Clark wins WSCXGP Day 1

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The 56-rider field at WSCXGP shattered early on in the race driven by the hard temp and by live music on the tricky and fun course at River Walk Park. A lead group of eight, which included Clark, US U23 National Champion Lance Haidet (Donnelly Sports) and Cody Kaiser (/LangeTwins/Specialized), Allen Krughoff (Krughoff Racing) and Mark McConnell (Hot Sauce Cycling) formed quickly at the front. By the second lap, Clark decided to take the front of the race, a position he would occupy for the rest of the eight-lap race. Haidet reacted quickly to the attack, and the pair quickly established a gap to all the other riders.

"I felt really good today, and I felt really strong and the course fit me really well," Clark said. "I saw it breaking up and I said, you know Ant it's just time to go. I felt really good out of every corner, I didn't make one mistake today and hopping the barriers was really key. I knew that me and Lance had it once we got a gap of Allen. Lance was sitting up a lot when he would go to the front so Allen would close so I would just drill it harder and harder."

Haidet complimented his rival.

"Anthony's style of racing is just go hard, he's really good," Haidet said. "I was sort of expecting that and he was definitely one of the riders I was watching. When he goes, I got to go with it."

Clark only relinquished the lead position to Haidet once during the race.

"Anthony was strong, he was just riding the front, never really asked me to come through," Haidet said. I came through once and he just seemed to want to go harder. I let him do it. It was good.”

The two were still locked together on the final lap where the victor would be decided in a sprint.

"On the last lap, Lance came around me and I just stayed calm and sat on his wheel. When it came to the sprint, I just sat on his wheel for about 500 meters and I came around him and started sprinting and we were neck and neck, and I just got him by half a wheel. It was really good and it felt really good, especially going up in a sprint against Lance because he's legit. He's the U23 national champion, he's freakin awesome,” said Clark who recovered from a broken hand that hampered his racing in 2016.

"I worked really hard all summer and I just wanted to show people that I belong at World Cups, I belong at these races and I belong at the front, and it feels really good, all this hard work," he said. "I can go home and tell (my son) Gavin all the good news. It makes me very happy. Everyone we raced against is getting so good darn good, so it makes me really proud to maybe beat these guys."

Krughoff chase solo in the final laps to take third, crossing the line 11 seconds later.

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