Plaxton wins Whiskey Off Road crit

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The Whiskey Off-Road weekend got underway Friday night with the pro fat tire criterium on the streets of Prescott. Max Plaxton (Sho-Air/ Cannondale), still building strength after a long absence due to injury, won tonight after being the aggressor. Geoff Kabush (Scott 3Rox Racing) came up a bit short, but nailed down second place. Sid Taberlay (Kenda) rode a brilliant tactical race to take third place. Spenser Paxson (Kona) was fourth, and Derek Zandstra (Scott 3 Rox Racing) was third)

The fat tire crit course was incredibly difficult. After a short neutral start, riders faced a wall that hurt the legs. At the top of the climb riders made a right turn and then faced a second punishing climb. They raced twenty minutes plus three laps.

"I've done lots of road crits but this was way harder," said Plaxton

Taberlay said, “Uphill was hard with a surge. Then there is a plateau…then another surge on the next hill. Once you got to the top, it was pretty much a tuck the whole way down. It was kind of like interval training; up the hill, down the hill, up the hill.”

After a few laps with the 76-rider peloton staying intact, Plaxton launched an uphill attack at the base of the wall. “I went off early but by yourself it was really tough. There was no way I could have held that until the end. I was kind of hoping that one or two people would come across.”

Taberlay expained the race dynamics, “The front group would carry so much momentum through the (start/finish) corner and up the hill that it was pretty hard for anyone solo to get away.”

When Plaxton attacked, Kabush could be seen leading the chase. Almost immediately, the pace quickened and the entire peloton was single file. When contact was made the group settled back into a large pack while trying desperately to recover.

Then Todd Wells (Specialized) then decided to take a flier. He said, “There was a prime with three laps to go. We go so slowly up the second climb that I figured I would hit it there, possibly get away on the descent, and that someone would come across. I did get a small gap but the whole group came across. I pretty much sat up after that.”

On the last lap, the main contenders were all going full throttle and Plaxton just had a bit more acceleration. Kabush was positioned well on Plaxton’s wheel but the downhill finish did not really allow for much of a sprint at the end.

“That was really tough. The altitude for me is really tough,” said Plaxton. “The crowd was awesome and it was a super exciting race. I haven’t won a race in a long time so I’m super happy to do it here.”

WHISKEY OFF ROAD DAY 1 from Epic Rides on Vimeo.

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