Savilia Blunk, Christopher Blevins win first round of US Cup

After a day’s delay due to inclement weather, US Cup racing kicked off at Centennial Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Thursday morning.

In the women’s race, Savilia Blunk beat Haley Batten in a 1-2 sprint, while Christopher Blevins won the men’s race by a three-minute margin.

Read also: US Cup returns to Fayetteville with a techier course and a stacked start list

Conditions on race day were muddy and slow. The men raced seven laps of the 4.2km course while the women raced six. Batten pulled away from the women’s field early, at one point with 40 seconds on the field. However, Blunk raced to perfection on the day, catching Batten to ride the final lap together.

On the final lap, the pair battled back and forth, each taking turns on the front. In the end, Blunk had the legs for the final sprint to the line.

In the men’s race, Blevins took control from the get-go, riding off a lead group of three at the end of the first lap. As riders struggled over the muddy and technical course, the short track world champ made it look easy.

Blunk will be making her debut in the World Cup elite field this year. Batten and third place finisher Kate Courtney were both at the opening race of the season in Brazil before coming back to the U.S. to race in Arkansas.

Friday, the elites will race short track, followed by another XCO race on Sunday.

Elite women’s results

1. Savilia Blunk, 1:37:22
2. Haley Batten, 1:37:26
3. Kate Courtney, 1:39:34
4. Gwendalyn Gibson, 1:42:13
5. Ruth Holcomb, 1:43:17

Elite men’s results

1. Christopher Blevins, 1:35:58
2. Cole Paton, 1:38:49
3. Tyler Orschel, 1:39:46
4. Andrew L’Esperance, 1:40:15
5. Marc Andre Fortier, 1:40:35

A list of full results can be found here.