Kabush wins a heated cross country

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Geoff Kabush (Scott-3Rox Racing) raced to victory on a boiling hot spring day in the Sea Otter Classic cross country race on Saturday afternoon. Kabush broke away from his rivals on the big climb back to the venue to win his first Sea Otter cross country race in several years. In an exciting sprint for second place, Sid Taberlay (H2O Overdrive) took the silver medal with a bike throw. Max Plaxton (Specialized) rolled across third making it a good weekend after his short track win on Friday. Sam Schultz (Subaru-Trek) finished fourth, and US Cross Country National Champion Todd Wells (Specialized) rounded out the podium in fifth.

Heat and lack of a breeze were the story of the day at Laguna Seca. Riders competed on a 19.6-mile single loop without any shade. With temperatures in the mid 80s, nearly every finishing rider talked about the heat on the course. Many said they "hit a wall" after an hour and had to concentrate on finishing rather than competing.

The race started on the racetrack, and riders made nearly a full loop before finally seeing any dirt. It was remarkable to see nearly 100 pro men riding in a tight pack like road racers. Unfortunately, this was one of the least spectator-friendly courses of the past few years. Once riders hit the dirt, they were out of sight for over an hour.

Kabush made his move after the turn-around at the bottom of the valley. "I just tried to use my skills and equipment to the best of my advantage," said Kabush. "I used my full-suspension (Scott bike) and Max-Lite tires which are super fast. I was just trying to chip away at the guys' legs. Once we turned the corner and started to climb, I just rode away."

For some reason, there was a huge amount of amateur riders on course during the race. "I had a bit of fear because of all the traffic on the course so I didn't know where they (the four chasers) were," said Kabush.

Behind Kabush was a group that contained the rest of the eventual podium: Schultz, Taberlay, Wells, and Plaxton. Taberlay made an attack just before the final stretch of pavement and got a small gap. The rest of the group made a bunch sprint out of the finish, but Taberlay got across first with a very cool bike throw. Of the four, he probably has the most experience in road racing.

"It was a hard day out there with the heat," said Taberlay. "There were a lot of attacks. Kabush was just too strong and he rode away with it. The other four of us were just out there suffering."

Former Canadian National Champion Chris Sheppard finished a surprising sixth. That put three Canadians among the top six finishers.

Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru Trek) lost contact with the main chase group but still finished seventh. Burry Stander (Specialized) finished eighth. He told Cyclingnews that he was still a bit jet lagged from coming over from Europe on Thursday.

Mitch Hoke (Clif Bar) turned in one of his most impressive rides by finishing ninth. Twenty-two-year-old Stephen Ettinger (BMC) rounded out the top ten.

Most of the top pros will now be preparing for round three of the World Cup in the Czech Republic on May 13th. For the Americans, it will be a continuation of the Olympic qualification process.

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