Eric Brunner (Competitive Edge Racing) made it win number four in the Trek USCX Cyclocross series, taking out the Trek CX Cup in Waterloo, Wisconsin.
Brunner rode away from US champion Andrew Strohmeyer (CXD Trek Bikes) midway through the race and soloed to victory.
“I knew that I had to win today in order to stay in it for the series,” Brunner said. “That was the goal for today.”
Jules van Kempen (Winston Salem-Flow) managed to catch and overtake Strohmeyer for second place with the US champion settling for third.
"I was pretty pinned the whole time out there," Strohmeyer said. "When Jules caught me, I did what I could to stay with him, but I knew if he put in an attack, I only had one speed. I was going as hard as I could go, but I couldn't accelerate harder than that. So as soon as he put it in a dig, that was it."
The C2 contest on Sunday will now decide the US Cyclocross (USCX) series winner for elite men, as Brunner and Strohmeyer are tied on overall points through seven races.
Maghalie Rochette (SRAM/Seeker) won the Trek CX Cup C1 race for the first time in her career on a hot day in Wisconsin. The Canadian attacked on the opening lap and stayed away to the finish.
"It went super well, but it was really warm, so I think it would have been smarter to play it a little bit safer and stay as a group a little bit longer," Rochette admitted.
Mia Aseltine (Competitive Edge) bridged across to Rochette at one point but then faded. She was then passed by Manon Bakker (Crelan-Corendon) on the final lap, and conceded her spot, rolling across the line in third place.
“Maghalie has proven in past races that when she gets off the front, she can just stay there,” Aseltine told organisers at after the finish. “So, I knew I had to catch her and that was a pretty big effort. But she's really smart. She put in a big dig as soon as I got up there.”
It was Aseltine’s second UCI cyclocross weekend of the season, after GO Cross in Roanoke, and her second weekend landing on a C1 podium spot. In between, she represented Team USA at the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda.
“I had like a huge jump in my numbers and I've just felt better racing,” she said. “I'm more confident. There has been a change for sure.”
Rochette has a solid lead in the elite women's standings of USCX but still needs to finish Sunday's C2 contest to hold off Bakker.
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