Ellen Noble On Katie Compton, Sven Nys, And Her European Campaign

We talked with Noble about her season so far, her relationship with Katie Compton, and how she ended up at a cyclocross practice alongside Sven Nys.

Dec 21, 2017 by Ian Dille

Ellen Noble On Katie Compton, Sven Nys, And Her European Campaign

At the UCI World Cup race in Namur, Belgium, Ellen Noble concluded a nearly two-month long block of European cyclocross racing.

In Europe, her Aspire Racing team — comprised of Noble, manager Molly Hurford and her husband, mechanic Peter Glassford, as well as under-23 racer Spencer Petrov — is based out of an eclectic rental house in the forest outside of Antwerp.

“Everyone seems to have their own forest for training around here,” Noble said. “But I particularly like ours.”

She also noted that the team’s house in Belgium featured a fish tank — inside the shower.

During her European racing block, Noble experienced dramatic highs and lows.

Upon arriving in Belgium, she came down with food poisoning and suffered through World Cup races in Bogense, Denmark, and Zeven, Germany.

However, after recovering, she began taking early command of international UCI races, landing a second-place finish in Hamme behind Sanne Cant and nabbing the hole shot in Overijse.

She celebrated her 22nd birthday with a quick trip to Paris, posing in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Then, at the World Cup in Namur, she crashed spectacularly on the off camber, rutted downhill section, bouncing off the course ropes.

Prior to returning to the U.S. to prepare for the national championships, we talked with Noble about her season so far, her relationship with Katie Compton (any budding generational rivalry?), and how she ended up at a cyclocross practice alongside the legend himself, Sven Nys.

How are your feeling about your season as this European block of racing comes to a close?

What made the difference at the races where you took command at the start?

In Overijse, there was an accusation on Twitter that you "chopped" Katie Compton (which both you and Compton squashed), can you take us through that start, and getting the hole shot there?