The Cactus Cup, a three-day mountain bike stage race, started in 1991 in the Arizona desert on the Pinnacle Peak trails. A subdivision replaced those trails in the late nineties, and the race relocated to its current location, McDowell Mountain Park in Fort McDowell, Arizona. Although the park has many miles of trails, the event is centered around the McDowell Park competitive track, designated as a “high-speed trail” to address user conflicts. This fifteen-mile section of three loops is reserved for shredding. It was put to good use for that purpose this past weekend.
WOMEN’S ELITE
Time Trial
The Cactus Cup kicked off Friday, March 11, with a 5.6-mile time trial. The elite fields hit the track in the late afternoon for some high-speed openers before the 40-mile cross country race the next day. Scoring for the three-day event is time-based, so the time trial is more than just a shake-out ride. Precious seconds are on the line.
In the women’s race. Maghalie Rochette, who announced she is racing a full MTB season, showed off those dormant MTB skills and late-season cyclocross power. Posting a 21:47 finishing time, Rochette beat out Rose Grant by 20 seconds and Alexis Skarda by close to 37 seconds. Chloe Woodruff finished fourth, 51 seconds down.
Cross Country
In the cross country race, a group of three got off the front before the 17-mile aid station and stayed together until the final kilometers. Rochette, Chloe Woodruff gapped Alexis Skarda in the final kilometer before sprinting it out for the win.
Woodruff took the initiative early and powered ahead of Rochette to take the win at the line. Rochette battled hard while suffering from leg cramps towards in the final kilometers. Skarda came in not far behind in third.
After two stages, Rochette led Skarda by 43 seconds and Woodruff by 49 seconds with the three-stage enduro remaining.
Enduro
Calling this day an enduro event is a bit of a misnomer. Maybe enduro-light or cross-country enduro-ish. It was really pedally and not overly technical, but the loose soil made it deceptively tricky. As a special bonus, the stage was over by 10 am for the elite field, which meant an early end to the workday.
Rochette put a topper on her outstanding weekend by taking top step on the stage and securing her overall victory. Ruth Holcomb finished second on the stage followed by Rose Grant. Woodruff finished fourth.
In the overall, Rochette took the win with Woodruff in second and Skarda in third.
MEN’S ELITE
Time Trial
On the men’s side Riley Amos came out flying to post the best time in the time trial. Russel Finsterwald finished ten seconds back and Kyle Trudeau made good of the home track advantage by nabbing third place, edging out Geoff Kabush by five seconds.
Cross Country
Not to be outdone by the women’s field, the men’s field also featured a down-to-the-wire battle in the 40-mile cross country stage. A large group stayed together for a while. Rider by rider that group splintered until there were only two left standing at the end. In a race to the line, Amos took was able to take the win by inches over Trudeau. Finsterwald finished third over veterans Todd Wells and Kabush.
Enduro
Local knowledge once again ruled the day with Scottsdale’s Zach Petruscha taking the win after acing all three stages. Bradyn Lange finished second with Amos in third.
Amos ended up taking the overall with Trudeau in second and Finsterwald in third. Kabush finished fourth and Andrew L’Esperance rounded out the wide angle podium in fifth.
Here are the overall results for the men’s elite. Full results are available at https://thecactuscup.com/results/.