Geoff Kabush and Nash win Grand Junction Off-Road Fat Tire Crits

Image 1 of 43

Geoff Kabush (Scott Maxxis) went off the front of the race with five laps remaining. He was able to hold off the peloton and take the win despite the determined efforts of several riders. Todd Wells (SRAM-TLD) finished second, while Brian Matter (Linear Sport Racing) finished a close third.

Geoff Kabush explained, "For the first ten, twelve, fourteen minutes there were some attacks and I was just feeling out the speed in the corners. Once things started to settle down I just countered one move and wasn't fully committed but they let me get ten seconds. I just tried to ride really smooth and hit it in the headwind on the backside. When the laps started counting down I knew that people would start to get a bit discouraged and hesitate. I just kept it rolling and was happy to see the three, two, one (laps) to go."

Women's Race

Katerina Nash (Clif Pro Team), the most successful short track racer in history, rode a tactically perfect race to win the Fat Tire Crit on the final lap. Her teammate Maghalie Rochette set up the win by attacking the peloton and riding off the front for several laps. It forced others to chase her down while Nash sat in and kept her powder dry. Amy Beisel (Pro Cycling) finished second and local favourite Alexis Skarda (Stans NoTubes) took third place. Her work done, Rochette rolled in to take eighth place.

USA Marathon Champion Rose Grant (Stans NoTubes), a favorite this weekend, was leading the race early on when she slid out in a corner and re-injured her dislocated shoulder. She was taken to hospital and is unlikely to race in the cross-country event on Sunday.

Katerina Nash was ecstatic about Rochette's effort. She remarked, "She did all the work. She did all the work. We were the only two out there (in the lead group) who had teammates so we definitely wanted to use that to our advantage. It was super windy and Maghalie went out there in put in the perfect attack, and I thought she was going to stay away. It was so close."

Rochette added, "I wanted to try something and I wanted it to stick until the end, but at the same time I knew that if they caught me that Katerina was in good position. It was awesome.

Full Results