Jingle Cross: Compton cruises to World Cup win

Katie Compton (KFC – Trek – Panache) powered to a convincing World Cup victory Saturday, claiming the 2016 Jingle Cross title in Iowa City.

Compton arrived at the front of the race towards the end of the first lap and stayed at the head of affairs all the way through the final crossing of the line in the first World Cup-level edition of the event. She took the win ahead of France’s Caroline Mani (Raleigh), with Kaitlin Antonneau (Cannondale) nabbing third.

Top 10

• 1. Katherine COMPTON, (USA), 37:08
• 2. Caroline MANI, (FRA), 37:26
• 3. Kaitlin ANTONNEAU, (USA), 37:31
• 4. Katerina NASH, (CZE), 37:56
• 5. Ellen NOBLE, (USA), 38:16
• 6. Catharine PENDREL, (CAN), 38:30
• 7. Sophie DE BOER, (NED), 38:43
• 8. Eva LECHNER, (ITA), 38:54
• 9. Helen WYMAN, (GBR), 38:58
• 10. Amanda MILLER, (USA), 39:05

The racing kicked off under sunny skies and very warm temperatures, with Iowa local Amanda Miller (Pepper Palace) surging out to a brief early lead. Cross Vegas winner Sophie de Boer (Kalas – NNOF) then took over at the front, before a downhill attack by Katerina Nash (Luna) strung out the race in earnest.

Nash, Compton, Mani, and Catherine Pendrel (Luna) had opened up a serious advantage over the rest of the field by the midway point of the second lap, with De Boer caught behind and unable to bridge the gap.

The group didn’t stay together for long, however, with Compton and Nash dropping Mani and Pendrel in the third lap, setting up what seemed to be a two-rider battle for the title — before Nash suffered a mechanical that derailed her chance at contesting the win.

Compton pressed on solo with a hefty advantage as a four-lap race was called, cruising through the circuit one final time with plenty of room to spare even as Antonneau surged past one chaser after another in pursuit of a spot on the podium. Compton ultimately crossed the line with a 19-second gap to Mani, with Antonneau coming home 23 seconds down. Nash finished fourth.

“Once Katerina had that mechanical I knew I had to keep the pressure on because I knew Caroline was back there and I knew Katie was back there and Catherine Pendrel, I saw her too. Climbing is not what I’m really good at, I’m a power climber, but I managed well, I rode smooth, I made a couple mistakes but not too bad,” Compton said.

Though she acknowledged the race was particularly short at just four laps, the American couldn’t help be thankful to call it a day after even 37 minutes in the oppressive heat.

“Oh my gosh, it was hard, I definitely struggled,” she said. “I’m kind of glad they ran us a little short. Initially I came through and heard one lap to go and was like ‘We’re running short!’ and then halfway through the lap I was like, ‘Yeah, this is okay.’

“It’s just so hot, you know when you’re not drinking, we’re all out there suffering the same but I struggle a little bit towards the end of races that are warm. That’s why I’m a cross racer.

“I think we should have done one more lap, but I’m really happy we didn’t. But technically, yeah, we should have done one more lap. The race, maybe it would have been different, maybe it would have been the same. But we were all struggling out there.”

Coupled with her third-place finish at Cross Vegas, Compton’s Jingle Cross win launched her into the overall World Cup lead, though she does not plan to race the full World Cup calendar this season.

“It feels really good, I wasn’t even thinking about that,” she said. “It’s kind of a shame that I’m not going to do the full season, but that’s okay. I’m focusing on the racing that I want to do, and I want to do well at those races. So it’s early yet. We’ve got a long season in front of us, I just kind of want to stay consistent and get faster. I’m super happy with this.”

Results

• 1. Katherine COMPTON, (USA), 37:08
• 2. Caroline MANI, (FRA), 37:26
• 3. Kaitlin ANTONNEAU, (USA), 37:31
• 4. Katerina NASH, (CZE), 37:56
• 5. Ellen NOBLE, (USA), 38:16
• 6. Catharine PENDREL, (CAN), 38:30
• 7. Sophie DE BOER, (NED), 38:43
• 8. Eva LECHNER, (ITA), 38:54
• 9. Helen WYMAN, (GBR), 38:58
• 10. Amanda MILLER, (USA), 39:05
• 11. Rebecca FAHRINGER, (USA), 39:05
• 12. Courtenay MCFADDEN, (USA), 39:26
• 13. Sanne CANT, (BEL), 39:46
• 14. Ellen VAN LOY, (BEL), 39:53
• 15. Loes SELS, (BEL), 39:57
• 16. Emma WHITE, (USA), 40:18
• 17. Sunny GILBERT, (USA), 40:48
• 18. Amanda NAUMAN, (USA), 41:15
• 19. Joyce VANDERBEKEN, (BEL), 41:32
• 20. Crystal ANTHONY, (USA), 41:50
• 21. Sofia GOMEZ VILLAFANE, (ARG), 41:56
• 22. Kathryn CUMMING, (USA), 42:08
• 23. Jena GREASER, (USA), 42:30
• 24. Arley KEMMERER, (USA), 42:39
• 25. Amira MELLOR, (GBR), 43:14
• 26. Emily KACHOREK, (USA), 43:14
• 27. Sidney McGILL, (CAN), 43:15
• 28. Caitlyn VESTAL, (USA), 43:52
• 29. Mical DYCK, (CAN), 44:19
• 30. Ashley BARSON, (CAN), 44:25
• 31. Cindy MONTAMBAULT, (CAN), 44:26
• 32. Ruby WEST, (CAN), 45:11
• 33. Maria LARKIN, (IRL)
• 34. Cassandra MAXIMENKO, (USA)
• 35. Siobhan KELLY, (CAN)