Zandstra wins Subaru Cup

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Derek Zandstra (3Rox-Scott Racing) won the Wisconsin Off Road Series (WORS) Subaru Cup race in Mt. Morris, Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon. Zandstra beat two Specialized teammates: Todd Wells, who was fresh off racing the Olympic Games last weekend, and U23 racer Howard Grotts. It was Zandstra's first US Pro XCT victory.

"I am pretty fired up. I have been doing the US races for the last four years trying to figure it out. It's great to finally win one and go into Worlds with that confidence," said Zandstra to Cyclingnews.

"My team Scott / 3 Rox Racing has been awesome. I had a bit of a lull in the middle of the summer and the team was there with the support I needed to get through it. It paid off this weekend."

Wells' second place finish gave him the points needed to move up to the number one spot and clinch the US Pro XCT overall title since previous leader Colin Cares (Kenda/Felt) had a slim lead prior to the final, but did not finish in the top five. Sam Schultz (Subaru-Trek) took the second spot in the series classification.

"I was hurting out there for quite a bit of that race," said Wells. "I have some fatigue going and I was happy to get second and clinch the Pro XCT overall."

Jeremy Horgan Kobelski (Subaru Trek) finished in fourth place ahead of his teammate Russell Finsterwald, who stepped onto the US Pro XCT podium for his first time.

Clad in his distinctive stars and stripes national champion's jersey, Schultz started with a bang and got the holeshot as Wells followed. Both riders had competed in the Olympic Games last weekend and were feeling the effects of the race and subsequent celebrations and travel.

Schultz, who was a bit under the weather going into the race, faded after a strong first lap and dropped back to eventually finish 10th.

Wells took over the lead on his own, attacked and established a gap of more than 10 seconds by lap two.  He was chased next by Zandstra and Grotts for the next four laps. JHK and U23 national champion Finsterwald were not far behind.

"Todd attacked at the start of the second lap and that strung things out. He only had about 20 seconds on me. The pace was pretty high and there was still a big group chasing," said Zandstra to Cyclingnews. "I felt really good right from the start. Each lap, I was gaining a couple of seconds and by the end of the fifth I was on his wheel."

Grotts could not quite match the pace of Zandstra and dropped back slightly.

As Wells was tiring, the fresher Zandstra reeled him in on the penultimate lap, then passed him on the final of six laps, on a steep section of the course that was new for this year.

"When I caught Wells at the end of the fifth lap, I followed him through the start finish line to the start of the feed zone where it climbed from there," said Zandstra. "We both grabbed our bottle, and then I gave it a push to see where he was at. When I noticed that I got a little gap, I punched it from there. It was a super hard lap because Todd was right there pushing the pace. I just needed to stay focused and not make any big mistakes."

By the top of that climb, Zandstra had about five seconds on Wells, and he dived into the next singletrack section first.

In the end, Zandstra beat Wells by 15 seconds. Grotts followed alone at 1:08.

Racers enjoyed beautiful weather, with temperatures in the 70s, and drier than usual course conditions. The race is usually held earlier in the year and with the late summer timing, the course was quite dry and dusty, especially with the amateurs having raced part of it earlier in the day.

The best placed "locals" were WORS regulars Brian Matter (Gear Grinder) in 11th place and Tristan Schouten (Rolf Prima/Giant) in 14th.

Editorial assistance provided by Claire Gehling.

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