Day 2 of the KMC Cyclocross Festival finishes a windy weekend’s riding in Providence, Rhode Island

For the second day in a row, Canadian cyclocross riders edged into the top 10 at the KMC Cyclocross Festival, one of the most high-profile cyclocross events in the United States in Providence, Rhode Island. Considering the field of competition, with the usual suspects delivering blow after blow to the field, securing some very unsurprising wins, such a benchmark of achievement says a lot.

Once again, it was Maghalie Rochette taking top results for the Elite women, and Raphael Gagne for the men, that solidified the standing of Canadian riders at the event.

It was a really fun weekend of racing in Providence for the #kmccxfest – But it is especially cool to… https://t.co/lE6G0Vnlg4

— Maghalie Rochette (@MaghalieCX) October 5, 2015

As was the case previously, the Elite women’s race came down to a battle between American national champion Katie Compton, riding for Trek Factory Racing, and Katerina Nash, whose list of accomplishments includes a recent win at Cross Vegas. In the end, Nash, riding for Luna Pro Team, managed to maintain an eight-second gap through the intense race on her American competitor right up until the finish — enough for the Czech rider to sail across the line first, with Compton hanging on in second place.

It was an outcome that had been preceded by a much different dynamic, with Raleigh Clement’s Caroline Mani — who had held on to the lead almost from the start — rolling across the finish in 3rd place.

Nash Claims Another Victory, Hyde has Repeat Performance http://t.co/YYzVafwGq1

— KMC Cyclo-cross Fest (@providencecross) October 5, 2015

The men’s race, however, was almost a chaotic scene. As before, the duo of Stephen Hyde and Curtis White, both riding for Cannondale p/b Cyclcrossworld.com, launched to an early lead. From the outset, two distinctly contrasting groups were formed: Hyde and White out front, riding as a pair with a lead on the rest of the field, and a much larger — and much more aggressive — chase group forming behind them. That dynamic, however, was changed when Hyde powerfully changed the tempo, putting some considerable space between himself and his teammate. The finishing makeup of the competition emerged shortly thereafter.

Riding for Raleigh Clement, Jamey Driscoll, accompanied by Allen Krughoff, went on the attack within the race’s last two kilometres, which caused that large chase group to fall apart. Before long, Driscoll’s power put a decisive gap between himself and Krughoff, and nearly enabled him to bridge to Curtis White, riding in second place. It wasn’t quite enough, though. Hyde’s first-place standing prevailed, with White and Driscoll both rounding out the podium in second and third place, respectively.

Despite the course’s sandy, windswept challenges, Canadian riders were represented in both the men’s and women’s Elite races. In the latter, with Maghalie Rochette’s 10th-place time of 1:35 behind the leader, Ruby West of Centurion Next Wave clocked a time of 3:26, while Mical Dycj, riding for Naked Factory Racing, finished 3:50 behind Nash.

The men’s race, meanwhile, once again saw Raphael Gagne and Michael van den Ham, both riding for Garneau p/b Easton, ride across the line nearly as a unit — Gagne with a time of 1:33 behind Hyde’s win, and van den Ham 1:34 back. Other finishing Canadian riders included Mark McConnell of Hot Sauce Cycling Club, who took 23rd (2:11), William Elliott of Team NCCH p/b Dec Express in 27th place (3:22), and Sylvain Jean of Icebreaker Merino, whose 6:23 gap behind Hyde earned him a 43rd place finish.

A full list of results from all classifications can be viewed here.