molten Speed Wax)Row 21 - Cell 2
23Skyler Trujillo (Fort Lewis College)Row 22 - Cell 2
24Jeremy Powers (Aspire Racing)Row 23 - Cell 2
25Anthony Clark (Squid Bikes)Row 24 - Cell 2
26Dylan Postier (Renewed Cyclocross)Row 25 - Cell 2
27jordan Snyder (C3-2020)Row 26 - Cell 2
28Brendan Mccormack (CCB Racing)Row 27 - Cell 2
29Max JudelsonRow 28 - Cell 2
30Samuel O'keefe (House Industries - Withings)Row 29 - Cell 2
31Michael Mihalik (J Mac Cycling Llc)4 Laps
32Tyler Cloutier (Renewed Cyclocross)Row 31 - Cell 2
33Dan Timmerman (Stan's Notubes Elite Cx)Row 32 - Cell 2
34Mike Festa (Philadelphia Ciclismo)Row 33 - Cell 2
35Alex Ryan (Mob Pro Cycling Team)Row 34 - Cell 2
36Jake Wells (Stan's Notubes Elite Cx)Row 35 - Cell 2
37Ryan Woodall (Team TGB)5 Laps
38Andy Scott (Riverside Racing)Row 37 - Cell 2
39Jules Goguely (Apex/NBX/Trek)Row 38 - Cell 2
40Daniel Summerhill (UnitedHealthcare)Row 39 - Cell 2
41Jesse Stauffer (Lateral Stress Velo Inc.)Row 40 - Cell 2
42Tim Willis (King Kog)Row 41 - Cell 2
DNFTravis LivermonRow 42 - Cell 2
DNFDylan McNicholasRow 43 - Cell 2

 

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Dane has been a sports writer and editor for many years, and makes a return to Cyclingnews as a contributor in 2022. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia.

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