Davison unseats the short track queen

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Lea Davison (Team Maxxis) pulled off the impossible today, beating short track queen Katerina Nash (Luna Women’s MTB) in a sprint to the finish. Despite missing the victory, Luna still scored big with Georgia Gould and Catherine Pendrel taking third and fourth respectively. Series leader Heather Irmiger (Gary Fishe/Subaru) was fifth, giving her enough points to claim the overall championship.

Davison once again had many members of her family to cheer her to victory. “It helped me so much to have my family around me today. It was amazing,” said Davison. “Katerina (Nash) and all the blueberries (Luna women) are always strong. I was worried when I was surrounded in a sea of blue.

“I tried to recover on the course wherever possible,” added Davison. “I still had a little left in the tank but Katerina is the short track queen: It really takes a lot to beat her.”

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The professional women rode a modified version of last year’s short track course in quite warm conditions at Windham Mountain today. The climb on the upper end of the course was the only place where attacks seemed to be working, with most of the racing on fire roads and grass surfaces.

Davison went to the front right at the gun but immediately found herself surrounded by blue Luna kits. Gould assumed the lead and a select group formed that initially included Irmiger, Pendrel, Davison, Willow Koerber (Gary Fisher/Subaru), and Amy Dombroski (Healthnet).

Koerber led the group mid-race but there were constant attacks on her lead. Riders behind her shifted positions so frequently it was impossible to keep track. By lap five the group had lost Dombroski and others that had been dangling off the back.

Nash led several attacks in the latter stages of the race. While the Luna women had the numbers to conquer Davison, it was clear that each was racing for themselves. Finally Nash launched one of her patented uphill attacks at the 16 minute mark and only Davison and Gould could respond. Making it a three person race from that point on. Another attack by Nash was followed by Davison and a gap opened up back to Gould.

Davison got around Nash on the final lap and rounded the corner to the finish first. While they both sprinted as hard as they could, there was not enough real estate for Nash to get around Davison.

Nash complimented Davison by saying she was “super strong today”. Nash had a small chance of assuming the series title but that did not happen as Irmiger rode herself on to the podium.

This event was Davison’s second short track win, having taken her first at the 2008 Sea Otter Classic. Since then she has focused on these races and finished third two years running at the national championships.

Irmiger went home with the series championship based on her win in Colorado Springs, as well as having the most consistent short track series of anyone this season. It has been a storybook summer for Irmiger, having also won the U.S.A Marathon and Cross Country Championships.

Despite Nash missing out on the race win she was able to claim both the race's third lap prime and the most aggressive rider prize.

Many of the top level racers will now have three weeks to prepare for the World Championships in Canberra, Australia. While Nash will be skipping this year’s event, Pendrel, Gould, Irmiger, Koerber, are amongst those that will attend.

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