American women continue to hold 2nd spot in Olympic qualifiers
Sho-Air TWENTY20 Reports:
With UCI World MTB Championships closing in on us, Lea Davison and Savila Blunk have been racing World Cups in the most stunning locations. It’s crazy to think that a year ago we decided last minute to collaborate with some key partners on the mountain bike project. Thanks to Scott Tedro for being such a pivotal part of the program, and Felt Bicycles for jumping onboard. Along with Sho-Air International, SRAM, Fox, Violich Farms, Louis Garneau, Praxis, Vittoria, Arundel Cages, DZ Nuts, Park Tool, Sock Guy and Bryton we have accomplished a lot this year. It’s been a fun ride with plenty of good racing left in the season!
Lea Davison
“It’s been an exciting seven week racing block that included four World Cups and the national championships at 9000 feet! The highlights include a 7th place at the Short Track in Les Gets, France from a 27th starting position. Also, a 10th place in the Short Track in Lenzerheide Switzerland after coming back from a crash in the first lap. The racing has been extremely solid placing consistently in the top 15 of the World Cup in a field that is more stacked and competitive as ever. It’s been really fun traveling, training, and racing in the most gorgeous locations of Lenzerheide, Switzerland, Val di Sole, Italy, Livigno, Italy, Winter Park, CO and Les Gets, France to be in the mountains. It reminds me how lucky I am to be pursuing my dream, traveling the world, and supported by the best in the world.” Commented Davison.
“The racing has been fast and fierce, and I have truly laid it all out there. I have to be content when I have done my best under the given circumstances. I’m feeling really good and psyched for the World Championships around the corner at Mount Saint Anne, a course I have been racing since the beginning of my career. I’m also so excited that I get the perfect warm up race the weekend before World Champs in Vermont on my home course at the Eastern Grind. This race takes places at Catamount Outdoor Family center, and this is where I raced my first mountain bike race when I was 17 years old. So nineteen years later, it’s really fun for things to come full circle and to return home.”
Savilia Blunk
After a bad day in Val Di Sole, I was excited to be in Lendzerheide, Switzerland and reset for the last European World Cup of the year. After being here for World Championships last September, riding the track brought back good and exciting memories and I was ready for a new chance on Sunday. Sunday’s race played out well, after a descent start I found my race legs again and was able to steadily move up all day to finish 16th in the U23 race. Although this season has had some highs and lows for me, I’m endlessly thankful to my team of support behind me through it all. Time to head home and tune things up for World Championships in just two weeks!
The U.S. Women are currently sitting in second place in the Olympic qualification rankings. The top two countries at the end of the end of the qualification period will receive the maximum number of three slots to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo while third through ninth will receive two and the remaining countries one slot.
