This weekend in San Dimas, California, Tucson women showed why it pays to spend the winter training in the sun. The technical desert trails and mountain climbs of their regular weekly rides gave Krista Park, Zephanie Blasi, and Chloe Forsman the skills and strength to beat many of the best riders in the United States.

In the U.S. Pro Cross Country race in Bonelli Park, Cannondale/No Tubes rider Krista Park  and Specialized rider Lea Davison spent the entire race chasing Luna’s Georgia Gould who shot away from the pack at the start line. Gould won the race, with Davison in second and Park in third.

This is Park’s first podium on the national circuit. She just spent three weeks racing against European pros in Cyprus, Between races in the Sunshine Cup , Park also spent some quality training mileson the hilly trails of that Mediterranean island.  Park is considered a “privateer” meaning that she puts together her own sponsorship, rather than racing for a major team. Her sponsors include: SRAM, Primal clothing, FRS energy supplements, Osprey backpacks and SRM power meter.

Former Luna pro and development rider, Tucson’s Chloe Forsman also showed early season fitness with a fifth place finish in the cross-country race. Forsman, a University of Arizona student, now races for the BMC mountain bike development team.  NoTubes Elite team member Zephanie Blasi, who just moved to Tucson last fall in time for great winter training, finished seventh. 

Blasi recently rode to victory with her team at Tucson’s 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo race, under much worse conditions than the sunny skies of southern California.  Forsman’s co-ed team also raced strong at 24HOP, held in February. Full results from the Bonelli Park cross country race can be found here.

On the short track course on Sunday, Tucsonans continued to race well. The pack stayed together for the early laps, then Forsman put in an attack with two laps to go. Krista Park said of Forsman: "She blew the field apart, Georgia (Gould) and Lea (Davison) went all out from there. I had been riding 3rd/4th until that happened, I got caught off-guard and was passed by everyone in the lead group when Chloe attacked." 

On the final lap, Davison managed to catch Forsmean and get away for the win. In  the breakaway group, Forsman moved up one spot from the day before, taking fourth place.  Blasi and Park finished sixth and seventh, respectively. Full results from the short track are here.

Tucson pros look forward to even better podium places in next big pro race, Pro XCT #2 in Fontana, California, on March 26. In April, they will travel to the Sea Otter Classic, in Monterrey, CA. Meanwhile on March 19 and 20, you might find them at the Mountain Bike Association of Arizona race, Foray in the Fort, in Ft. Huachuca.