Orange Seal Pro Cup Opens Domestic UCI MTB Calendar
Top racers show in Temecula, California, for first XCO and XCC events of the season
The soil in Temecula Valley is a decomposing granitic, sandy loam, which provides the 1,300 vineyard acres and the one bike park hosting a UCI mountain bike race, a well-draining soil conducive to producing world-class wine and miles of post-rain hero dirt. Although I didn't have time for a winery stop on this trip, I did get to see a weekend full of top-notch short track and cross-country mountain bike racing at one of the best tracks in the nation.
The Orange Seal Pro Cup, presented by Vailocity Bike Park, which took place March 22-23, is the first stop in the US Pro Cup and the newly created four-race USXC Open, with Fayetteville, Fall River and Missoula. 2024 is a Summer Olympics year, which means UCI points are worth their weight in potential gold, and the world's top racers are scouring the globe for XCO C1 races like those found in the US Cup events.
Nestled in the back of the KOA Vail Lake Resort in Temecula, California, is the Vailocity Bike Park. Before you get to the venue proper, you must first pay your daily $10 tithe to the KOA caretakers and wind your way through RV camping, minigolf, and rentable golf carts (do you think anyone uses the golf carts for their mini golf round?)
Once you've made it through the campers—some bike-adjacent, but most just having a fantastic vacation—the trees disappear, and the bike park reveals itself. The place is massive, with trails ranging from easy-peasy to jump lines and downhill runs.
The track's focus for the XCO and XCC races is the coliseum trail, which features a decent-sized double jump in the center and ridge line climbs and descents enveloping the exhibition area. Natural amphitheaters are always the best race venues. Like the Albstadt World Cup or Zonhoven, Vail Lake has a good one.
Short Track (XCC)
The UCI racing started Friday morning with a full slate of short track events. XCC racing is between 20 and 25 minutes, with each lap lasting around two to three minutes.
The Vail Lake XCC track is wide-open without much elevation and ample passing opportunities. The centrally located tabletop allows the kids to get steezy, and the tight berm before the finish makes the final sprint technical and tactical.
Bailey Cioppa (Bear National Team) set the early pace in the women's elite race, closely marked by Haley Batten (Specialized Factory Racing) and Jenn Jackson (Liv Factory Racing). Maddie Munro (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli) and Gwen Gibson (Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli) also closely watched the proceedings at the front. On lap two, Gibson moved to the front with Munro on her wheel. Batten, Jackson, Makena Kellerman (Bear National Team), Ruby Ryan (Team Durango Segment 28) and Merili Sirvel (Trey Trek Team) were also in the front group.
On lap three, Batten put in a dig and got a gap over the group, but the move was more of a leg stretcher than anything definitive, as it all came back together on lap four, with Gibson controlling the pace at the front. On lap five, it was Jackson's turn to test everyone's early season high-end, stretching the field out and reducing the front group to six with Batten, Gibson, Munro, Kellerman and Ryan still in the hunt.
At the end of lap 6, right before the final turn, Batten maneuvered around Gibson and took the lead with two laps to go. By the time the group reached the tabletop, Batten had a two-second lead, and Kellerman led the chase. Batten didn't look back, extending her lead and taking the win by four seconds. Jackson finished second, and Gibson third, another second behind Jackson.
In the men's elite race, Sean Fincham (Maxxis Factory Racing) shepherded the field through the early stages of lap one. Ivan Sippy (Team Durango Segment 28) took up pacing duties on lap two, which gave him first crack at the mid-lap style competition. Ben Oliver (Denver Disruptors) monitored the front along with Lasse Konecky (Bear National Team), Fincham, and Carson Beard (Team Durango Segment 28). Short track national champ and former XCC world champ Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) was comfortably in sixth place, in no hurry to get to the front.
On lap four, Oliver, who splits his time between the dirt and crit racing, moved to the front with Brayden Johnson (Santa Cruz RockShox), Cayden Parker (Bear National Team), Blevins, Fincham and Sippy on his wheel. The rest of the field was also there.
On lap seven, Robbie Day (Bear National Team) moved to the front, with Blevins starting to take things more seriously in second. Oliver was on his wheel with eight more behind him.
It wasn't until lap eight of 10 that Blevins went to the front for the first time and started to stretch out the front group. Oliver kept him close as Johnson, Beard, Fincham, Parker, Day, Gabe Harrelson (WE Development) and Raulito Gutierrez (Bear National Team) joined in the selection.
That group more or less stayed together for the remaining laps.
On the final lap, Blevins, Oliver and Fincham separated themselves from the pack and jockeyed for position. With the tight berms and inability to pass before the short finishing straight, leading into the final turn was mandatory. Oliver pushed through Fincham and Blevins to gain the advantage before the final berm. Without any remaining options, Blevins tried to take the outside line on the wrong side of the berm, but his speed carried him well off course. Blevins' deviation gave Oliver the advantage and the clear path to victory. Blevins held on for second, and Fincham finished third.
Cross Country (XCO)
After a long winter of cold and rainy cyclocross races, I always look forward to the mountain bike season with its warm weather and clear skies. But thankfully, I never really unpacked my bags from cyclocross. The rain pants stained with Czech mud, and my waterproof boots remained in the suitcase. Although it never got muddy (go back and read that lead paragraph again), it did rain for a good portion of the day, affecting conditions and tire choice.
Canadian Champ Carter Woods (Giant Factory Off-Road Team) took the holeshot in the UCI C1 XCO men's elite race. Oliver was on his wheel, with Blevins sitting about sixth. By the time the field started heading back towards the coliseum, Blevins was in third with Cayden Parker (Bear National Team), Fincham, Bradyn Lange (SCOTT Orange Seal) and the rest of an 18-large group close behind.
By the time the group reached the HT Components power climb on lap one, the selection was made. Oliver pushed the pace with Blevins and Woods on his wheel. Johnson and Adair Gutierrez Prieto (Canyon Cllctv XCO) made up the second group a few seconds back. Fincham gave some obligatory Canadian "sorrys" to a trio of Bear National riders as he danced from ninth to sixth.
During the second lap, Oliver dropped back to 11th, suffering from a less-than-ideal tire choice for the conditions. Blevins, on the other hand, kept a steady pace and started to stretch the field. Woods found himself in second, eight seconds back.
By lap three, Blevins had increased his lead to 19 seconds, with Lange in second and Day and Adair Gutierrez another 20 seconds back.
From that point on, it was all Blevins. While others in the field started to slow down, Blevins consistently pumped out sub-12-minute laps for the first five of seven laps. Lap six was 12 minutes on the nose, and he eased up a bit on the final lap with a 12:20 time. His closest competitor only banked three sub-12-minute laps out of the seven.
The fight for the remaining podium spots came down to four riders. Adair Gutierrez was the best of the rest, finishing second, 1:20 after Blevins and Lange finished third. After dialing in the sprint the day before, Oliver bested Day by three seconds for fourth.
In the women's elite category, which also included the U23 field, Haley Batten was the rider everyone had their eyes on. First, because she was the favorite and second, because she already had a gap on the field before UCI official Justin Evans finished blowing his whistle to start the race.
By the time Batten reached the top of the Violich Farms climb, about two minutes into the race, she already had a five-second lead over Jackson in second place. A few seconds behind was the Trek Factory Racing duo of Gibson and Munro, and Ryan in fifth.
I wish I had more to report on this one, but it blew up pretty fast from the start, and how the top five lined up on the first climb was how they finished 75+ minutes later. Batten built close to a three-minute lead by the time she crossed the line. Jackson, in second, finished 1:45 ahead of Gibson.
The closest battles at the top were between Bear National Team teammates Kellerman and Cioppa, who sprinted for sixth place, with Kellerman taking the spot. Right behind that duo, Erin Osborne (Momentum Endurance) pipped Lauren Aggelar (Trinity Racing) for eighth place.
Other winners in the UCI categories were Ellie Krafft (Pivot Cycles) for the U23 women, Sippy for the U23 men, Vida Lopez de San Roman (Bear National Team) for the junior women and Nicholas Konecny (Bear National Team) for the junior men.
Full results for all races and categories at Vail Lake are here. Next in the US Pro Cup and USXC Open in Fayetteville, Arkansas, presented by the Ozark Foundation. See you there.
Thanks for the great insight into the domestic scene
Thanks for the write-up Bill! This is my only way to stay in the loop with domestic races.