Irmiger wins Missoula US Pro XCT
Mata and Woodruff make up the podium
Heather Irmiger (Subaru-Trek) raced to victory in round four of the US Pro XCT in Missoula, Montana on Saturday afternoon. Fresh off her third place finish at US Nationals last weekend in Sun Valley, Irmiger beat runner-up Pua Mata (Sho-Air) by 1:25 and third place finisher Chloe Woodruff (Crankbrothers Race Club) by 4:03.
Irmiger led from the gun and never looked back as she raced four laps around the 4.4km course on a hot day in dry conditions. She also wowed spectators by taking the infamous A-line jump, gaining valuable seconds on each lap over those who had to opt for the longer, gentler B-line singletrack.
Woodruff rode much of the race in second place and was chased by Mata. However, once Woodruff had to stop in the pit for tech assistance, Mata caught and passed her. Mata rode in second place for the duration while Woodruff finished third - her best ever US Pro XCT result thus far.
Judy Freeman and Evelyn Dong battled head-to-head for fourth place. The two rode together much of the race and were well matched. Freeman was descending slightly faster and given that the race finished with more downhill, that made the difference in the end. Freeman finished 11 seconds in front of Dong.
In contrast to 2011, when none of the elite women rode the A-line jump, three did so this time around. In addition to Irmiger, U23 racer Deidre York (The Gear Movement/Epic Pro Cycling) also nailed the jump as did Lizzy English (Giant).
With her second place finish, Mata held onto her lead in the US Pro XCT while Irmiger moved up into third, thanks to her winning points. Erin Huck (Tokyo Joes) is in third spot.
The US Pro XCT final round will happen at the Subaru Cup in Wisconsin in late August.
Race note
For her victory, Irmiger was awarded a unique trophy: a huge a rack (antlers).
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Heather Irmiger (USA) Subaru/Trek | 1:17:18 |
2 | Pua Mata (USA) Sho-Air | 0:01:25 |
3 | Chloe Woodruff (USA) Crankbrothers Race Club | 0:04:03 |
4 | Judy Freeman (USA) | 0:05:37 |
5 | Evelyn Dong (USA) | 0:05:48 |
6 | Rose Grant (USA) Sportsman and Ski Haus | 0:06:31 |
7 | Erin Huck (USA) Tokyo Jones | 0:06:54 |
8 | Krista Park (USA) Cannondale/NoTubes | 0:07:08 |
9 | Rebecca Gross (USA) Tough Girl Cycling | 0:07:57 |
10 | Nina Baum (USA) | 0:08:18 |
11 | Heidi Rentz (USA) | 0:08:25 |
12 | Teal Stetson-Lee (USA) Luna | 0:08:49 |
13 | Zephanie Blasi (USA) WXC World Racing | 0:10:14 |
14 | Deidre York (USA) The Gear Movement/Epic Pro Cycling | 0:10:34 |
15 | Elisa Otter (USA) Southern Express | 0:11:10 |
16 | Elizabeth English (USA) | 0:12:31 |
17 | Jamie Busch (USA) Calmar/Quadzilla Racing | 0:14:11 |
18 | Sage Wilderman (USA) Kenda/Felt | 0:14:18 |
19 | Katherine O'Shea (Aus) Torq Nutrition | 0:15:32 |
20 | Sarah Sturm (USA) Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory/Devo | 0:16:26 |
21 | Bryna Blanchard (USA) Windham Mountain Cycling Club | 0:17:33 |
22 | Shannon Gibson (USA) Stan's NoTubes Elite Women's Team | 0:18:57 |
23 | Lauren Catlin (USA) Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory/Devo | 0:19:06 |
24 | Shannon Holden (USA) Vanderkitten Focus/Vanderkitten | 0:24:30 |
-1lap | Alicia Rose Pastore (USA) BMC Mountain Bike Development Team | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews. She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
As it happened: How Trek-Segafredo continued their dominance at Trofeo Alfredo Binda
A reduced bunch sprint brought the fourth win in a row for the team -
Trofeo Alfredo Binda: Elisa Balsamo victorious over Lotte Kopecky
Lidl-Trek sprinter takes her second win in Italian WorldTour race -
Peter Sagan to undergo second heart surgery
Slovakian's Olympic goals hit another bump -
The agony and ecstasy of Milan-San Remo - Analysis
Cyclingnews' Stephen Farrand examines why the unpredictable Italian race is the best hour of the whole season