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Gallery: USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships 2018

Stephen Hyde and Katie Compton defend their titles, but both faced stiff comptetion from rivals new and old.

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USA — Practice on the difficult technical sections went until sundown the day before the elite race. The off-camber section vexed riders and equipment. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Katie Compton found the limits of her tires on the off-camber section during practice. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Tire choice was dictated by the technical off-camber sections. Despite conditions that would otherwise call for file-tread tires front and rear, many racers opted for knobbies on the front. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — The future of cyclocross looked strong, as junior championship races were well-attended in every age group. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — The biggest field of the week was once again the singlespeed category, with 157 starters. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Jake Wells won the singlespeed race, his second championship win of the weekend. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Meredith Miller returned to ‘cross racing with a victory in the women’s singlespeed championship race. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Emma White secured her first U23 national championship on Sunday. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Spencer Petrov dug deep to secure fifth in the fastest and an aggressive U23 men’s championship race that resulted in upsets and the unexpected. Photo: @pinnedgrit

Christopher — A proven talent in road racing and on the mountain bike, Christopher Blevins was an unexpected entry in the U23 men’s championship race. Despite a second-row start, he was on the front of the race in the first few hundred yards and controlled the event from there. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Ellen Noble pinned up her number for her first elite women’s national championship. It’s a ritual, and each rider has a different approach. Some do it the night before or even when they receive their registration packet, and others include it in an established schedule on race day. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — The elite women’s front row settled in as the 45-rider field was called to the start grid. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Ellen Noble already had the elite women’s field strung out within the front start straight. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Katie Compton took the lead from Ellen Noble on the first lap with a dramatic pass on the most technical section of the course. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Katie Compton led the elite women through the sand on lap one. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Katie Compton dropped into the most technical turn with skill every lap. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Katie Compton and Mark Legg celebrated another championship just after the finish. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Ellen Noble was ecstatic after her first elite women’s championship race, just seven seconds off the winner. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Fourteen in a row for Katie Compton. G.O.A.T. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — The elite women’s podium of Katie Compton, Ellen Noble, and Kaitie Keough at 2018 ‘cross nationals. The podium was familiar, but the racing to get there was anything but, with the closest race for first in recent memory.

USA — Katie Compton’s winning Trek Boone. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Tom Hopper completed final preparations on Jeremy Power’s race bike Sunday morning. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Tobin Ortenblad emerged from his trailer ready and prepared after weeks of training in Santa Cruz, a few hour’s drive away from the Reno venue. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Cannondale mechanic Gary Wolfe put the final touches on Stephen Hyde’s race bike Sunday morning. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — While much of the front row was taken up by familiar faces, Anthony Clark and Jack Kisseberth earned their front-row starts through a lot of hard work throughout the season. Photo: @pinnedgrit

Stephen — Stephen Hyde was in high spirits on the nationals start line, despite training difficulties due to a problematic knee injury earlier in the 2017 season. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Jeremy Powers arrived at the championship start line after two frustrating seasons and a long winter training camp in New Mexico. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Kerry Werner led the 43-rider elite men’s field out of the start. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Tobin Ortenblad led the elite men’s field through the technical section on the first lap. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Spectators predictably gathered around the most challenging sections of the course. The sidehill off-camber was genius course design and tested competitors and tires. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Stephen Hyde’s extended practice sessions on the technical sections helped him on race day. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Jeremy Powers led in the off-camber section. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — After animating and even leading in the early laps, Tobin Ortenblad lost contact with the very front of the race with three laps to go. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Stephen Hyde began to pull away from Jeremy Powers with just over a lap remaining. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Stephen Hyde secured his second-consecutive elite national championship Sunday in Reno, Nevada in a race that looked like the master-and-mentor contests with Jeremy Powers of two seasons ago. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — A wave of emotions overcame Stephen Hyde as he was congratulated by Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com director Stu Thorne and then Jeremy Powers. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — 2018 USAC Cyclocross National Championships

USA — Stephen Hyde’s winning Cannondale Super X. Photo: @pinnedgrit

USA — Two time US National Cyclocross Champion Stephen Hyde. Photo: @pinnedgrit

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