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Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz Bicycles) and Haley Batten (Specialised Manufacturing facility Racing) gained the professional races of the inaugural Existence Time Little Sugar MTB introduced through Mazda, held in Bentonville, Arkansas on Sunday. The elite divisions competed on a marked, largely-singletrack process 99.3 kilometres (61.7 miles) and 1,998 metres (6,558 toes) of elevation acquire throughout north-west Arkansas.
The highest 5 finishers for women and men earned equivalent stocks from a $65,000 prize handbag, made conceivable through Existence Time and OZ Manufacturers as the most important single-day prize payout in US mountain motorcycle racing up to now.
Utah’s Swenson referred to as it an ‘epic fight’ as he held off South African Matt Beers in a dash end, each crossing the road in 4:25:16. Cole Paton completed 3rd, 19 seconds again. It will be 4 and a part mins later prior to Bradyn Lange crossed the road in fourth, and Sean Fincham in 5th.
Olympic mountain motorcycle gold medalist Tom Pidcock suffered a flat tyre and rolled in for twenty fifth position from the 32 elite males who completed. He got here to Arkansas off a International Cup XCO victory in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Québec.
“So as regards to cracking the American code,” Beers posted to his Instagram feed. “As we all know Keegan Swenson is a difficult guy to overcome. My day was once a long way from clean like most of the people, this position eats tires. However you simply gotta to find that inside canine and no longer surrender. Nonetheless, the sort of ill day ripping trails with all of the lads.”
Batten rode solo the general two-thirds of the elite ladies’s identify race to take the victory in 4:53:22. She was once 11 mins quicker than second-placed Savilia Blunk. Sofia Gomez Villafañe completed 3rd, just a little greater than 16 mins off the profitable tempo. Katerina Nash was once some other 8 mins down in fourth, and Crystal Anthony completed 5th.
“It’s onerous racing, it’s beautiful relentless. I believed [going into the race] there’s no longer a lot mountain climbing, it’s beautiful rolling, however whilst you’re available in the market it’s relentless,” she mentioned after the end, calling it “an afternoon smartly spent”. Each Batten and Blunk completed within the peak 15 on the ultimate International Cup XCO race of the season every week in the past at Mont-Sainte-Anne.
Most of the competition now transfer flat bars for drop bars to compete in subsequent weekend’s Giant Sugar Gravel in Bentonville. That 100-mile off-road contest serves because the 7th and ultimate spherical of the Existence Time Grand Prix, the tip 10 professional ladies and professional males sharing similarly in a $250,000 prize handbag.
Swenson does no longer desire a peak end result on the 7th and ultimate collection contest to safe the whole identify for a moment 12 months, as he mathematically wrapped up the championship through profitable the primary 4 races.
Beers is these days 7th general within the Grand Prix, whilst Paton is 3rd. Russell Finsterwald, who’s shut at the back of Paton in fourth within the Grand Prix, completed 8th at Little Sugar.
From the ladies’s box in Little Sugar, Villafañe is the top-ranked lady within the Grand Prix, and prefer Swenson, she additionally locked up her general victory with 4 consecutive wins and a 3rd position, so best wishes to start out Giant Sugar. Anthony is 6th general within the Grand Prix. Alexis Skarda, who’s moment general within the Grand Prix, completed ninth in Little Sugar, and Jenna Rinehart, who’s 8th within the Grand Prix, completed 7th Sunday.