Katerina Nash returned to cyclo cross with a top performance
Katerina Nash of Team Luna Pro Team marked her cyclo-cross debut during the fifth round in Namur, Belgium earlier on Sunday.
“I took a good break after the mountain bike season. I also had health issues: back problems. First, I just wanted to get healthy,” Nash said.
“I really needed a break and put in some miles. Now, it's the first time I am doing the Christmas series here in Belgium. I am staying near Antwerp, it seemed like the most central location," she concluded.
The cyclist managed to find the top podium position straight away as she claimed the second position during the recent event on 23 December.
She rode brilliantly throughout the race and was looking to claim the top position but could not really match the likes of Katherine Compton of Team Trek Cyclocross Collective and had to settle for the second position.
Compton managed to get passed the finish-line in a total time of 38 minutes and 9 second and occupied the top podium position and Nash finished 28 seconds behind at the second position.
She admired the Compton’s superb performance during the event and stated that her 10 second lead in the last lap was really difficult to overcome.
"She could sense me and had more left in her tank. I also flatted during the last lap, but I was already 10 seconds down on her. I told myself not to make more mistakes," Nash stated after the race.
Marianne Vos of Team Rabobank claimed the third spot with after finishing 50 seconds behind Katherine Compton with Helen Wyman of Team Kona and Nikki Harris of Team Young Telenet-Fidea Cycling securing the fourth and the fifth positions in the respective
order.
Katherine Compton currently leads the Elite Women World Cup standings after five rounds with a total number of 290 points to her credit while Sanne Van Paassen of Team Rabobank and Nikki Harris of Team Young Telenet-Fidea Cycling secures the second and the
third positions with 210 and 205 points respectively.
Katerina Nash only has 50 points to her credit considering she has not races much of the season and is currently at the 15th position but she is most likely to secure a better position in the coming events.
The cyclo-cross world championships are scheduled next month in Louisville, Kentucky and it will b the first time the event will be help outside Europe and Nash is all set to make most of her current form to acquire the desired results for the coming event.
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