Parbo and Stetson-Lee Win First Day At Kross-toberfest Presented by Focus

Parbo charges up the stairs ahead of Chris Jones. © Kenneth Kill, Light & Shadows

by Dave Sheek

Humid temperatures and morning rains brought some mud to Southern California (SoCal) for the first UCI double-header weekend the area has seen in two years. The mud was literally a giant pit and, along with a mixture of heavy grass, required a lot of power from racers. Day One was fantastic, bringing more than just exciting racing with a bike swap, morning trail run series, and other advocacy rides for cyclists.

The Elite Women’s race started with Devon Haskell (Bike Station Aptos) being first up the long, curving road start and into the grassy fields of Kross-toberfest. In second it was former SoCal resident, Carolyn Popovich (PAValleys.com), who took the lead as Haskell crashed halfway through the first lap. But the women’s field was lined up and ready to attack as California Giant Berry Farm’s Teal Stetson-Lee and Barb Howe (Ibis) made their moves. Haskell was back on the bike quickly and back to the front group of five as they stayed together. However, this early attack from Stetson-Lee and Howe set a pace that separated the women. The chase group got close but could never close the gap to the five leaders.

With two to go, Howe had a mishap in the mud causing a slip that separated her from the front group, while Teal continued to smash the pace on the front and open her gap even more. In the end it was Teal Stetson-Lee to take the win with Haskel second, Sarah Maile (Ventana Bikes) third, Popovich fourth and Barb Howe rounding out the top five.

Elite Men

The Elite Men saw tight, aggressive racing from the start as riders sprinted to the grassy fields elbow to elbow. Within the first quarter of a lap multiple crashes caused tangles that created breaks in the group. The first to take the lead was Chris Jones (Rapha-Focus), and by the end of lap one his lead was almost 10 seconds off the front. But it wouldn’t stick as he unfortunately rolled his tire on lap two, putting him back in around 15th. While the lead group took off, Jones rode his way back to the leaders to settle back in until the finish.

With two to go the excitement grew as Joachim Parbo (Leopard Cycles) took the lead. He raced smart as early on he sat in the group, but the week off from the USGP must have served his legs well as Parbo opened a gap on the field. It was close, but the chase group of Sid Taberlay (Sho-Air), Tyler Wren (Boo Bicycles), Danny Summerhill (Garmin), Sean Babcock (Kona) and Chris Sheppard (Rocky Mountain) could not close. Parbo took the final lap and relaxed a bit on his way to the line for the win. Taberlay came hot out of the last barrier section bunny-hopping his way off the group for second. Jones and Wren took third and fourth with an exciting sprint finish and it was Danny Summerhill, who unfortunately had a mishap in the last turn after the barriers but was able to hang on, to round out the top five for the first day of Kross-toberfest racing.

Elite Men Results

Elite Women Results

Photo Gallery