US Pro Cup Kicks Off 2022 North American UCI Mountain Bike Racing in Fayetteville
Quick results rundown from Thursday's XCO and Friday's Short-Track races in Arkansas
The US Pro Cup Mountain Bike series isn’t necessarily what it used to be, with the current iteration featuring two XCOs and a short track race held at Centennial Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas (you may have heard of it, IDK) over a short period of time.
Last year, the US Cup series was spread over two weekends, but this year, the event features a condensed schedule reminiscent of the mini-2020 World Cup held three days apart at Nove Mesto. The original schedule for the 2022 Moosejaw US Pro Cup p/b Oz Trails had an XCO on Wednesday, Short Track on Friday, and a second XCO race on Sunday.
That schedule got condensed a bit when Wednesday’s race was postponed due to inclement weather. Seriously, Fayetteville finally got its REAL CYCLOCROSS CONDITIONS. Should have held Cyclocross Worlds in April, apparently.
Thursday XCO
The race weekend kicked off with Wednesday’s XCO race held on Thursday on a still-sloppy course. A number of top North American stars, including Christopher Blevins, Kate Courtney, Riley Amos, and others were back at home to race the two C1 races on home soil.
Savilia Blunk, fresh off her appearance near the top of the Groadio Power Rankings, took the win just ahead of Haley Batten. Courtney finished 3rd. Gwendalyn Gibson and Ruth Holcomb rounded out the wide-angle podium for the Elite Women.
Christopher Blevins took the Elite Men’s win, beating out Mid South winner Cole Paton. A Canuck trio of Tyler Orschel, Andrew L’Esperance, and Marc Andre Fortier went 3-4-5.
Top 25 results from both races are down below.
The Junior Women’s podium was Bailey Cioppa, Ava Holmgren, and Ellie Krafft. The Junior Men’s was Cayden Parker, Jack Spranger, and Ian Ackert.
Full results are available here.
Friday Short Track
Elite Women
Maghalie Rochette
Jenn Jackson
Haley Batten
Gwendalyn Gibson
Kelsey Urban
Elite Men
Christopher Blevins
Quinton Disera
Riley Amos
Peter Disera
Andrew L’Esperance
XCO Results