Pua Sawicki (Quadra) winning by a nine minute margin(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Anna Fortner (Team SoCal) riding fourth in the Pro Women's field(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
The scenery at Lake Morena County Park was spectular(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Riders on a long road climb(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Pua Sawicki (Quadra) streaking through the singletrack(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Dorothy Wong (Team SoCal) descending(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Alison Mann (Rock and Road) in second place on a long climb(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Pua Sawicki (Quadra) waiting for the podium ceremony(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Pua Sawicki (Mata/Okle Stuff.com) was not pushed by her competitors today, winning by more than nine minutes over Allison Mann (Rock and Road) who finished second. Rebecca Tomaszewski (Niner/Ergo) finished third followed by Anna Fortner (Team SoCal) in fourth place. Dorothy Wong was fifth.
Sawicki, who is preparing for a full World Cup season, tried to make this a hard training day. "I was a little bummed when that road climb was over. I love that stuff. It was a great course and a beautiful day. It was just awesome."
Sawicki told Cyclingnews that she hopes to qualify this year for both the cross country and marathon World Championships. A six-time national endurance champion, she had many podium finishes in conventional cross country events last year as well.
Latest social media video of the two attempts to dispel any notion of tension, but it's hard to believe that the leadership question won't rear its head again this Tour