Americans shine at Lenzerheide MTB World Cup
Lea Davison and Howard Grotts earned silver and bronze medals in their respective categories at the sixth round of the MTB World Cup
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The sixth round of the mountain bike World Cup in Lenzerheide, Switzerland saw two Americans earn podium finishes.
Lea Davison (Specialized Factory Racing) earned the silver medal in the elite women’s cross-country race, while another Specialized rider, Howard Grotts captured the bronze medal in the under-23 men’s XC.
After a tight race against current world champion Catherine Pendrel (Luna Pro Team), Davison took second, one minute behind winner Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Multivan Merida), who crossed the line in a time of 1:32:15. Pendrel took the bronze medal, finishing 36 seconds behind Davison. The podium place catapulted Davison up to fourth place in the women’s World Cup overall standings with 420 points. Dahle Flesjaa and Jolanda Neff (Stöckli Pro Team) are tied atop the standings with 650 points apiece, and Pendrel has 470 points.
Grotts continued his success at the under-23 level, earning the bronze medal. Grotts spoke to VeloNews earlier this year about his recent run of success. Grotts finished 1:07 behind winner Lars Forster (Wheeler-IXS) who finished in a time of 1:18:14. France’s Titouan Carod (Scott Sports) finished in second at 1:18:36.
The effort moved Grotts into third place in the under-23 men’s World Cup standings with 135 points. Pablo Rodriguez Guede (MMR Factory Racing Team) leads with 240 points followed by Forster at 200 points.
Three more rounds of racing remain in the 2015 World Cup series.