Plaxton solos to cross country win

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Max Plaxton (Specialized) faced down the toughest climb on the US Pro XCT circuit and proved he deserved the win at round two in Fontana, California. A resurgent Jeremiah Bishop (Cannondale) was second, but could not quite hang on to Plaxton's wheel. Sam Schultz (Trek-Subaru) nailed down third place.

USA Champion Todd Wells (Specialized), respecting the fact that his teammate Plaxton was up the road, settled for fourth place. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Trek) rounded out the podium with a strong fifth place ride.

The new course at Fontana proved to be much more difficult than in past years. The climb up the mountain was made twice as long. Riders were calling it "The Beast" while the race announcer called it "Hurl Hill". Geoff Kabush (Team Maxxis) and Bishop took early turns on leading up the mountain, but Plaxton launced a third-lap attack that left the other contenders scratching their heads in amazement.

"I'm just trying to find my pacing," said Plaxton. "Other years I've gone out hard and faded the last couple laps. Now I'm trying to make my last couple of laps strong. Today I just punched it near the top of the climb on the third lap."

Bishop gave kudos to Plaxton "Max was definitely really strong. He came around me right at the top. He was riding full suspension. I was riding a hardtail. He definitely had the course dialed. He was the fastest on the descents - flowing and saving a lot of energy. I was glad that I pulled together a clean race and salvaged a great result."

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