Gould and Plaxton lead US Pro XCT rankings after four rounds

One round to go in Missoula

Georgia Gould (Luna) and Max Plaxton (Specialized USA) sit atop the USA Cycling US Pro XCT series with just one round remaining. The action in the American cross country series resumed this weekend at the Subaru Cup in Mt. Morris, Wisconsin on June 25.

Men
After winning the Pro XCT's penultimate event last weekend, Canadian Max Plaxton holds a 60-point lead over national champion Todd Wells (Specialized). Sam Schultz (Subaru-Trek) is in a strong in third, although young Stephen Ettinger (BMC MTB Development) has been surging up the standings.
On Saturday at the Subaru Cup, Plaxton rode away with a 19-second, come-from-behind victory to all but seal the Pro XCT overall season title. Looking for a shot at the title, Wells took the hole shot at the bottom of the first climb, but Plaxton and Geoff Kabush (Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) soon overtook him. That duo started the fifth lap with a 50-second lead on Wells, and Plaxton made a strategic late-race attack to take his third Pro XCT victory of the season. Kabush finished second and two-time Olympian Wells was third. The 22-year-old Ettinger recorded his first major race podium in front of the raucous Wisconsin crowd.
Women
With her dominant victory at the Subaru Cup, Gould has overtaken Lea Davison (Specialized) atop the women's standings. Emily Batty (Subaru-Trek) is 180 points behind Davison in third place. Chloe Forsman (BMC MTB Development) and Krista Park (Cannondale-No Tubes) round out the top five.
In the women's race, Heather Irmiger (Subaru-Trek) took the early hole shot and led the women up the first long climb of the race. Gould overtook Irmiger by the first descent and did not look back on the very technical course with several short, but steep climbs.
Final round
The US Pro XCT finale will take place Saturday, July 23 in Missoula, Montana, as the calendar's newest addition, the Missoula XC, caps off the national mountain bike cross country calendar.