Stephen Hyde took Jeremy Powers’ national championship crown earlier in the month.
Its weight hasn’t fully set in.
“I haven’t really thought about (being a national champion) that much,” he said. “It seeps in every now and then.”
Powers negotiated the end of his three-year title streak during the past two weeks racing in Europe. He’s nearing the end of a tough season marked by injuries and difficulty returning to form.
“I’m at peace with what’s happened this year,” Powers said. “I have not found my rhythm. It’s a constant ‘this is going to get better’. Mentally I’m not in a horrible place, but I do need the season to end.”
The end is approaching but there is one more big race. Hyde and Powers will lead four western Massachusetts riders at the 2017 UCI Cyclocross World Championships this weekend in Bieles, Luxembourg.
The Easthampton residents earned automatic bids, while Hyde enters the race as the U.S. and continental champion. They’ll be joined by Easthampton’s Jack Kisseberth, who is riding for Powers’ development program the JAM Fund, and Westhampton resident Jeremy Durrin. They’ll race Sunday in the men’s elite field.
“Just racing for your country and putting on a USA jersey is cool, and it gives you good feelings racing against some of the best guys you’ve seen in generations,” Durrin said. “It’s bigger than you. You’re representing your country as best you can.”
They’ll face a loaded field of Europeans accustomed to the conditions, style and rhythm of racing across the pond. Wout Van Aert of Belgium is the defending world champion and top-ranked rider in the cyclocross World Cup circuit. Five of the top six riders in the world are Belgian, broken up only by former world champion Mathieu Van Der Pol of the Netherlands in third.
“There’s a higher caliber of riders” in Europe, Hyde said. “The culture around racing is much different.”
Luxembourg last hosted the world championships in 1968. The event has been on a steady rotation through Belgium, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands for the past decade.
“It’s not one of our classic venues,” Powers said. “I would expect a large crowd.”
The course fits the occasion. It features off-camber hill sections, fly overs, stair climbs and log obstacles.
“It’s definitely a world championships course. It’s a pretty treacherous course,” Hyde said. “We’re going to deal with ice, we’re going to deal with mud. I’m preparing to do some epic battling.”
Temperatures in Bieles have stayed in the mid-20s and 30s leading up to the race, resulting in a snow-covered course and permafrost on the ground. The weather could warm above freezing during the championships, though, forcing riders to adjust to the mud rather than a slick track.
“It’s supposed to be a muddy slopfest,” Kisseberth said.
Hyde won the national title racing in similar conditions in Hartford, Connecticut. He and other riders always finish caked in the earth their tires have displaced.
Hyde loves it.
“That’s the thing I like about cyclocross. You have an opportunity to learn something about yourself and how you cope with things and how you are as a rider,” Hyde said.
No one from western Mass. expects to challenge for an elite podium or world championship. Hyde estimated his best day could place him 10th to 15th. He took 23rd last season.
“I’m also happy if I can break the 20s,” Hyde said. “As far as I’m concerned my season could have been over two weeks ago. I’m totally happy with my season.”
Powers isn’t gunning for places or times. He just wants to feel comfortable and confident during the ride with an eye toward being healthy and more competitive next season.
“There’s some stuff that’s controllable, and that’s what I’m going to work on now,” Powers said. “Just having a race that I’m happy with would be the most I can ask for.”
Durrin and Kisseberth are more there to gain experience. It’s Durrin’s second trip to worlds and Kisseberth’s first. They’re both aiming to finish in the 20s and 30s while juggling the inner competitive pull to want to be better.
“It’s definitely a weird space to be in knowing I don’t really have a chance of winning the race unless a crazy miracle happens,” Durrin said. “You want to put in a solid race and challenge yourself as far as you can.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettnet.com.