Plaxton wins his third consecutive Mellow Johnny's

Image 1 of 34

Max Plaxton (Specialized) made it three in a row at the Mellow Johnny's Classic, winning by a comfortable margin after a hard-fought battle with Geoff Kabush (Scott-3Rox Racing) who finished second. Todd Wells (Specialized), unable to match the pace of the leaders, finished third. Derek Zanstra (Scott-3Rox Racing) finished fourth, while Sam Schultz (Subaru-Trek) took the last spot on the podium.

Kabush immediately went to the front after the start and led for the first few laps. Several riders commented after the race about the blistering pace he set. Plaxton said, "I felt good but Geoff was riding stuff really fast and smooth."

Wells added, "It was so fast. Kabush was just flying on the fast singletrack and the technical sections."

There was little doubt from the start that Plaxton was marking Kabush. The two waged war last season with Plaxton coming out on top of every meeting. "I went to the front and set a hard tempo and hoped for a mistake (behind me) but Todd and Max were working together," said Kabush after the race.

Within two laps, Kabush, Plaxton, and Wells had separated themselves from the pack behind them. Kabush, outnumbered by the strong Specialized duo, chose to maintain the lead for as long as possible rather than be beaten up by Plaxton and Wells.

Wells came unglued from the group when Plaxton finally attacked on lap four. Wells said, "I was suffering on the technical stuff and the climbs. Plaxton hit it just before the climb on the fourth lap and I just watched them ride away."

Kabush held Plaxton's wheel for a while longer but a separation finally occurred that grew slightly for the rest of the race.

The Canadian contingent put in a very strong performance today taking first, second, and fourth places on the podium. "They are always strong in the spring," said Wells. "They come out ready to race and were really strong today."

All three of them are in competition to be named to the Canadian Olympic Team.

This was Kabush's first race for his Scott-3Rox Racing Team. "It's been an exciting winter with the changes with Scott and 3Rox. It's my first time (racing) on a 29er but we have four bikes to choose from. The 29er will be my bike for the first World Cup so I wanted to be comfortable on it," said Kabush.

Plaxton and Wells, on the other hand, rode their dual suspension Specialized Epics on the bumpy course. "I think than anyone who chose to ride a hardtail on this course is crazy," said Plaxton.

Behind the leaders today, Jeremiah Bishop (Cannondale) and Sam Schultz battled for fifth place nearly the whole race. Bishop led Schultz for most of the race and took advantage of being able to ride all the "A" lines on the course. With one lap to go, it appeared that Schultz had been dropped but by the finish he emerged ahead. It is unknown if Bishop suffered a last lap mishap. The two are likely to compete all spring for one of the spots on the USA Olympic Team.

Most of the top riders will now travel to the first World Cup in South Africa. Wells will be joining his Specialized teammates, who had an amazing 2011 season. "Suzy (Christoph Sauser) always says we won everything that mattered last year," said Wells. "He won marathon Worlds, Jaraslov (Kulhavy) won the World Cup series and the world championship. Burry (Stander) and Suzy won the Cape Epic, Max won the Pro XCT, and I won Leadville."

Full Results