Former winners Plaxton and Gould aim for success at Mellow Johnny's Classic

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Max Plaxton has joined the Cannondale Factory Racing team for 2014.(Image credit: Cannondale)

Set in the heart of the Texas Hill Country and a just outside the cultural mecca of Austin, Texas, the Mellow Johnny’s Classic is the first stop on the USA Cycling US Cup Pro Series presented by Sho-Air Cycling Group. The new four-race series is the richest purse in cross country racing, and all four events will be sanctioned by the UCI as Category HC or Category 1 events.

In the elite men's race, Plaxton will have to watch out for fellow Canadian Geoff Kabush (Scott-3Rox Racing) and Americans Jeremiah Bishop (Sho-Air/Cannondale) and Todd Wells (Specialized Racing). All four of them have previously proved themselves to be fast in the early season races. Last year's winner, Dan McConnell (Trek Factory Racing) nipped Bishop and Wells at the line in a sprint finish, but the Australian is not expected this year due to the Mellow Johnny's Classic being sandwiched between the third round of the Australian Mountain Bike National Series and the Australian National Championships.

Other top men to watch include Kabush's teammates Derek Zandstra and Cameron Jette, Spencer Paxson (Kona), under 23 national champion Kerry Werner (BMC), Keegan Swenson (Cannondale Factory Racing) and Russell Finsterwald (SRAM- Troy Lee Designs Race Team), to name a few. Even Ryan Trebon (Sho-Air/Cannondale) will take to the start, having recovered from a severe leg cut requiring stitches at the cyclo-cross world championships in early February.

The Luna Pro Team is bringing its full firepower to the women's start line in Texas with former world champion and past Mellow Johnny's winner Catharine Pendrel, Gould, Katerina Nash and new signing Maghalie Rochette. Trek Factory Racing's Emily Batty will have her hands full against them, although she was the top finisher after Rebecca Henderson last year. Like McConnell, Henderson is also expected to stay home racing in Australia, skipping the trip to Texas.

The course is a mix of technical singletrack, with short climbs and limestone ledges that offer racers some technical and vertical challenges among adrenaline spiking dropoffs. The site is rarely open to the public, so few racers will have a home course advantage. As the first race in the series, pros and media from around the world will converge on Austin, as valuable World Cup points are on the line.