Heading into the weekend as the top-ranked American in cyclo-cross, Stephen Hyde looks to be the favorite based on this season's results alone to win a national championship in Hartford, Connecticut. Of course, he's never actually done it before. The runner-up in 2016, Hyde will need to overcome four-time champ Jeremy Powers and a host of other talented riders on a challenging course that can't be underestimated.
What's more, being a race favorite, even a prohibitive one, is a relatively new experience for the 29-year-old Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com rider.
"Last year was interesting. For the first time I was a podium contender, in a realistic sense," Hyde told Cyclingnews this week. "I was probably second more than anyone last year. It definitely showed in the results of nationals, I was second again. Jeremy's an incredible athlete, an incredible contender, he's won nationals four times, three times in a row. Last year, I was still the underdog.
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"This year, I'm coming into it the opposite. I'm not the underdog anymore. I think by all accounts, with people that I've spoken to, everybody thinks it's up to me, my race to lose. I've never been in that position before, at least in national championships. So I'm just treating at as another race — I have been in this situation before in every other race. If I let it be a national championship but not another race, then I'm in a situation I haven't dealt with. So I just treat it like another race and then I know what to do."
Based on what he's achieved thus far this season, the Pan American champion has every reason to feel optimistic about his chances, even against the competition. Powers (Aspire Racing) has battled injury and illness during a frustrating season, and has been training in New Mexico hoping to reclaim his form. Hyde, meanwhile, has consistently racked up strong results all across the calendar. He has taken several big wins on the US professional calendar to go with his Pan Am title, and has recently returned to the States after encouraging showings against top competition in Europe.
"I've had a real smooth year this year," Hyde said. "Knock on wood, no setbacks. Since it's my second year on the Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld program, it's been almost more about dialing in our program, dialing in our overall relationships within the program, like how well the mechanics and the staff work together. How the riders interact and how i fit into that. I've worked really hard over the last two seasons on integrating and making the best out of the program. So I feel really confident in that. My confidence in the program leads to my confidence in the training and vice versa, and the results follow.
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