Davison battles Nash to win Subaru Cup Pro XCT

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Day 1 of the Subaru Cup Pro XCT on Saturday served as the penultimate race for the US Pro XCT and is the last of only three UCI cat. 1 races in the US this season.  When the dust had settled, Lea Davison (Specialized) won the race, ahead of Katerina Nash (Luna) and Pua Mata (Sho-Air/Cannondale).

The elite women were the first pro category to race. The heat didn't seem to bother the leaders as they climbed to the top of the ski hill for five laps. Davison took an early lead with Nash hot on her wheel. Mata trailed Davison and Nash a bit while holding off Pro XCT series leader Chloe Woodruff (Crankbrothers Race Club).

Nash and Davison took turns leading throughout the five laps. Davison described the race as a battle for the lead. Nash seemed to punch the speed on the climbs to try to gap Davison, but Davison bridged the gaps every time. She finally took her last pass of Nash about 500 meters from the finish on a technical climb.

The technical descent that followed left Nash a little too close to Davison's wheel and ended up with Nash falling on a turn. She was right back on the bike, but it was too close to the finish to make up the time or sprint to the finish, giving Davison the win.

Mata was only a short distance behind the leaders and finished in third place. Woodruff held on with a respectable fourth place finish.

The fans for Subaru Cup are what make the event special to anyone from Wisconsin and for the visiting pros as well. Local pro Abigail Strigel (Honey Stinger/ Bontrager) seemed to get the loudest crowd reaction. She finished eighth overall in the women's elite event, which earned her the highest points for any woman in the WORS overall series.

Based on the model of World Cup races, Subaru Cup challenges participants while offering several popular spectator points for crowd participation. The day started of with Cat.2 men's and women's races followed by Cat. 1 as part of the ever popular Wisconsin Off Road Series (WORS). Riders were treated to cool temperatures early in the morning that got increasingly hotter and more humid as the day progressed.

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