Wells, Gould win Pro XCT; both go on to claim national titles

Wells, Gould secure Pro XCT titles at Sand Creek; Horgan-Kobelski shines in Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs, Colo. — USA Cycling concluded its 2010 Pro Mountain Bike Cross Country Tour (Pro XCT) last Sunday (July 11), the last of three days of racing at the Sand Creek International Classic. 

On the men’s side, Todd Wells (Durango, Colo./Specialized) secured the overall series title with back-to-back podium finishes. He was third in Saturday’s cross country race, and won the cross country criterium on Sunday. Wells came into Colorado Springs 85 points ahead of Geoff Kabush (CAN/Maxxis), and cemented his series victory by winning both events he entered.

The women’s competition was less climactic, as Georgia Gould (Ketchum, Idaho/Luna) cemented her position atop the final podium with a clean sweep of the weekend’s three events, beginning with Friday’s time trial. Gould was 115 points ahead of Willow Koerber (Durango, Colo./Subaru-Trek) before Sand Creek, and finished with a 45-point margin.

Wells and Gould both followed up their Pro XCT series wins with victories June 17 in the cross country competitions at the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships in Granby, Colo.   

The final Pro XCT standings are as follows:

In Friday’s time trials, Max Plaxton (CAN/Sho-Air Specialized) finished nine seconds ahead of fellow countryman Kabush to win the men’s race. The two Canadians were followed by three American members of the Subaru-Trek team: Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo.), Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont.) and hometown favorite Russell Finsterwald (Colorado Springs, Colo.). In the women’s time trial, Gould came in 45 seconds ahead of runner-up Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Planet Bike), while Heather Irmiger (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Trek) was third.

Saturday featured the cross country races, where Horgan-Kobelski rode aggressively to defeat Kabush by 20 seconds, while Wells was three seconds behind the Canadian. The podium trio was far ahead of the peloton, as the fourth-place finisher, Schultz, crossed the finish line nearly five minutes after Wells. The women’s race was more spread-out than the men’s as Gould finished almost two minutes before Koerber and more than three ahead of Compton.

Wells pulled away from Horgan-Kobelski late in Sunday’s cross country criterium, winning by 18 seconds. Kabush earned the last podium spot, finishing more than a minute after Wells. The top three women from Saturday finished on the podium again on Sunday. Compton came in second, 25 seconds behind Gould, while Koerber finished third.

Horgan-Kobelski won the men’s general classification at Sand Creek, finishing more than one minute ahead of Kabush and nearly three ahead of Wells. Gould ran away from the field to win the women’s GC, coming in more than four minutes before Compton and five ahead of Koerber.

Full results from the Sand Creek International Classic are available on USA Cycling’s Website.

Photos (top to bottom): Todd Wells celebrates his victory in Sunday's cross country criterium, which wrapped up his overall series win; Georgia Gould dominated the women's races to guarantee her series victory; Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski won the men's general classification in Colorado Springs; Gould topped the women's podium at Sand Creek.

Photos credit: Dave McElwaine, TrailWatch.net

**Report compiled by Ryan Schmitz, Communications Intern

Back to top