<p>Specialized Racing's Todd Wells won the short track cross country race at the Subaru Cup on Sunday in Mt. Morris, Wisconsin. His teammate Howard Grotts also made the podium with a fourth place finish.</p><p>
</p><p>
"We haven't had many short tracks this year," said US short track national champion Wells. "I think this is only the third one after nationals and Sea Otter. The short track is the closest thing we get to World Cup start domestically. It was nice to actually have a short track race although when you're used to racing one day at a time, it's tough."</p><p>
</p><p>
"I think everyone was a little tired on Sunday."</p><p>
</p><p>
The race started with a crash right at the beginning. Already at the front, Wells, who was on his Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper hardtail 29er with a RockShox fork, was unaffected while Grotts had to stop and put down a foot to avoid crashing into two downed riders in front of him.</p><p>
</p><p>
"The race started fast. I heard the crash behind me," said Wells, who quickly rode off the front, as only Raphael Gagne could hold his wheel. The two rode together for most of the race with Wells doing a majority of the work.</p><p>
</p><p>
"Gagne came around with one lap to go. I was able to just barely get by at top of the last climb and was just barely able to outsprint him," said Wells, who finished in 26:37, one second ahead of his rival.</p><p>
</p><p>
Behind them, Grotts moved up little by little on his Specialized Epic full suspension 29er. Toward the end of the race, he was riding for third and fourth with Ryan Woodall.</p><p>
</p><p>
"I didn't get too hung up by that early crash. It put me back maybe a few spots. That was on the first lap - just five seconds into the race," said Grotts.</p><p>
</p><p>
"I was probably sitting toward the back of the top 10 riders when we saw Todd start pulling away. I was slowly picking off one or two guys per lap. About halfway through, it was Ryan Woodall and me. It stayed like that until the end, and Ryan threw down a little attack on the penultimate lap. He was able to keep it for that finish lap." The pair finished 19 and 20 seconds, respectively, after Wells.</p><p>
</p><p>
Racers enjoyed cloudy race day conditions which kept temperatures cool and comfortable. A few small rain drops fell, but nothing serious. The course was generally loose and dry with a few sandy spots. Overall, racers liked the course.</p><p>
</p><p>
Wells and Grotts both raced a Specialized S-Works Renegade tire on the rear and a Specialized S-Works Fast Trak tire on the front. Each rider bumped up his tire pressure slightly from the previous day's cross country (to 29 psi for Wells and 24.5 psi for Grotts). Wells also increased his fork pressure.</p><p>
</p><p>
"The Wisconsin courses are great all around mountain biking. There's a dense forest with some fun singletrack and short, punchy climbs," said Wells. "I feel like all the riders think that it's one of the best Pro XCT venues."</p><p>
</p><p>
Both Wells and Grotts were pleased with their overall weekend performance.</p><p>
</p><p>
"I was tired after the Olympics and all the travel and everything," said Wells. "Being in contention for the overall for the Pro XCT series, I wanted to try to see if I could get that title. I would have preferred to have won the cross country, but second was good enough to take the title." He was talking about Saturday's race, in which he finished as the runner-up on the day while clinching the overall US Pro XCT title.</p><p>
</p><p>
A happy Grotts reflected on the weekend of racing as a first-year under 23 rider among the elites. "I felt especially great about the cross country. The short track surprised me because it was fast. It did have some climbing, but it was relatively flat for the bottom section. It's good to see all the training is working out well in the last few weeks before Worlds."</p><p>
</p><p>
Both Grotts and Wells will head to the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in early September in Saalfelden, Austria. After that, Wells will race US marathon nationals while Grotts will join his Fort Lewis team for a fall season of collegiate mountain bike racing.</p>
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</p><p>
"We haven't had many short tracks this year," said US short track national champion Wells. "I think this is only the third one after nationals and Sea Otter. The short track is the closest thing we get to World Cup start domestically. It was nice to actually have a short track race although when you're used to racing one day at a time, it's tough."</p><p>
</p><p>
"I think everyone was a little tired on Sunday."</p><p>
</p><p>
The race started with a crash right at the beginning. Already at the front, Wells, who was on his Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper hardtail 29er with a RockShox fork, was unaffected while Grotts had to stop and put down a foot to avoid crashing into two downed riders in front of him.</p><p>
</p><p>
"The race started fast. I heard the crash behind me," said Wells, who quickly rode off the front, as only Raphael Gagne could hold his wheel. The two rode together for most of the race with Wells doing a majority of the work.</p><p>
</p><p>
"Gagne came around with one lap to go. I was able to just barely get by at top of the last climb and was just barely able to outsprint him," said Wells, who finished in 26:37, one second ahead of his rival.</p><p>
</p><p>
Behind them, Grotts moved up little by little on his Specialized Epic full suspension 29er. Toward the end of the race, he was riding for third and fourth with Ryan Woodall.</p><p>
</p><p>
"I didn't get too hung up by that early crash. It put me back maybe a few spots. That was on the first lap - just five seconds into the race," said Grotts.</p><p>
</p><p>
"I was probably sitting toward the back of the top 10 riders when we saw Todd start pulling away. I was slowly picking off one or two guys per lap. About halfway through, it was Ryan Woodall and me. It stayed like that until the end, and Ryan threw down a little attack on the penultimate lap. He was able to keep it for that finish lap." The pair finished 19 and 20 seconds, respectively, after Wells.</p><p>
</p><p>
Racers enjoyed cloudy race day conditions which kept temperatures cool and comfortable. A few small rain drops fell, but nothing serious. The course was generally loose and dry with a few sandy spots. Overall, racers liked the course.</p><p>
</p><p>
Wells and Grotts both raced a Specialized S-Works Renegade tire on the rear and a Specialized S-Works Fast Trak tire on the front. Each rider bumped up his tire pressure slightly from the previous day's cross country (to 29 psi for Wells and 24.5 psi for Grotts). Wells also increased his fork pressure.</p><p>
</p><p>
"The Wisconsin courses are great all around mountain biking. There's a dense forest with some fun singletrack and short, punchy climbs," said Wells. "I feel like all the riders think that it's one of the best Pro XCT venues."</p><p>
</p><p>
Both Wells and Grotts were pleased with their overall weekend performance.</p><p>
</p><p>
"I was tired after the Olympics and all the travel and everything," said Wells. "Being in contention for the overall for the Pro XCT series, I wanted to try to see if I could get that title. I would have preferred to have won the cross country, but second was good enough to take the title." He was talking about Saturday's race, in which he finished as the runner-up on the day while clinching the overall US Pro XCT title.</p><p>
</p><p>
A happy Grotts reflected on the weekend of racing as a first-year under 23 rider among the elites. "I felt especially great about the cross country. The short track surprised me because it was fast. It did have some climbing, but it was relatively flat for the bottom section. It's good to see all the training is working out well in the last few weeks before Worlds."</p><p>
</p><p>
Both Grotts and Wells will head to the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in early September in Saalfelden, Austria. After that, Wells will race US marathon nationals while Grotts will join his Fort Lewis team for a fall season of collegiate mountain bike racing.</p>
More...