April 18, 2010 (Monterey, CA) – The XC pro men race came down to a final sprint as the crowd waited for the leaders to round the final corner and contest the last 200 meters to the finish line on the new short and punchy course. “The Specialized thugs have been beating up Kabush all day,” shouted the announcer. After 121 minutes and 125 riders, the dramatic finish was revving up between the top three stars: Specialized teammates Burr Stander and Todd Wells, whose plans to sandwich Canada’s Geoff Kabush (Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) left him nothing but a sprint finish – which he later said was something he’d hoped for.

“Stander and Wells were doing their best to lose me a few times. My hope was for a sprint finish, and at least that came true,” said Kabush. Indeed, the Canadian champ made the first move as they began rounding the asphalt jungle of the Laguna Seca track, but Wells fired off to the right and countered while Stander finally shot past Wells with less than 40 meters to go and went tete-a-tete with Kabush, beating him by a bike length with Wells taking third.

The 5km course saw the leaders fire through the first few rounds ablaze with 16-minute laps. Kabush was ambushed all race by a swarm of red (Specialized), as they stuck together on the trail and road (half of the new course is asphalt). Kabush hoped that Cannondale riders like Roel Paulissen would help counter the Specialized team but after the 2nd lap the Cannondale clan faded back.

“It was just me to cover the attacks and they even tried to wait for Sauser for a three on one,” said Kabush. After two laps of the five-lap race the lead group melted from ten riders to five and then three as the field blew apart, mostly on the paved course.

Opportunities for breaks? Kabush smiled, “A few times I left Wells dangling, and in a few tougher sections I tried to soften them up a bit, but realistically my option was defensive and open a gap to keep in between them to offset the constant danger. Covering the attacks would have been better if the Cannondale guys came up, they were talking a bit of trash, so I just kept punching when I could.”

Asked what tires he used in this unusual mixed course Kabush commented, “Maxxis 285×2.0 to hit it hard, it wasn’t a very technical ride – look at what I was using (pointing to the tires).”

Other Canadians commented after the race including Adam Morka (Can) Trek Canada who said, “I was really struggling on the grassy track, but went well on the climbs. I was using stupid light tires and only 40 psi so it was comfortable. I knew it’d be a cat and mouse game but I couldn’t get into the lead group and the field blew up quickly. I could have stayed with them but hey, it happens. I like this course better though it could have been longer for more opportunities to chase and attack.”

Craig Richey (Can) Aviawest told us, “For me, it was fun in a sadistic kind of way – the trouble? The off-road switchbacks created bottlenecking in groups and they’d stack inside; and the road section was tough against the 29ers – they had the advantage, as we had to push the bigger gear, must have been a 50/50 ratio with the 26ers…mine were dialed at 25 psi so I could roll well on the bumps.”

Kabush, though pleased with his result and strategy for the day was not as happy about the new course. “We were out there only for 120 minutes but we were supposed to be going for 145 – these guys come out here expecting that. The UCI approved this course, but they’re gonna get a lot of flack – they need to make this more of a mountain bike race, there’s too much asphalt (almost half the course was on the Laguna Seca track). Kabush leaves on Tuesday for the first UCI MTB World Cup race of the season in Dalby, Great Britain – hopefully the volcanic ash will clear and his flight is a go.

Results

1. Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized Factory 1:23:13
2. Geoff Kabush (Can) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain
3. Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Factory Racing 0:02
4. Christopher Sauser (Swi) Specialized Factory Racing 1:06
5. Roel Paulissen (Bel) Cannondale Factory Racing 2:14
6. Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing 2:39
7. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher 2:52
8. Jeremiah Bishop (USA) Cannondale Factory Racing 2:53
9. Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing 3:17
10. Chris Sheppard (Can) Rocky Mountain/Thule 3:22
11. Carl Decker (USA) Giant Factory Offroad 4:44
12. Barry Wicks (USA) Kona
13. Adam Morka (Can) Trek Canada 5:00
14. Conrad Stoltz (RSA) Specialized Factory Racing 5:01
15. Jason Sager (USA) Team Jamis
16. Benjamin Sonntag (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing
17. Lachlan Norris (Aus) Drapac/Porsche/Giant 5:37
18. Travis Livermon (USA) Champion Systems/Cannondale 6:20
19. Kris Sneddon (Can) Kona 6:26
20. Thomas Turner (USA) Jamis Bicycles 6:34
21. Craig Richey (Can) Aviawest 6:36
22. Andy Schultz (USA) Kenda-Felt 7:07
23. Stephen Ettinger (USA) Mafia Racing 7:14
24. Ryan Woodall (USA) 7:21
25. Rotem Ishay (Isr) Team Jamis
26. Ken Onodera (Jpn) Subaru-Gary Fisher 7:22
27. Spencer Paxson (USA) Team S&M
28. Tad Elliott (USA) Team Sho-Air/Specialized
29. Peter Glassford (Can) Trek
30. Tj Woodruff (USA) Trek Bicycle Store
31. Dana Weber (USA) Trek 7:25
32. Max Knox (RSA) DCM 7:41
33. Robert Marion (USA) American Classic/Kenda 7:56
34. Stefan Widmer (Can) Rocky Mountain Factor 8:09
35. Sean Babcock (USA) Team S&M 8:19
36. Kerry Werner Jr. (USA) Shirks Presented 8:20
37. Simon Jensen (Den) HMTBK 8:31
38. Sam Schultz (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher 8:33
39. Tinker Juarez (USA) Cannondale Factory Racing 8:36
40. John Bennett (USA) Whole Athlete 9:00
41. Russell Finsterwald (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher 9:05
42. Mitchell Hote (USA) 9:28
43. Pierre Facomprez (Fra) Look Shimano
44. Burke Swindlehurst (USA) Teamgive/Blackbottom 9:33
45. Kalan Beisel (USA) Procycling
46. Eric Emsky (USA) Blue Competition Cycle 9:38
47. Jeffrey Herrera (USA) Hammerheadbikes.Com 9:45
48. Dror Pekatch (Isr) Subaru-Gary Fisher 9:57
49. Vincent Lombardi (Fra) Sho-air/Sonance 0:10:10
50. Branden Stewart (RSA) DCM 0:10:12
51. Colin Cares (USA) Kenda/Felt 0:10:13
52. Yuki Saito (Jpn) Topeak-Ergon 0:10:17
53. Ben Thompson (USA) Trek MTN Co-Op 0:10:23
54. Bryan Alders (USA) Pearl Izumi 0:10:46
55. Aaron Bradford (USA) Specialized/Onsite
56. Erik Tonkin (USA) Kona 0:10:47
57. Aren Timmel (USA) Team Chico 0:11:16
58. Scott Frederick (USA) Inland Construction 0:11:18
59. Adam Snyder (USA) Team Jamis 0:11:43
60. Tim Allen (USA) 0:11:45
61. Ross Schnell (USA) Trek/Crankbrothers
62. Greg Carpenter (USA) 3D Racing 0:12:01
63. Ethan Gilmour (USA) Giant Factory 0:12:11
64. Nate Whitman (USA) Cynergy / Specialized 0:12:17
65. Alex Grant (USA) Cannondale Factory Racing 0:12:24
66. Kevin Smallman (USA) Incycle Bikes/Cannonda 0:12:56
67. Drew Edsall (USA) Yeti 0:13:41
68. Spencer Powlison (USA) Mafia Racing-Pabst-Felt 0:14:41
69. Anthony Slowinski (USA) Backwoods Racing 0:16:13
70. Troy Wells (USA) Team Clif Bar 0:17:30
71. Lucas Livermon (USA) Inland Construction -1 lap
72. Omer Kem (USA) Team Jamis -1 lap
73. Nicholas Stevens (GBr) Waltworks -1 lap
74. Aaron Snyder (USA) Scott Rc Mountain Bike -1 lap
75. John Nobil (USA) Bear Vly Bikes -1 lap
76. Blake Harlan (USA) Team Jamis -1 lap
77. Bradford Perley (USA) Mafia Racing/Felt/PBR -1 lap
78. Dylan Stucki (USA) Mafia Racing -1 lap
79. Michael Mooradian (USA) Bedford-Spin-Verge -1 lap
80. Aaron Elwell (USA) Highgear/Trek -1 lap
81. Braden Kappius (USA) Clif Bar -1 lap
82. Kenny Burt (USA) -1 lap
83. Alex Boone (USA) Trek MTN Coop -1 lap
84. Nate Byrom (USA) Northstar/Giant -1 lap
85. Justin Maka (USA) Hayes/Spy -1 lap
86. Nitish Nag (USA) Nrl Racing Developmen -1 lap
87. Gabriel Keck (USA) Summit Bicycles -1 lap
88. Brian Astell (USA) Lostcoast Brewery -1 lap
89. Charles Jenkins (USA) KHS 650 Crew -1 lap
90. Mitchell Peterson (USA) Giant -1 lap
91. Nick Weighall (USA) California Giant Berry -1 lap
92. Jeff Blair (Can) Unattached -2 laps
93. Mike Anderson (USA) -2 laps
94. Randall Jacobs (USA) Wheelworks Racing -2 laps
95. Tony Smith (USA) Focus Bikes -2 laps
96. Kyle Stock (USA) Golden Chain Cyclists -2 laps
97. Jason Moeschler (USA) WTB -2 laps
98. Wiley Mosley Mosley (USA) John Quinn / Jerk Racing -2 laps
99. Matt Connors (USA) Bicycle Ranch -2 laps
100. Noah Tautfest (USA) Biyclce Express -2 laps
101. Ben Sullivan (USA) Momentum Endurance -2 laps
102. John Burns (USA) -2 laps
103. Ron Castia (USA) Infovista Cycling Team -2 laps
104. Jeff Kerkove (USA) Topeak-Ergon -2 laps
105. Seamus Powell (USA) Ollett Coaching/Inustr -2 laps
106. Zachary Keller (USA) Form Cycles -2 laps
107. Bob Delp (USA) Vitamin Water/Folsom -2 laps
108. Osias Lozano (Col) -2 laps
109. Garnet Vertican (USA) Giant -2 laps
110. Rob Sousa (USA) Pro Cycling -2 laps
111. Anastasio Flores (USA) Giant Berry Farms -2 laps
112. Andrew Rigel (USA) Mafia Racing/Felt/PBR -2 laps
113. Hal Helbock (USA) Cytomax/Khs -2 laps
114. Eric Batty (Can) Trek Canada -2 laps
115. Evan Plews (USA) www.Evanplews.Com -2 laps
116. Rouke Croeser (RSA) DCM -3 laps
117. Bryan Van Vleet (USA) KHS -3 laps
118. Matt Wittler (USA) Lost Coast -3 laps
DNF Ryan Trebon (USA) Kona
DNF Sid Taberlay (USA) Sho-air/Specialized
DNF Kat Statman (USA) Feedback Sports
DNF Nick Truitt (USA) Yeti
DNF Drew Mackenzie (Can) Island Racing Club
DNF Jim Hewett (USA) Summit Bicycles