Bishop and Batty lead Pro XCT standings

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Jeremiah Bishop (Sho-Air/Cannondale) and Todd Wells (Specialized) early on lap one. (Image credit: John Muller/US Cup)

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Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing) riding in third position (Image credit: Dave McElwaine/trailwatch.net)

Jeremiah Bishop (Sho-Air/Cannondale) and Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing) vaulted into the USA Cycling Pro Cross Country Tour (Pro XCT) lead with their performances at the Bonelli Park US Cup, held on March 16-17 in San Dimas, California.

Xterra world champ Paterson surprises with victory at Bonelli Park Pro XCT

Men

With the absence of first-round winner Daniel McConnell (Trek Factory Racing), Bishop and Todd Wells (Specialized Racing), who were second and third, respectively, in last week's standings, had the top spot in their sights heading into the Bonelli Park race.

Bishop and Wells, along with Raphael Gagne (Rocky Mountain) quickly separated themselves from the pack, but as Bishop applied the pressure on the technical and warm course, Wells and Gagne could not keep pace and Bishop crossed the line with over a minute to spare on Gagne and over two minutes on Wells.

With his victory, Bishop takes over the US Pro XCT men's standings lead with 450 points, followed by Wells with 350 points and Sam Schultz (Trek Factory Racing) with 280 points. McConnell and Gagne round out the top five of the men's standings with 250 and 200 points, respectively.

Women

Lesley Paterson (Scott Bicycles), the 2011 and 2012 XTerra Triathlon world champion, bested a field that included Olympic cross country mountain bikers Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing), Lea Davison (Specialized Factory Racing) and Annie Last (Trek Factory Racing) to claim victory on the redesigned course at Bonelli Park.

After starting near the back row, Paterson caught up to the three Olympians on the second of five laps and then broke away with Batty on the third circuit. Paterson would slowly pull away from Batty to finish more than 20 seconds in front.

The silver medal by Batty, along with her third-place finish at the Mellow Johnny's Classic season opener on March 2, gives the Canadian the series lead in the Pro XCT women's standings after two events with 375 points. Last is close behind Batty with 340 points, followed by Chloe Woodruff (Crankbrothers Race Club 11) with 300 points, and Erin Huck (Tokyo Joe's) with 260 points. Mellow Johnny's Classic winner Rebecca Henderson (Trek Factory Racing) is fifth in the women's standings with 250 points. Henderson was racing at home in Australia instead of at Bonelli Park.

Trek Factory Racing maintains its lead in the Pro XCT team standings after two of nine races on the calendar with 935 points. Sho-Air-Cannondale sits in second place with 540 points, followed by Specialized Racing in third place with 525. BMC MTB Development Team has a slim lead over Kona for the fourth-place spot with 145 points to Kona's 140 points.

Elite men US Pro XCT standings after two rounds
#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Jeremiah Bishop	450	pts
2	Todd Wells	350
3	Sam Schultz	280
4	Daniel McConnell	250
5	Raphael Gagne	200
6	Ryan Woodall	195
6	Benjamin Sonntag	195
7	Derek Zandstra	150
8	Mitchell Hoke	145
9	Cameron Jette	140
9	Antoine Caron*	140
10	Colin Cares	120
10	Adam Morka	120
11	Zachary Valdez*	111
12	Russell Finsterwald*	100
13	Alexander Grant	90
14	Kris Sneddon	85
15	Robert McCarty	81
16	Tristan Uhl	80
16	Kerry Werner*	80
17	Casey Williams*	78
18	Jason Sager	75
19	Payson McElveen*	70
19	Travis Woodruff	70
20	Peter Glassford	65
21	Macky Franklin	60
21	Barry Wicks	60
22	Keegan Swenson*	55
22	Rotem Ishay	55
23	Cole Oberman	51
24	Menso de Jong	50
24	Michael Zanetti*	50
25	JoseJuan Escarcega	40
25	Colin Osborn	40
26	Kalan Beisel	38
27	Miguel Valadez	36
28	Clinton Claassen	34
28	William Melone	34
29	Connor McCutcheon*	32
29	Tristan Cowie	32
30	Ryan Chandler	28
30	Drew Edsall	28
31	Shawn Milne	26
31	David Hanes	26
32	Ignacio Torres*	24
33	Joel Titius*	23
33	Matt Gordon	23
34	Bryan Fawley	22
34	Jason Siegle	22
35	Riley Howard*	21
36	Ivan Lizardi	20
36	Sean Donovan	20
37	Ernie Watenpaugh	19
37	Elliot Reinecke	19
38	Jonathan Sundt	18
38	Samuel Morrison	18
39	Craig Wohlschlaeger	17
39	Taylor Smith*	17
39	Kyle Taylor	17
40	Mathieu Bilodeau	16
41	Ely Woody	15
42	Jacob Albrecht*	14
42	Charles Jenkins	14
43	Nathan Guerra	13
43	Jakub Valigura	13
44	Nathan Brown	12
44	Kevin Bradford-Parish	12
45	Blake Harlan	11
46	Eliel Anttila*	10
46	Keith Hargis	10
47	Billy Wood	9
47	JuanCarlos NunezGalvan*	9
48	Brad Wilhelm	8
49	Derek Hermon	7
50	Nick Truitt	6
51	Hal Helbock	5
51	Garet Steinmetz	5
52	Craig Kunz	4
52	Thomas Turner	4
53	Gerald Drummond*	3
53	Sam Gross*	3
54	Wiley Mosley	2
55	Alex Wild*	1
55	Garnet Vertican	1

Elite women US Pro XCT standings after two rounds
#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Emily Batty	375	pts
2	Annie Last	340
3	Chloe Woodruff	300
4	Erin Huck	260
5	Rebecca Henderson*	250
5	Lesley Paterson	250
6	Christina Gokey-Smith	230
7	Judy Freeman	210
8	Erica Tingey	200
9	Lea Davison	175
10	Nina Baum	165
11	Rebecca Gross	150
12	Amanda Sin	120
13	Jamie Busch	85
14	Larissa Fitchett	80
15	Lisa Uranga	70
15	Krista Park	70
16	Victoria Barclay	65
16	Shayna Powless*	65
17	Mikaela Kofman	60
17	Karlee Gendron*	60
18	Kata Skaggs	55
18	Katherine Sherwin	55
19	Sydney Fox	50
19	Amy Beisel	50
20	Deidre York*	45
21	Anna Dvorak	40
22	BETH UTLEY	38
23	Vanessa Humic	36

Teams US Pro XCT standings after two rounds
#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Trek Factory Racing	935	pts
2	Sho-Air/Cannondale	540
3	Specialized Racing	525
4	BMC MTB Development Team	145
5	Kona	140