Calvin Conaway clears the barriers during competition in the U13 race. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Jake Orness
Gary Wolff puts the finishing touches on one of Stephen Hyde’s three bikes well before the Elite Men’s championship race. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Joe Creason Park in Louisville was near peak fall color for the Derby City Cup races, but USA Cycling Cyclocross Nationals will see different weather in December 2018. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Fast starter Emma White easily made it to the dirt first in the U23 Women’s UCI championship race. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Benjamin Gomez Villafane sprung from a group of five riders to win the UCI Junior 17-18 championship race. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Benjamin Gomez Villafane is greeted by his sister Sofia after he won the Pan Am Championship Jr Men 17-18 race. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Lane Maher collects his breath after crossing the line in the Pan Am Championship Jr Men 17-18 race. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
The cyclocross scene is much more relaxed than the road racing scene. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Stephen Hyde used a bottle of OKI Reserve Straight Kentucky Bourbon to pin his arm numbers. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Gage Hecht was relaxed at the start of the U23 Pan-American championship race. Hecht had the most successful two weeks of cyclocross in his career leading up to the race, finishing second in the elite men’s race in Cincinnati and in the Derby City Cup. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
U23 favorite Spencer Petrov broke a chain at the start, and was forced to chase for the remainder of the race and finished tenth. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Gage Hecht signals to the pit for a fresh bike. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Some of the mud was created by the washer runoff in the pit, creating a self perpetuating cycle. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Emma White with her new UCI Pan Am champion’s jersey. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Courtenay McFadden and Sofia Gomez Villafane on the trainers before the start of the Elite Women’s race. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
The first row of the Elite Women’s race. The women’s field started 31 riders. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Katie Compton, fresh off a second-place at the Koppenbergcross, was in career-best form at Louisville.. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
This third-lap bobble was the moment Katie Compton put the hammer down and created a twenty-second gap over Kaitie Keough. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Jake Orness
Ellen Noble descends the Pan Am Plunge. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Christel Ferrier Bruneau was congratulated by Caroline Mani at the finish for her third-place ride and for returning to the Elite field after taking a break to start a family. Both are French, but Ferrier Bruneau is married to a Canadian, allowing her to race the Pan Am Championships. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
The Continental Championships is open to racers who hold a valid UCI license issued by one of the national federations of the Pan-American Cycling Confederation. With that and with a separate race for the U23 category, the Elite field is never large, but is very fast. Less than thirty riders started Sunday’s Elite Men’s race. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Cody Kaiser had a fast start and found himself on the front during the first lap as the field passed pit one. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Tobin Ortenblad watched Michael Van Den Ham’s every move as the two slugged it out for second place for much of the race, and the duo set the fastest lap time of the race. Ortenblad’s sprint at the line earned him silver by tens of a second. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Jeremy Powers limped into the pits with one lap to go, and rather than exchanging bikes, alerted his crew he was done for the day. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Stephen Hyde repeats as UCI Continental Champion. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Cannondale team manager Stu Thorne was the first to greet Stephen Hyde at the finish. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Elite Women’s podium of Katie Compton, Kaitie Keough, and Christel Ferrier Bruneau. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
Elite Men’s podium of Stephen Hyde, Tobin Ortenblad, and Michael Van Den Ham. Photo: @pinnedgrit/Wil Matthews
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