Kabush wins Bonelli Park round of the US Cup

Geoff Kabush (Scott-3Rox) won round 2 of the US Cup at Bonelli Park, California on a hot and dusty Saturday afternoon. The veteran Canadian Kabush rode a savvy race, conserving his energy in the first half of the race and launching a powerful move in the final few laps to take the victory after his top rivals had already tired themselves out.

Seven men formed a lead group on the first of seven laps including Olympic bronze medallist Marco Fontana and Manuel Fumic (both Cannondale Factory Racing), US Short Track National Champion Todd Wells (Specialized), Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Trek Factory Racing), Kabush and US Cross Country National Champion Stephen Ettinger (BMC).

As the first man to attack, Fontana surged on lap two and established a 10-second gap over the other six men. His teammate Fumic crashed in the uphill rock garden, but recovered well to quickly chase back on. The gap from Fumic's crash helped Fontana, and he pushed the pace off the front on his own for two laps. Kabush seemed to barely hang on to the main chase group, but after the race, he admitted that he was just conserving his energy.

Plaxton calculated that it was time to reel in Fontana on the fourth lap, and he did just that to bridge up to the Italian so that the two riders rolled through together as the race leaders with three laps to go.

The savvy Kabush knew that it would not be a good idea to let Cannondale Factory Racing teammates Fontana and Plaxton get away together, so he chased them down and joined them. Taking barely a breather after his effort to bridge, Kabush wasted no time in counter-attacking the duo and getting a gap on them.

With two laps remaining, Kabush lead Plaxton by about five seconds, but the early effort had already cost Fontana, who had dropped further back and was then caught by Mantecon. Wells rode on his own in fifth place, ahead of Fumic and Ettinger.

As Kabush continued to apply pressure, Plaxton blew up and Kabush quickly extended his lead. Plaxton struggled to hold off Mantecon until the Spaniard eventually overtook him just before the bell lap. Meanwhile, Wells' consistency on the day started paying off as he bridged up to and passed Fontana - the two rode across the line together with one lap to go.

At the front, Kabush cruised to a solo victory on the final lap, finishing with plenty of time to enjoy the feeling of taking the win.

"This whole week, I had a little something going on in my head, but I never gave up hope that I could pull out something special on the day," said Kabush. "I wanted to be conservative at first, and I kind of rolled along there on the back, saving my legs for the end."

"It was motivating to come out in March for a win. It was special to come here and take the win - it's been awhile since I won a national series event," said Kabush. "It's also unique to have this UCI HC-category race here."

Many racers were excited to have the chance to compete in a UCI category HC event on North American soil; it was the first such race in the US in mountain biking's history.

Mantecon followed for second place on the day while an exhausted Plaxton held on for third. Wells finished strong to take fourth place while Fontana ended up in fifth place.

110 elite men lined up in Bonelli Park.

After round two of four in the USA Cycling US Cup series, Kabush leads ahead of previous series leader Plaxton and Wells.

The USA Cycling US Cup series will continue with round 3, a UCI Category HC race in Fontana, California on Saturday, March 22.

Full Results

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Geoff Kabush (Can) Scott 3 Rox Racing1:34:31
2Sergio Mantecon Gutierre (Spa) Trek Factory Racing0:00:50
3Max Plaxton (Can) Cannodale Factory0:01:31
4Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Factory0:02:07
5Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory0:02:30
6Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory0:03:16
7Stephen Ettinger (USA) BMC Mountain Bike0:03:30
8Jeremiah Bishop (USA) Sho-Air/Cannondale0:03:51
9Alex Grant (USA) Sho-Air/Cannondale0:03:54
10Raphael Gagne (Can) Rocky Mountain Factory0:04:26
11Derek Zandstra (Can) Scott 3 Rox Racing0:04:47
12Benjamin Sonntag (Ger) Stans No Tubes Elite0:05:13
13Adam Morka (Can) WFP Coaching/Trek0:05:40
14Cameron Jette (Can) Scott-3 Rox Racing0:06:12
15Sam Schultz (USA) Sho-Air/Cannondale0:06:34
16Spencer Paxson (USA) Kona0:06:39
17Hector Rivers (Col) Scott Rotor USA0:06:41
18Kerry Werner (USA) BMC Project Dirt0:07:04
19Mitchell Hoke (USA) The Pros Closet/Stans0:07:33
20Jeremy Martin (Can)0:08:11
21Troy Wells (USA) Team Cliff Bar0:09:14
22James Reid (RSA) Trek Racing South0:09:22
23Russell Finsterwald (USA) Sram/Troy Lee Design0:09:36
24Jose Escarcega (Mex) Alu Bike-Krbo Cycling0:09:55
25Casey Williams (USA) Whole Athlete/Specialized0:10:29
26Evan Guthrie (Can) Norco Factory Team0:10:41
27Kris Sneddon (Can) Kona0:10:43
28Barry Wicks (USA)0:10:46
29Michael Broderick (USA) Kenda/Stans No Tubes0:11:18
30Keegan Swenson (USA) Cannondale Factory0:11:39
31William Melone (USA) Riverside Racing0:11:43
LappedRyan Woodall (USA) The Pros Closet/Stan'sRow 31 - Cell 2
LappedRotem Ishay (Isr) Team Jamis BikesRow 32 - Cell 2
LappedJason Siegle (USA) Sdg/FeltRow 33 - Cell 2
LappedTristan Uhl (USA) 787 RacingRow 34 - Cell 2
LappedSepp Kuss (USA) BMC Project DirtRow 35 - Cell 2
LappedJulien Bourdevaire (Fra) Team BlackstarRow 36 - Cell 2
LappedChris Baddick (GBr) The Gear MovementRow 37 - Cell 2
LappedMarc-Antoine Nadon (Can) Scott 3 Rox RacingRow 38 - Cell 2
LappedCarl Decker (USA) Giant Factory TeamRow 39 - Cell 2
LappedTom Sampson (USA)Row 40 - Cell 2
LappedMiguel Valadez Ortiz (Mex) Bear Valley BikesRow 41 - Cell 2
LappedErnest Watenpaugh (USA)Row 42 - Cell 2
LappedChristopher Hamlin (USA)Row 43 - Cell 2
LappedJason Sager (USA) Backcountry.ComRow 44 - Cell 2
LappedAlexandre Vialle (Can) Espresso SportRow 45 - Cell 2
LappedDavid (Tinker) Juarez (USA) Sho-Air/CannondaleRow 46 - Cell 2
LappedMichael Hosey (USA) SoulcraftRow 47 - Cell 2
LappedTj Woodruff (USA) Backcountry.ComRow 48 - Cell 2
LappedElliot Reinecke (USA) Velo Hangar/FocusRow 49 - Cell 2
LappedBraden Kappius (USA) Team Clif BarRow 50 - Cell 2
LappedRyan Geiger (USA) Topix-Frm FactoryRow 51 - Cell 2
LappedCole Oberman (USA) Rare Disease CyclingRow 52 - Cell 2
LappedCharles Jenkins (USA) KHS/Cytomax/EsiRow 53 - Cell 2
LappedPayson Mcelveen (USA) Usa U23Row 54 - Cell 2
LappedJoseph Maloney (USA) Ks Energy ServicesRow 55 - Cell 2
LappedJakub Valigura (Cze) 92Fifty' CycleryRow 56 - Cell 2
LappedKalan Beisel (USA) Giant-Tuff ShedRow 57 - Cell 2
LappedSean Donovan (USA)Row 58 - Cell 2
LappedGustavo Pedroza (Mex) Ellin Cycling TeamRow 59 - Cell 2
LappedBryan Alders (USA) Marin Bikes FactoryRow 60 - Cell 2
LappedGareth Feldstein (USA) Muscle MilkRow 61 - Cell 2
LappedMenso De Jong (USA) Team Clif BarRow 62 - Cell 2
LappedJett Chandler (USA) Doug ChandlerRow 63 - Cell 2
LappedSergio Hernandez (USA) Incyle-PredatorRow 64 - Cell 2
LappedPatrick Chartrand (Can) Rocky Mountain FactoryRow 65 - Cell 2
LappedStephane Roch (Swi) Swami's/SklizRow 66 - Cell 2
LappedMadison Matthews (USA) Toasted Head RacingRow 67 - Cell 2
LappedCraig Wohlschlaeger (USA) Giant BicycleRow 68 - Cell 2
LappedAaron Oakes (USA) Bicycle ExpressRow 69 - Cell 2
LappedColin Osborn (USA) Honey StingerRow 70 - Cell 2
LappedJuan Carlos Nunez Galuan (Mex)Row 71 - Cell 2
LappedJarred Jordan (USA)Row 72 - Cell 2
LappedJohn Nobil (USA) Bear Valley BikesRow 73 - Cell 2
LappedQuinn Moberg (Can) Rocky Mountain FactoryRow 74 - Cell 2
LappedChristopher Wieczorek (USA) Total CyclistRow 75 - Cell 2
LappedRocky Gingg (USA) Momentum EnduranceRow 76 - Cell 2
LappedMatthew Turner (USA) Summit Utah DevoRow 77 - Cell 2
LappedEliel Anttila (USA) Uc BerkeleyRow 78 - Cell 2
LappedDavid Flaten (USA) Giant Factory NorthRow 79 - Cell 2
LappedNoah Tautfest (USA) Bicycle Express/KonaRow 80 - Cell 2
LappedJoel Titius (USA) Socal EnduranceRow 81 - Cell 2
LappedDavid Pinedo (Mex) Ellin Cycling TeamRow 82 - Cell 2
LappedHal Helbock (USA)Row 83 - Cell 2
LappedTrey Jarno (Est) Bear Valley BikesRow 84 - Cell 2
LappedPeter Glassford (Can) Trek CanadaRow 85 - Cell 2
DNFMarco Antonio Escarcega Salazar (Mex) Alu Bike-Krbo CyclingRow 86 - Cell 2
DNFDan Wolf (USA) Old Line VeloRow 87 - Cell 2
DNFEmil Lindgren (Swe) Giant Pro XC TeamRow 88 - Cell 2
DNSRyan Trebon (USA) Sho-Air/CannondaleRow 89 - Cell 2
DNFSkyler Taylor (USA) Bear Development TeamRow 90 - Cell 2
DNFBrodie Stringer (USA) Team BaghouseRow 91 - Cell 2
DNFAlex Wild (USA) Trail Head RacingRow 92 - Cell 2
DNFLucas Newcomb (USA) Bear Development TeamRow 93 - Cell 2
DNSNick Thomas (USA) Az DevoRow 94 - Cell 2
DNSAnton Cooper (NZl) Cannondale FactoryRow 95 - Cell 2
DNSAntoine Caron (Can) Specialized RacingRow 96 - Cell 2
DNSMiguel Ramos (USA) Bear Valley BikesRow 97 - Cell 2
DNFAnthony Stein (USA)Row 98 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Elite men brief US Cup series standings after two rounds
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Geoffrey Kabush (Canada) Scott-3Rox Racing77pts
2Max Plaxton (Canada) Cannondale Factory Racing64Row 1 - Cell 3
3Todd Wells (United States) Specialized Racing56Row 2 - Cell 3
4Jeremiah Bishop (United States) Sho-Air/Cannondale45Row 3 - Cell 3
5Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spain) Trek Factory Racing37Row 4 - Cell 3

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Latest on Cyclingnews