Easthampton’s Stephen Hyde with his bike after winning the 2018 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championship in Reno, Nevada. Hyde will race at the 2018 UCI Cyclocross World Championships this weekend in the Netherlands. COURTESY WIL MATHEWS
@kylegrbwsk
NORTHAMPTON — Racing in Europe doesn’t feel so foreign anymore to Stephen Hyde.
He used to compete in races in Belgium and the Netherlands feeling like a guest, acutely aware he was an American racing in Europe.
After spending the last two years basing himself in Europe rather than Easthampton, Hyde, 30, is comfortable across the pond among peers.
“I belong, I’m one of the guys they’re racing,” he said. “They’re racing me.”
That level of comfort meant Hyde knew exactly how he needed to adjust landing in Europe ahead of this weekend’s UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Valkenburg aan de Geul in the Netherlands.
He, and many of Hampshire County’s world-class cyclocross riders, flew out last week before the Hoogerheide UCI World Cup race Jan. 28. That gave them an opportunity to reacclimate to European racing following a stint on home soil for the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships last month.
Cyclocross is a cycling discipline traditionally raced in the fall and winter that features circuit racing around a course that can go over roads, natural terrain, or man-made obstacles. Occasionally cyclists need to dismount their bikes to navigate barriers, hills and other obstacles.
Hyde, Easthampton’s Jeremy Powers, 34, and Jack Kisseberth, 24, of Westhampton, all placed in the top 10 at the national championships and were selected to the elite men’s team for worlds. Powers, a four-time national champion, and Kisseberth were selected to the team by USA cycling, while Hyde automatically qualified as the reigning two-time national champion and Pan-American champion. They’ll race Sunday.
Westhampton resident Ellen Noble, 22, will race in Saturday’s women’s elite field after taking second at the U.S. national championships.
Hyde bested Powers to win the 2018 national title in Reno, Nevada, on Jan. 14, making a late move to retain the star-spangled jersey awarded to the winner.
“It’s a different kind of pressure trying to repeat than going for the first one,” Hyde said. “You ask yourself like is this going to be the last one?”
Noble won three under-23 national championships before moving into the elite category this season. She finished second behind 14-time champion Katie Compton in Reno.
“That was a huge result for me, especially after a year that’s had so many problems I was finally able to put it together on the day,” Noble said.
She’s had an uneven season moving into the elite ranks.
“I hoped to be on better form and be able to win more races or be a factor in more races whereas this year I felt I was just kind of there,” Noble said. “Battling injuries and personal issues this summer kept me from being exactly where I want to be.”
Noble also needed to navigate the mental gymnastics of pulling to the line with the likes of Compton. She looked up to the people around her for her entire career and now she needed to try and beat them.
“You have to balance wanting to be really respectful of your fellow athletes but still having that fight and not just wanting to give up,” she said. “It’s been a tough transition.”
They’ll all face a tough course in Valkenburg. It traverses a hill and features primarily descents or climbs. Even the flat sections are off camber, or on the side of a hill.
“If you don’t know how to ride within your ability you’re not going to finish this course,” Hyde said. “I tend to do well on courses with a lot of elevation change.”
Powers sees a course that benefits his strength and ability to push out wattage on the pedals. He’s ridden in the top 10 at World Cup events held in Valkenburg.
Noble, who was second in the U23 world championships last year in Luxembourg, views it as an extremely technical course with challenging features and descents to navigate.
“That suits me really well,” she said. “If we have the weather we’re expecting it’s going to be muddy and that’s going to make the natural terrain even trickier.”
Powers doesn’t expect to win the world championship. Neither does Hyde. Powers likes the Netherlands’ 23-year-old star Mathieu van der Poel or another rider from the Belgium-Netherlands block. Van der Poel just won the Hoogerheide World Cup race ahead of the world championships.
“Van der pol is like the king of cross right now,” Powers said. “He’s winning everything, it’s almost making the racing a little boring.”
Noble will face threats from Compton as well as Belgium’s Sanne Cant and Italy’s Eva Lechner.
“It’s going to be a great way to end the season,” Noble said. “I think it’s going to be a good day.”
No American has ever won a cyclocross world championship. Many of the American riders view it as a celebration of their season.
“It’s a privilege to be here, but if I do a good ride it’s a bonus on top of season I’ve already had,” Powers said.
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com.
