Triple Crown Rolls into Colorado

Published May 11, 2010 04:00PM

Round two of the country’s newest mountain bike series makes a stop in Colorado May 15-16 at the Chalk Creek Stampede.

The H2O Overdrive All Mountain Series presented by Specialized will host a number of top pros in Nathrop, Colorado. In its first season after splitting from USA Cycling’s Pro Cross-Country Tour, the new three-stop series has managed to attract North America’s top XC racers by offering richer purses that run deeper into the field rather than UCI points.

Coming into round two, winners of the first race at Bonelli Park in California in March, Max Plaxton (Team Sho-Air/Specialized) and Kelli Emmett (Giant), hold one point leads over their closest competitors.

While Emmett is slated to attend, men’s series leader Plaxton will be attending a Canadian Cup in his home country, leaving the door open for fellow Sho-Air/Specialized teammate Sid Taberlay and other’s to take advantage of the Canadian’s absence.

According to series Director Ty Kady, confirmed riders so far include Taberlay and Emmett, Jeremy-Horgan-Kobelski and Subaru/Gary Fisher teammates Heather Irmiger and Russell Finsterwald. Current cyclo-cross National Champion and mountain bike strongwoman Katie Compton is schedule to compete in her first mountain bike event of the year.

With the race being held in Colorado many elite riders are expected to race, including Ross Schnell, Colin Cares, Jay Henry, Sam Jurekovic and Travis Brown.

Each race in the Triple Crown series includes cross-country, Super D and short track. A rider’s best two of three events will be calculated to crown a winner at each race and ultimately the overall series champion. For more on series structure and guidelines go here.

Saturday opens with the Super D race at 10:30 a.m., followed by the men’s and women’s pro short-track at 12:30 p.m. The cross-country race starts at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

The 7.25-mile cross-country course offers has a total elevation gain of about 550 feet per lap.

The Triple Crown’s stop at Chalk Creek is part of the Mountain States Cup series. The third and final stop is at Massanutten Resort in Virginia June. 19-20.

The main attraction for pro riders at the Triple Crown is a deeper payout — 10 deep in each discipline — versus the Pro XCT’s international points, which are geared for racers focusing on the World Cup and Olympics.

Pro men and women will be vying for a potential $20,000 combined pro payout at the end of the series.