Strigel and Forbes win Subaru Cup super D

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The crown jewel of the Wisconsin Off-Road Series(WORS) each year is the Subaru Cup Pro XCT. Today, the two-day event wrapped up with the super D, run on a short, mostly downhill course comprised of sections of the cross country and short track races held earlier in the weekend. The majority of the super D course was a descent, which was a technical climb from the cross country course ridden in reverse. The super D began with a LeMans style start where riders had to run to the top of the ski hill and mount their bikes before heading downhill. Once mounted, the course sent racers on a seven to 10-minute race to the bottom and around the vendor expo area of the event.

Women

The elite women's field was pretty small as many racers went home after battling the heat and two high rev events earlier in the weekend. Some of the women to stick around included local pro rider Abigail Strigel (Honey Stinger/Bontrager), who was also last year's winner on the super D. Joining her in the singletrack were last year's cross country winner Judy Freeman (Crankbrothers Race Club) and first-year pro Cooper Dendel (Border Grill p/d Quick Stop). These ladies were three of the most technically skilled racers of anyone that raced this weekend.

Strigel took an early lead with her sprint to her bike. She got the hole shot to the singletrack and tried to create a gap as soon as she could. Being the only racer in the front group with a 26-inch full suspension bike, Strigel was able to maneuver the tight and rocky course with ease. She said she wanted to "hopefully get out into the open stuff with a little bit of a gap so I could hold them off until the finish, because I'm not the strongest in the open stuff." Her technique worked to get her the top spot.

Freeman had been holding onto second with Dendel right on her wheel. But some confusion at the finish allowed Dendel to pass since the course used part of the short track loop but with a different finish line. Dendel took the second spot which was her first podium finish since turning pro.

Men

The elite men's race had more participation than the women's race and warranted having two separate waves. It was not clear at first who the winner was until results were posted. The first finisher in wave 1 was Joseph Maloney (KS Energy Services/Team Wisconsin). The first wave consisted of pros and Cat. 1 racers so Maloney didn't know how his time compared to the next wave.

The second wave came through with Ben Forbes (Kenmore Cycles, Cyclinic SramRo) leading Nathan Guerra (Vision Pro Cycling). Guerra said that he felt that he gave it all he had and led most of the course. The finish included a short loop around the expo area which is where Forbes burned his last match to gap Guerra by four seconds.

Forbes came from Australia for a short tour of the Pro XCT races. This was his third and final race in America, and he ended with a win. Guerra's finish gave him a second place medal while Maloney took the third step on the podium.

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