Albert and Compton win cyclocross World Cup in Italy

Katie Compton (Trek Cyclocross Collective) and Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) won the sixth round of the elite women and men’s cyclocross World Cup held in Rome, Italy on Sunday. The duo secured solo victories under wet, muddy and technical course conditions.

Compton rode neck-to-neck against the current world champion Marianne Vos (Rabo Liv Women) for the first part of the race. Compton went on to win and Vos rode in 24 seconds back in second place. Eva Lechner (Centro Sportivo Esercito) placed third over a minute behind the race winner.

Compton is leading the World Cup standings with 350 points, enough to win the series’ overall title before the final round. She will participate in the U.S. cyclocross championships next weekend in Boulder, Colorado.

Albert won the elite men’s race by four seconds ahead of Lars van der Haar (Rabobank Development Team) and an additional second to Sven Nys (Crelan-AA Drink). Canada’s Mike Garrigan (Van Dessel) finished the race in 46th place.

Van der Haar is leading the World Cup standings with 407 points.

Round seven of the World Cup series will take place on Jan. 26 in Nommay, France. The cyclocross world championships will be held on Feb. 1 and 2 in Hoogerheide, Netherlands, ending the 2013-14 season.