Davison battles Nash to win Subaru Cup Pro XCT

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.

Full Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Lea Davison (Specialized Racing)1:35:22
2Katerina Nash (Luna Pro Team)0:00:09
3Monique Pua Mata (ShoAir / Cannondale)0:02:09
4Chloe Woodruff (Crankbrothers Race Club)0:04:37
5Erin Huck (Tokyo Joes)0:07:10
6Evelyn Dong (White Pine Racing/POC)0:07:38
7Teal Stetson-Lee (Luna Pro Team)0:09:02
8Abigail Strigel (Honey Stinger / Bontrager)0:10:30
9Judy Freeman (Crankbrothers Race Club)0:12:29
10Sarah Kaufmann (Stan's NoTubes Women's Elite)0:13:03
11Jamie Busch (Quadzilla Racing)0:13:22
12Amy Beisel (Griggs Orthopedics)0:13:24
13Rebecca Gross (Tough Girl Cycling)0:13:38
14Larissa Fitchett (Lost Coast Brewery/Marin Bikes)0:14:33
15Shayna Powless (BMC MTB Development Team)0:15:58
16Erica Tingey (Team Jamis)0:17:44
17Erica Zaveta (Team Redline)0:18:09
18Cooper Dendel (Border Grill p/b Quick Stop Bi)0:18:57
19Kaila Hart (No Tubes Elite Women's Team)0:19:52
20Sarah Sturm (Rocky Mountain Chocolate Facto)0:24:22
21Bryna Blanchard (Windham Mountain Outfitters)0:24:38
22Lisa Krayer (Adventure 212/Specialized)0:24:38
23Emily Shields (Ken's Bike Shop)0:24:38
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Cat. 2 Junior women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Kate Courtney (Whole Athlete-Specialized)1:14:15
2Haley Batten (Whole Athlete)0:00:34
3Ksenia Lepikhina (BMC MTB Development Team)0:05:23
4Emma Swartz (Junior Dropouts)0:09:47
5Emily Schaldach (Durango Devo)0:09:54
6Sydney Palmer-Leger (Summit Bike Club)0:10:01
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Cat. 2 Women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Monica Markvardsen1:09:42
2tricia Fleischer0:00:16
3Mary Hable0:01:39
4Karlene Olson0:01:45
5Syd Schulz0:03:46
6Emily Osowski0:04:23
7Arianna Schafer0:05:46
8Wendy Gaddey0:05:58
9Anna Poulton0:08:13
10Lindsey Carlson0:08:53
11Ross Rushin0:09:23
12Emily Keon0:09:42
13Kaitlin Splittgerber0:11:58
14Kelli Piotrowski0:13:23
15Becky Rands0:13:32
16Marlo Vercauteren0:16:37
17Heather Jazdzewski0:20:30
18Amy Ancheta0:20:45
19Brenda Zimmermann Thorpe0:22:07
20Sarah Richter0:23:14
21Arin Lemke0:26:51

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