In the women’s race, Katie Compton (Spike Shooter ), Katerina  Nash (Luna Chix Racing Team) and Georgia Gould (Luna Chix Racing Team ) broke away from the field early. Compton stayed in control and took advantage of Gould’s mid-race mishap to keep the Luna riders separate. Compton then powered away from the Nash in the final sprint.

Katie Compton (Spike Shooter)

“Katie is definitely the strongest rider in the field,” commented Nash. “I decided to stay on her wheel. She is a true cross racer. My team just finished mountain biking. We need a couple of weeks to get into cross racing. I just kept on her wheel and tried to attack her. I couldn’t get away. We did try to put some pressure on each other. We were pretty equally matched today so neither of us could open a big gap.  I had a great time racing today.”

Katerina  Nash (Luna Chix Racing Team)

“It was really hard because Katerina rode really well,” stated Compton.  “It was a challenging race and the course was really tough. I tried everything I could to go fast. We were trying to attack each other and we also tried to have a pace that we both could sustain. It’s pretty hard to get in front on this course. We are just naturally fast starters so we just kept the pace on and we really got a good start. It feels really good to win.”

Compton and Nash keep it close.

Compton, who won a UCI World Cup event last season and finished second at the world cyclocross championship in 2007, said she would be focusing her 2008-09 efforts on European racing.

Elite Women
 
1 Katerine Compton (USA) Spike Shooter                                41.58
2 Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Chix Racing Team                            0.03
3 Georgia Gould (USA) Luna Chix Racing Team                            0.07
4 Kelli Emmett (USA) Giant Bicycles                                    0.18
5 Rachel Lloyd (USA) California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized          0.19
6 Susan Butler (USA) Monaviecannondale.co                              1.26
7 Wendy Simms (Can) Kona                                               2.12
8 Deidre Winfield (USA) Velo Bella – Kona                              2.25
9 Meredith Miller (USA) Aaron’s Pro Cycling Team                       2.26
10 Kari Studley (USA) Velo Bella – Kona                                3.31
11 Laura Van Gilder (USA) C-3 Sollay (Cross Team) Cheerwine            3.52
12 Kathy Sherwin (USA) Velo Bella – Kona                               4.09
13 Shannon Gibson (USA) Velobella                                      4.16
14 Barbara Howe (USA) Velo Bella                                       4.26
15 Natasha Elliott (Can) Emd Serono/Stevens                            4.29
16 Sarah Maile (USA) Ventana Mountain Bikes                            4.36
17 Josie Jacques-Maynes (USA) Specialized/KMC Pb Cal Giant             5.00
18 Tiffany Pezzulo (USA) Park City Iron Man                            5.18
19 Eszter Horanyi (USA) Waltworks/Fuentes Design                       5.25
20 Melodie Metzger (USA) California Giant / Specialized                5.48
21 Kate Scheider (USA) Bikes Belong-Mafia Racing                       5.55
22 Kendall Ryan (USA) Team Cicle Presented By Voler                    6.10
23 Kelli Jones (Can) Sugoi                                             6.22
24 Jennifer Tilley (USA) Velo Bella                                    6.39
25 Kris Walker (USA) Krieg Cycling                                     6.47
26 Lana Atchley (USA) Bailey Bikes                                     7.52
27 Marian Jamison (USA) Velo Bella                                     8.47
28 Dorothy Wong (USA) Team Cicle Presented By Voler                    1 lap
29 Deb Sweeney Whitmore (USA) BMW-Bianchi
30 Heidi Kanayan (USA) Team Cicle
31 Christy Blakely (USA) BMW-Bianchi

All phots copyright Stephanie Gutowski