Plaxton, Davison Champs of 3-Year-Old Pro XCT

In the short, three-year life of USA Cycling’s Pro Cross Country Tour (Pro XCT) a different rider has won the national series each season.

Replacing the defunct National Mountain Bike Series (NMBS) in 2009 as the premier cross-country stage in North America, the inaugural season was won by American Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Canadian Catharine Pendrel. In 2010, the winners of the collection of UCI-sanctioned races were American — Todd Wells and Georgia Gould.

For 2011, the Pro XCT was split again between Canada and the U.S., with BC’s Max Plaxton and Vermont’s Lea Davison — both backed by Specialized — taking the honors.

Davison also won the final Pro XCT of 2011, the Missoula XC, to overcome a 10-point deficit to Gould, who didn’t contest the event. Davison and Gould were followed by Canadian Emily Batty (Subaru-Trek) in third place while Chloe Forsman (Tucson, Ariz./BMC MTB Development Team) placed fourth and Krista Park (Madison, S.D./Cannondale-No Tubes) finished fifth in the final overall standings.

Plaxton, who this season won at Fontana, Mellow Johnny’s Classic and the Subaru Cup, finished third in Missoula but managed to hold on to the overall title. Todd Wells (Durango, Colo./Specialized), who didn’t race in Missoula, finished second. Sam Schultz, who won his hometown race in Missoula, finished third overall. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Trek) finished fourth 30 points ahead of Adam Craig (Bend, Ore./Rabobank-Giant).

Overall Team Standings
1. Specialized USA Factory Racing — 287
2. Subaru-Trek — 246
3. BMC MTB Development Team — 204
4. Luna Pro Team — 194
5. Kona Bikes— 136