Georgia Gould (Luna) and Max Plaxton (Specialized USA) sit atop the USA Cycling US Pro XCT series with just one round remaining. The action in the American cross country series resumed this weekend at the Subaru Cup in Mt. Morris, Wisconsin on June 25.
Men
After winning the Pro XCT's penultimate event last weekend, Canadian Max Plaxton holds a 60-point lead over national champion Todd Wells (Specialized). Sam Schultz (Subaru-Trek) is in a strong in third, although young Stephen Ettinger (BMC MTB Development) has been surging up the standings.
On Saturday at the Subaru Cup, Plaxton rode away with a 19-second, come-from-behind victory to all but seal the Pro XCT overall season title. Looking for a shot at the title, Wells took the hole shot at the bottom of the first climb, but Plaxton and Geoff Kabush (Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) soon overtook him. That duo started the fifth lap with a 50-second lead on Wells, and Plaxton made a strategic late-race attack to take his third Pro XCT victory of the season. Kabush finished second and two-time Olympian Wells was third. The 22-year-old Ettinger recorded his first major race podium in front of the raucous Wisconsin crowd.
Women
With her dominant victory at the Subaru Cup, Gould has overtaken Lea Davison (Specialized) atop the women's standings. Emily Batty (Subaru-Trek) is 180 points behind Davison in third place. Chloe Forsman (BMC MTB Development) and Krista Park (Cannondale-No Tubes) round out the top five.
In the women's race, Heather Irmiger (Subaru-Trek) took the early hole shot and led the women up the first long climb of the race. Gould overtook Irmiger by the first descent and did not look back on the very technical course with several short, but steep climbs.
Final round
The US Pro XCT finale will take place Saturday, July 23 in Missoula, Montana, as the calendar's newest addition, the Missoula XC, caps off the national mountain bike cross country calendar.
See Cyclingnews' full coverage of the Subaru Cup and stay tuned for full coverage of the final round.
US Pro XCT standings after four rounds
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Plaxton (Can) Specialized USA Factory Racing | 970 | pts |
| 2 | Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Factory Racing | 910 | |
| 3 | Sam Schultz (USA) Subaru-Trek | 700 | |
| 4 | Stephen Ettinger (USA) BMC MTB Development Team | 630 | |
| 5 | Sid Taberlay (Aus) | 590 | |
| 6 | Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru-Trek | 570 | |
| 7 | Jeremiah Bishop (USA) | 560 | |
| 8 | Adam Craig (USA) | 560 | |
| 9 | Geoff Kabush (Can) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain | 480 | |
| 10 | Spencer Paxson (USA) Kona | 425 | |
| 11 | Rotem Ishay (Isr) | 315 | |
| 12 | Barry Wicks (USA) Kona | 300 | |
| 13 | Adam Morka (Can) | 300 | |
| 14 | Ryan Woodall (USA) | 256 | |
| 15 | Raphael Gagne (Can) | 250 | |
| 16 | Kerry Werner (USA) BMC MTB Development Team | 214 | |
| 17 | Ryan Trebon (USA) | 210 | |
| 18 | Ignacio Torres (Mex) | 202 | |
| 19 | Kris Sneddon (Can) Kona | 188 | |
| 20 | Troy Wells (USA) | 187 | |
| 21 | Jason Sager (USA) | 185 | |
| 22 | Juan Carlos Herndandez Fernan (Mex) | 160 | |
| 23 | Peter Glassford (Can) | 155 | |
| 24 | Mitchell Hoke (USA) | 154 | |
| 25 | Justin Lindine (USA) | 142 | |
| 26 | Lachlan Norris (Aus) | 130 | |
| 27 | Derek Zandstra (Can) | 130 | |
| 28 | Dana Weber (USA) | 112 | |
| 29 | Carl Decker (USA) | 100 | |
| 30 | Tj Woodruff (USA) | 99 | |
| 31 | Drew Edsall (USA) | 98 | |
| 32 | Benjamin Sonntag (Ger) | 85 | |
| 33 | Seamus Powell (USA) | 80 | |
| 34 | Thomas Turner (USA) | 80 | |
| 35 | Bryson Perry (USA) | 72 | |
| 36 | Jack Hinkens (USA) | 64 | |
| 37 | Alejando Barajas (Mex) | 55 | |
| 38 | Emmanuel Valencia (Mex) | 52 | |
| 39 | Tristan Schouten (USA) | 50 | |
| 40 | Vincent Lombardi (USA) | 50 | |
| 41 | Brian Matter (USA) | 45 | |
| 42 | Jesse Anthony (USA) | 40 | |
| 43 | Matt Gordon (USA) | 40 | |
| 44 | Miguel Valadez (Mex) | 39 | |
| 45 | Nathan Guerra (USA) | 35 | |
| 46 | Bryan Fawley (USA) | 35 | |
| 47 | Kalan Beisel (USA) | 35 | |
| 48 | Colin Cares (USA) | 34 | |
| 49 | Joshua Carlson (Aus) | 32 | |
| 50 | Mitch Bailey (USA) | 30 | |
| 51 | Rick Wetherald (USA) | 30 | |
| 52 | Antoine Caron (Can) | 28 | |
| 53 | Blake Harlan (USA) | 28 | |
| 54 | Mike Phillips (USA) | 26 | |
| 55 | Kevin Fish (USA) | 26 | |
| 56 | John Nobil (USA) | 26 | |
| 57 | Russell Finsterwald (USA) | 26 | |
| 58 | Francis Morin (Can) | 24 | |
| 59 | Brandon Draugelis (USA) | 24 | |
| 60 | Zachary Valdez (USA) | 23 | |
| 61 | Eric Batty (Can) | 23 | |
| 62 | Lukas Buchli (Swi) | 22 | |
| 63 | Jose Juan Escarcega Salazar (Mex) | 20 | |
| 64 | Brian Van Ulden (USA) | 20 | |
| 65 | Ben Bostrom (USA) | 18 | |
| 66 | Jeff Herrera (USA) | 18 | |
| 67 | Jorge Munoz (USA) | 18 | |
| 68 | Cody Kaiser (USA) | 16 | |
| 69 | Brady Kappius (USA) | 16 | |
| 70 | Tyson Wagler (Can) | 16 | |
| 71 | Sean Donovan (USA) | 14 | |
| 72 | Jason Siegle (USA) | 14 | |
| 73 | Aaron Elwell (USA) | 12 | |
| 74 | Adam Snyder (USA) | 12 | |
| 75 | David Tinker Juarez (USA) | 12 | |
| 76 | Marton Blazso (Hun) | 10 | |
| 77 | Aaron Bradford (USA) | 9 | |
| 78 | Lucas Brusseau (USA) | 9 | |
| 79 | Martin Cox (USA) | 8 | |
| 80 | Kevin Smallman (USA) | 8 | |
| 81 | Jason Young (USA) | 7 | |
| 82 | Tim Allen (USA) | 6 | |
| 83 | John Rines (USA) | 6 | |
| 84 | Ken Onodera (Jpn) | 5 | |
| 85 | Craig Wohlschlae (USA) | 5 | |
| 86 | Anthony Sinyard (USA) | 4 | |
| 87 | Ned Overend (USA) | 4 | |
| 88 | Ronald Stawicki (USA) | 3 | |
| 89 | Graham Aldredge (USA) | 3 | |
| 90 | Menso De Jong (USA) | 3 | |
| 91 | Jim Hewett (USA) | 3 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia Gould (USA) Luna Pro Team | 910 | pts |
| 2 | Lea Davison (USA) Specialized USA Factory | 900 | |
| 3 | Emily Batty (Can) Subaru-Trek | 720 | |
| 4 | Chloe Forsman (USA) BMC MTB Development | 670 | |
| 5 | Krista Park (USA) | 608 | |
| 6 | Heather Irmiger (USA) Subaru-Trek | 520 | |
| 7 | Judy Freeman (USA) | 445 | |
| 8 | Sarah Kaufmann (USA) | 416 | |
| 9 | Catherine Pendrel (Can) Luna Pro Team | 390 | |
| 10 | Zephanie Blasi (USA) | 360 | |
| 11 | Carolyn Popovic (USA) | 351 | |
| 12 | Erica Zaveta (USA) BMC MTB Development | 345 | |
| 13 | Amanda Carey (USA) | 340 | |
| 14 | Daniela Campuzano Chavez (Mex) | 328 | |
| 15 | Kelli Emmett (USA) | 320 | |
| 16 | Kathy Sherwin (USA) | 220 | |
| 17 | Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Pro Team | 180 | |
| 18 | Nina Baum (USA) | 180 | |
| 19 | Lydia Tanner (USA) | 172 | |
| 20 | Marie-Helen Premont (Can) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain | 160 | |
| 21 | Pua Mata (USA) | 140 | |
| 22 | Amanda Sin (Can) | 130 | |
| 23 | Linnea Koons (USA) | 128 | |
| 24 | Mical Dyck (Can) | 120 | |
| 25 | Laura Morfin Ma Couzet (USA) | 110 | |
| 26 | Shannon Gibson (USA) | 105 | |
| 27 | Kaila Hart (USA) | 94 | |
| 28 | Kelsy Bingham (USA) | 90 | |
| 29 | Sarah Maile (USA) | 85 | |
| 30 | Jenna Rinehart (USA) | 80 | |
| 31 | Teal Stetson-Lee (USA) | 80 | |
| 32 | Erica Tingey (USA) | 70 | |
| 33 | Deyanira Guerrero (Mex) | 69 | |
| 34 | Abby Strigel (USA) | 60 | |
| 35 | Bryna Blanchard (USA) | 55 | |
| 36 | Laura Bietola (Can) | 55 | |
| 37 | Rebecca Rusch (USA) | 50 | |
| 38 | Catherine Vipond (Can) | 45 | |
| 39 | Susan Stephens (USA) | 35 | |
| 40 | Aleksandra Mooradian (Pol) | 35 | |
| 41 | Susan Butler (USA) | 30 | |
| 42 | Kim Eppen (USA) | 28 | |
| 43 | Danelle Kabush (Can) Luna Pro Team | 28 | |
| 44 | Kristina Laforge (Can) | 26 | |
| 45 | Melanie Colavito (USA) | 24 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Specialized USA Factory Racing | 239 | pts |
| 2 | Subaru-Trek | 197 | |
| 3 | BMC MTB Development Team | 174 | |
| 4 | Luna Pro Team | 171 | |
| 5 | Specialized Factory Racing | 121 |