Taberlay wins Subaru Cup short track

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Sid Taberlay (Kenda H2O Overdrive) made a last lap attack to win the short track race at Wisconsin's Subaru Cup on Sunday. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Trek) finished second in one his most impressive race of the year. Max Plaxton (Specialized), winner of Saturday's cross country race, finished third. Todd Wells (Specialized) and Stephen Ettinger (BMC) collided at the finish in a sprint for fourth place. At this time of writing, the result of that photo finish is not known.

The short track course at Mt. Morris was extremely fast and without technical challenges. Riders started briefly up a ski trail then traversed the mountain before descending to the parking lot. From that point, riders began the gradual climb back to the start/finish area. Ryan Trebon (LTS Felt) said after the race, "There were only two sections where you had to pedal really hard, and the rest was fast downhill."

From the beginning of the race, it was apparent who the main contenders would be and that Trebon came to test his legs in only his second mountain biking event of the year. He launched a vicious attack at the beginning of the second lap and nobody followed.

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"When Ryan went so early in the race there was a lot of horsepower in the group so everyone figured it was too early to stay away solo," said Taberlay.

Riders faced a slight headwind as they traversed the top of the course. Several main contenders sat up and looked around as if to say, "Who wants to lead?"

In a shocking moment, young Adam Morka (Trek Toronto) took the lead and broke the wind for all the members of the eventual podium.

While everyone in the peleton has seen Trebon go off the front early in races, many also know that he may be the only rider who can pull off an entire race riding solo. However, this was not Trebon's day as the chase group made contact within a lap. The select group contained Geoff Kabush (Team Maxxis), Horgan-Kobelski, Ettinger, Wells, Plaxton, Sam Schultz (Subaru Trek), Taberlay, and Trebon.

US national champion Wells was next to attack in what appeared to be the fastest lap of the race. He was unable to shake any riders and set up Trebon for an unsuccessful counter-attack.

"I tried to go again after Todd went because I thought he would be on the rivet a bit," said Trebon. "I don't have enough training and racing in my legs to keep it going. I can get that acceleration but don't have enough to extend the gap."

Trebon's main focus is getting ready for the upcoming cyclo-cross season which begins in September. However, he said he is focusing on winning the cross country national championships in Sun Valley, Idaho in the short term.

Kabush and Horgan-Kobelski joined those who took a chance on the front of the main group. The terrain did not make it easy to get away, and it became apparent that it was anybody's race to win.

When Plaxton launched an uphill attack with two laps to go, it appeared that it might be the winning move. But again, it all came together on the descent.

One rider who had not wasted any energy pulling the group was Taberlay. As they came through the start/finish for the last time, he got out of the saddle and went for broke. Wells attempted to match Taberlay's uphill pace but fell behind. With about a 30-foot lead as he began the sideways traverse of the course, the chasers had trouble responding to Taberlay.

"It was a very tactical race being so fast," said Taberlay. "I was just trying to stay in that front five. I was struggling but I've always got some speed come the last lap. Short track is not just about horsepower, it's about using your head as well. It is always about positioning and being in the right place at the right time."

While Horgan-Kobelski sprinted hard on the finishing straight, the gap to Taberlay was slightly to large to close down. Wells broke off his seat during contact with Ettinger in the sprint for fourth place.

When asked about the success of his former teammate Plaxton, Taberlay joked, "He has learned some tactics over the past couple years, and I'll take some credit for that."

The next time some of these racers will meet is at the US National Championships in Sun Valley, Idaho, in mid-July. Canadians Kabush and Plaxton will also have an exciting battle north of the border in their championships. Plaxton said on Saturday, "I want that jersey".

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