Nash wins day one at USGP New Belgium Cup

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Czech National Champion Katerina Nash (Luna Pro Team) defended her title under sloppy conditions at the UCI C1 New Belgium Cup p/b Poudre Valley Health in Fort Collins, Colorado. She displayed sound technical skills against her toughest competitor US National Champion Katie Compton (Rabobank-Giant Offroad) who placed second on the day after struggling through the slick mud. Nash’s teammate Georgia Gould round out the podium with a respectable third place.

“Every win is a great but when the field is more competitive it makes the win feel better,” Nash told Cyclingnews. “It was nice to see Katie Compton back on the ‘cross bike and being back in the game. This was the most competitive field that we have had so far and it was nice to do well here.”

The event marked round three of the Exergy Cyclo-cross US Gran Prix series. Nash went into the race as the overall leader having won the opening two rounds at the Planet Bike Cup in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.

The Elite women’s race was held under what many ‘cross racers would consider desirable weather conditions with rain, high winds and cool temperatures. It took the women nearly 10 minutes to complete the first lap, indicating the severity of the slow and sloppy conditions. “I think people were surprised by the weather because it was a little cold,” Nash said.

It was apparent from the start that the race was between two riders, Compton and Nash. Also in attendance was Gould, Nicole Duke and Kaitlin Antonneau (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com), Caroline Mani (SRAM), Sue Butler (River City Bicycles-Ridley).

Duke took the early lead but was quickly caught and passed by Compton. Other riders following close behind were Nash, Gould, Mical Dyck (Pro City Racing), Kathy Sherwin (Stans NoTubes Elite), Meredith Miller and Teal Stetson-Lee (Cal Giant-Specialized),

Compton pushed a quick tempo during the first half of the opening lap. Although this was her first ‘cross race of the season, she displayed almost perfect technical skill and power through the mud during the first portion of the race. However, a bout of bad luck caused her to slide out in one of the corners before the end of the first lap.

“I feel I'm in a good spot right now physically,” Compton told Cyclingnews. “I’m still not quite ready for ‘cross season to start but each week gets better. I'm going in a little slower this year and know I have things to work on and room to get faster so second today is a good start.”

Nash earned five consecutive victories this season and proved to be a worthy opponent riding on Compton’s wheel. She started the race as the defending champion and an odds-one favourite to defend her title. Compton put pressure on the pedals through the start of the third lap and continued to slowly gain additional seconds. Nash closed the small gap before the start of the fourth lap.

“Katie was really strong in the first half of the race and I made a few mistakes and had to close a little gap which took me a little bit,” Nash said. “Once I got back to her she was still riding super strong but I felt like during the second half of the race she started to slow down a little bit.”

The leading duo headed into the last half of the race with a large advantage over third placed chaser Gould and fourth place chaser Dyck.
Nash dropped her bike over the barriers on the second lap and lost several seconds to Compton.

Compton slipped and fell on a muddy off camber corner for a second time during the fourth lap. Nash took advantage of the mishap and gained a 10-second lead. She increased her gap to nearly 30 seconds during the final lap ahead of a struggling Compton.

“She ended up making a mistake when I was riding behind her and slid in the corner,” Nash said. “I kept on riding my pace and I was some-what surprised that she didn’t come back to me.”

“My ‘cross skills are a little rusty and I'm getting used to the new bike so I'm still making mistakes,” Compton said. “It affected my race since I couldn't close the gap on Katerina. Sometimes my second day is better than my first so I'm going to give it all I have and hope the outcome is one better [tomorrow].”

Gould rode a strong third place nearly one and half minutes behind race leader, Nash. Dyck held on for fourth place nearly 20-second lead ahead of chasers Duke, Mani, Butler, Antonneau and Sherwin.

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