Max Plaxton (Sho-Air/Cannondale) won the Catamount Classic Pro XCT in Vermont on Saturday afternoon. Plaxton finished ahead of Stephen Ettinger (BMC) and Todd Wells (Specialized).
From the beginning, Ettinger took off and held a strong lead of about 20 seconds for the majority of the race. The US Cross Country National Champion was leading the race with one lap to go, but Plaxton closed the gap to him and won the sprint finish.
The battle within the battle was for third place between two men who wanted the Pro XCT overall title: Wells and Bishop. They, along with Kohei Yamamoto (Specialized), entered the finish chute each with equal chance of taking third. In a masterful demonstration of team tactics, Specialized teammates slingshotted Wells into the bronze position to take the Pro XCT overall win.
Yamamoto finished fourth, ahead of Bishop in fifth.
Both Wells and Bishop had comeback kind of races with Wells having to recover from a mechanical early in the race and Bishop having to recover following a big crash.
Full Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Plaxton (Can) Team Sho-Air/Cannondale | 1:41:47 |
| 2 | Stephen Ettinger (USA) BMC Mountainbike Racing | 0:00:07 |
| 3 | Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Racing | 0:00:29 |
| 4 | Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) Specialized | 0:00:32 |
| 5 | Jeremiah Bishop (USA) Sho-Air/Cannondale | 0:00:39 |
| 6 | Cameron Jette (Can) Scott - 3 Rox Racing | 0:01:44 |
| 7 | Russell Finsterwald (USA) Trek Factory Racing | 0:01:56 |
| 8 | Howard Grotts (USA) Specialized Racing | 0:02:23 |
| 9 | Kerry Werner (USA) BMC MTB Development Team | 0:02:38 |
| 10 | Rotem Ishay (USA) Team Jamis Bikes | 0:02:57 |
| 11 | Mitchell Hoke (USA) Kenda Felt | 0:04:05 |
| 12 | Ryan Woodall (USA) Top Gear Bicycles | 0:04:09 |
| 13 | Cameron Dodge (USA) Scott Mountain Bike Team | 0:04:13 |
| 14 | Sebastian Batchelor (GBr) Fluid Fin Race Team | 0:04:54 |
| 15 | Nicolas Sessler (Bra) Caloi Elite Team | 0:05:26 |
| 16 | Casey Williams (USA) Whole Athlete/Specialized | 0:05:45 |
| 17 | William Melone (USA) Riverside Racing | 0:05:50 |
| 18 | Mathieu Bélanger-Barrette (Can) Opus\Ogc | 0:06:43 |
| 19 | Sepp Kuss (USA) Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory | 0:07:05 |
| 20 | Marc-Antoine Nadon (Can) Scott-3Rox Racing | 0:07:10 |
| 21 | Dirk Peters (NZl) | 0:07:17 |
| 22 | Payson McElveen (USA) Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory | 0:07:21 |
| 23 | Tristan Cowie (USA) Mob Pro Mountain Bike Team | 0:07:34 |
| 24 | Cole Oberman (USA) Breakaw Aybikes.Com | 0:08:28 |
| 25 | Christopher Hamlin (USA) Bicycle Express/Kona Bikes | 0:09:17 |
| 26 | Alexandre Vialle (Can) Espresso Sport | 0:09:46 |
| 27 | Tom Sampson (USA) Adigga Racing | 0:10:02 |
| 28 | Richard Cypress Gorry (USA) Whole Athlete-Specialized | 0:10:05 |
| 29 | Robert McCarty (USA) Ag Bicycles | 0:10:24 |
| 30 | Zachary Valdez (USA) Whole Athlete/Specialized | 0:10:32 |
| 31 | Patrick Chartrand (Can) Les Yables | 0:10:41 |
| 32 | Gered Dunne (USA) Mason Racing | 0:12:49 |
| 33 | Shawn Milne (USA) Keough Cyclocross | 0:13:14 |
| 34 | Gregory Jancaitis (USA) Riverside Racing | 0:14:23 |
| 35 | Vincent Lessard (Can) Équipe Brunet | 0:14:42 |
| 36 | David Flaten (USA) Us Military Cycling | 0:14:55 |
| 37 | Vincent Belhumeur (Can) | 0:15:15 |
| 38 | Trevor DeRuise` (USA) Getreal Nutrition/Blu World | 0:39:25 |
| 39 | John Burns (USA) Burns Racing | 0:39:33 |
| 40 | Noah Tautfest (USA) Bicycle Express\Kona Bikes | 0:39:41 |
| 41 | Brendan McCormack (USA) | 0:39:45 |
| 42 | Jonathan Cantin (Can) Cvm Subway Sigma | 0:57:51 |
| DNF | Hamish Batchelor (GBr) Fluid Fin Race Team | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Michael Broderick (USA) Kenda/Stan's No Tubes | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Jordan Kahlenberg (USA) Giant Mid-Atlantic Off-Road | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Matthew Okeefe (USA) Riverside/Cannondale Racing | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Michael Sampson (USA) Adigga Racing | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
-
'There could be a massive drop-off' - Jay Vine warns of dramatically narrowing pathways to professionalism for Australian and New Zealanders
Australian paints gloomy picture for mid-to-long term future for riders from Down Under - with soaring costs providing another layer to the obstacles – but says there may be solutions -
'A year of balanced outcomes' - Brompton optimistic despite a £2 million loss and a drop in sales
Folding bike brand's CEO remains optimistic, branches into premium products and new markets -
'I'd like to try to do one as a leader' – Matteo Jorgenson reveals Grand Tour ambitions with Visma-Lease A Bike
'I would love to win a GC, but my main goal in the next year is to go back to winning a race and come across the finish line first somewhere' -
'The following Clubhouses will be closing before April 2026' - Rapha to shut a number of RCC venues as early as January 18th
This news comes as the brand reported an 8th loss-making year in a row in 2025
