CrossVegas may have taken place a week ago but it’s still fresh in our memory. The second stop on the ITCH Tour, CrossVegas never disappoints. With a new course and a world class field for the World Cup opener, the racing was intense. ITCH Tour photographer, Bruce Buckley , captured all of the action in this edition of The Big Picture.
A moment of calm focus for Ellen Noble (Aspire Racing) as she pins her numbers on for the first World Cup of the season. Noble and Emma White (Cannondale) were top contenders for the U23 World Cup leader jersey at CrossVegas. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Shades of things to come. Sophie DeBoer (Kalas-H.Essers-NNOF) and Ellen Noble (Aspire) before the start of the elite women’s race at CrossVegas. DeBoer ended the day with the women’s World Cup leader’s jersey while Noble claimed the U23 jersey. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Goodbye, Team Luna Bar. Hello, Team Clif Bar. The Clif women shed their old jerseys and rolled out on course to show off some early season strength at CrossVegas. Also, some half-naked dudes with umbrellas were hanging around them. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Last year’s World Cup winner, Sanne Cant (Enertherm-Beobank) takes center stage as the first call up at CrossVegas. Cant missed the podium and just cracked the top 10 in 9th. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography DeBoer (center) is all business at the start of CrossVegas, flanked by Caroline Mani (Raleigh Clement, right) and Amanda Miller (Boulder Cycle Sport/Yogaglo). © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Ellen van Loy (Telenet Fidea) made the first attack in the uphill sand pit at CrossVegas, but ultimately had to dismount. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography The preferred line for the women’s race was the center, but most riders made it no more than halfway through. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Catherine Pendrel (Clif Bar) put in a huge effort off the front on lap 2. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Great start to the season for Amanda Miller, who stayed in the mix throughout the race and finished just off the podium in 4th. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography The podium selection seemed obvious by mid-race with Katie Compton (Trek), right, Katerina Nash (Clif Bar), center, and DeBoer, left, often opening gaps on the field. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Caroline Mani missed the podium selection, but held on for 5th. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Courtenay McFadden drops down one of the course’s two flyovers on her way to a 10th place finish. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography DeBoer wins the sprint for the line followed by Nash and Compton. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Eva Lechner (Clif Bar) gave everything she had to pull off a mid-pack finish. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography First World Cup podium of the season. DeBoer in 1st, Nash in 2nd and Compton in 3rd. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Men’s Cyclocross U.S. Champ meets Men’s Cyclocross World Champ. Jeremy Powers (Aspire) and Wout van Aert (Crelan) keep the mood ight at the line just before the start of CrossVegas. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Tough start for Kerry Werner (Kona), who had to pick his bike out of the crowd after a pile up in turn 1 of the race. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Stephen Hyde (Cannondale) announced his presence on the world stage by leading the men’s elite field into the sand on lap 1. Hyde paid dearly for those early efforts, finishing in 31st. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Michael Vanthourenhout (Marlux-Napoleon) makes it looks easy, as he takes a flyer off the front on lap 4. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Despite Vanthourenhout’s efforts, Van Aert always kept Vanthourenhout in his grasp. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Powers was the top-placed U.S. rider on the day, finishing in 18th. He was 5th at last year’s race. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Laurens Sweeck (ERA Circus) made a strong impression in his first World Cup of the season, landing on the third step of the podium. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Dominant early season performance by Van Aert. Despite a mid-race crash that popped him from the lead group, Van Aert caught back on and then rode away from the competition for the win. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Ten trips through the sand pit took a toll on Tim Merlier (Crelan) and others in the men’s elite field. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Post-race cooldown for Anthony Clark (Squid). Temps were in the 80s, but high humidity sapped many in the field. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography All Belgians for the men’s CrossVegas podium: Van Aert (1st), Vanthourenhout (2nd) and Sweeck (3rd). The top 7 finishers were all from Belgium. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography Post-race interview after a perfect start to the season for Van Aert. © 2016 Bruce Buckley Photography
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If the Powers/Van Aert photo doesn’t lift your mood nothing will.