April 28, 2012 (Prescott, AZ) – The Whiskey Off Road event kicked off yesterday with the Fat Tire Crit in downtown Prescott, Arizona. Canada’s Geoff Kabush of SCOTT-3Rox Racing made a well-timed last lap attack over the final climb top seal the victory in the Pro Men’s field. Georgia Gould (Team LUNA Chix) won the women’s race.
“It was hard to lay down any big moves [as it was] more of a race of attrition,” Kabush told Pedal. “I saved it all for one big effort over the top of the last climb to squeeze out the win.”
Kabush was running his new SCOTT Spark 29 that came straight from Sea Otter via Demo Dave from Kona. The same set up that Kabush rode to victory in last weekend’s Sea Otter Classic was key for his Whiskey win. “I raced the identical Maxxlite tire set-up from the [Sea Otter] XC and it was nice to notch another win for SCOTT-3Rox Racing.”
The only modification for the 50-mile/80km marathon on Sunday appears to be a tire switch. “I will be switching to some Maxxis Ikons for the big race on Sunday and looking forward to a good battle,” said Kabush.
The Whiskey 50 has been held annually for the past eight years and organizers have worked hard to develop one of the ultimate mountain bike event weekends in the USA. “I’m really impressed with the organization, community, and promotion of the weekend,” added Kabush. “It is fun to fit in grass roots events like this into my hectic international schedule.”
The main event of the weekend is the 50-mile/80km mountain bike marathon race, which gets underway on Sunday with a $30,000 cash purse on the line with equal pay-out for the Pro Male/Female categories.
Men’s Results
1. Geoff Kabush (Scott-3Rox)
2. Carl Decker (Giant Bicycles)
3. Thomas Turner (Team Jamis)
4. Colin Cares (Kenda, Felt, Hammer Nutrition)
5. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Trek)
Women’s Results
1. Georgia Gould (Team LUNA)
2. Kelli Emmett (Giant Bicycles )
3. Monique Mata (Specialized Sho-Air )
4. Judy Freeman (Crank Brothers )
5. Chloe Woodruff (Crank Brothers )