Caron wins Catamount Pro XCT

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Antoine Caron (Specialized Racing Canada) won the elite men's cross country race at the US Pro XCT finale at the Catamount Classic in Vermont on Saturday.  Caron outsprinted Kerry Werner (BMC Project Dirt), who was fresh off his second place finish at the US nationals last weekend.  Cameron Dodge (Pure Energy Scott MTB Team) earned third place, just three seconds behind the top two.

How it happened

With most of the big names of the sport missing today, the front row took on a much younger look. Kerry Werner (BMC Project), who finished second in last week’s US National Championships, was considered the pre-race favorite. A crash at the start caused some confusion, but most of the main contenders sailed free.

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The course at the Catamount Center offered a bit of everything to the riders. It started with a long rolling section on grass before entering the woods. Riders were then treated to buff singletrack complete with man-made berms, whoops, and wooden bridge crossings. Uphill singletrack featured many short steep climbs that occasionally forced riders off their bikes, mostly due to mis-shifts. The climb to the top of the Catamount hill was broken up into so many sections that the pure climbers had no advantage.

Towards the middle of the course, racers faced three A/B lines. The first was a double rock drop, the second a gap jump, and the third a very steep rock drop. All the main contenders took the A-lines as the B lines were much longer. At the top of the course, riders had to contend with a man-made rock garden about 60 feet long.

Spencer Paxson (Kona) took the hole-shot and led much of the first lap with Werner, Antoine Caron (Specialized), Mitch Hoke (Pro’s Closet), and Cameron Dodge (Pure Energy-Scott) in hot pursuit. Casey Williams (Whole Athlete) got gapped early but did not let up chasing the leaders from sixth position.

Paxson was unable to hold off the young guns who all got around him by the second lap. Werner seemed to be in charge, but Caron took the lead mid-race and put the hammer down. Only Hoke and Werner were able to stay close as clearly each thought they could win.

Sometime during the final lap, Dodge joined the leaders and Hoke was dropped. The race concluded with Caron winning his first Pro XCT race by slightly over a bike length ahead of Werner. The long final straightaway on grass was the scene of many sprint finishes during the day. Dodge took third only a few bike lengths behind the leaders.

Results