Following the Wildflower Rush this past weekend in Crested Butte, Colorado, Cody Warren (DRD E-Fusion-Intense) stepped up and into the lead of the USA Cycling US Pro GRT series. Jill Kintner (Transition Racing) extended her lead in the women's series.
On a beautiful day in Crested Butte, Warren moved into the lead of the men's US Pro GRT standings after placing second at the Wildflower Rush. Australian Jared Graves (Yeti Fox Factory) used his technical skills to overcome a steady breeze to top the men's field with a time of 3:32.30. Ben Furbee (Transition-Fox Shox-e*thirteen) placed third on the wide open, dry ski run ahead of Richard Rude, Jr. (Yeti Fox Factory) and Logan Binggeli (KHS Bicycles Inc.), who placed fourth and fifth, respectively.
"Mt. Crested Butte set the stage for a competitive race with spectacular racing and a ripping fast course where only split seconds differentiated first, second and third," said Keith Darner, race director of the Mountain States Cup. "With world champions and World Cup competitors stacking the fields, it was great training ground for U.S. competitors looking to place well at upcoming Mont Sainte Anne (World Cup this weekend)."
Warren currently leads the standings ahead of Aaron Gwin (Trek World Racing) and Curtis Keene. Justin Leov and Richard Rude round out the top five.
Women
Kintner returned to the top of the women's podium after posting a 3:54.51 at the Wildflower Rush. Jacqueline Harmony (Vixen Racing) placed second and was the only other female rider to complete the course is less than four minutes. Melissa Buhl (KHS Bicycles) placed third, eight seconds ahead of Darian Harvey (Vixen Racing). Rebecca Gardner (Beacon Cycles) was fifth in the final results.
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In the standings, Kintner leads Harmony and Harvey. Joanna Petterson and Lauren Daney are fourth and fifth respectively.
The next event on the US Pro GRT calendar will be the Northstar downhill on August 27-28 at Northstar at Tahoe. The race was postponed from its earlier date due to heavy snowpack.
