Martinez wins men's Sea Otter cross country

Image 1 of 15

Miguel Martinez (Factory FRM ISD) surprised many on Saturday at the Sea Otter Classic on Saturday by winning the single-lap cross country race.  One day after his short track victory, Geoff Kabush (Scott 3-Rox) was second while Todd Wells (Specialized) finished third.

2000 Olympic gold medallist Martinez continued his comeback to racing, breaking away about 6km into the race.  For the rest of the lap, he hung just off the front of the favorites. 

The chase seemed to be half-hearted as the other favorites marked each other. Perhaps they thought they could easily catch the solo Martinez later in the race when the course climbed back up toward the finish?  When the attacking began in earnest, Kabush and Wells got away from the rest.  Kabush would finish just two seconds after Martinez while Wells followed another 12 seconds later.

The second chase group included Lukas Flueckiger (BMC), Max Plaxton (Sho-Air/Cannondale) and Christoph Sauser (Specialized).  Flueckiger got away from them just near the end while Plaxton nipped Cape Epic winner Sauser for fifth.