The 2010 USA Cycling Pro Mountain Bike Cross Country Tour (Pro XCT) kicked off on Saturday with the US Cup in Fontana, Calif. With high winds and sand storms, the first of the Pro XCT’s five UCI-inscripted events was heated as the world’s top mountain bikers competed for valuable UCI points.

Todd Wells (Durango, Colo./ Specialized) won the elite men’s race ahead of Canadians Geoff Kabush and Max Plaxton. Australian Sid Taberlay was fourth while USA Cycling Development Program alum Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont./Subaru-Gary Fisher) rounded out the top five.

On the women’s side of competition, Norwegian Lene Byberg won her first big U.S. race ahead of endurance strong woman Pua Sawicki (Yucaipa, Calif./OkoleStuff.com) who has switched her focus from endurance to cross country events this season in hopes of representing the U.S. at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Quebec in August. Willow Koerber (Durango, Colo./Subaru-Gary Fisher) took third while Kelli Emmett (Colorado Springs, Colo./Giant) was fourth, and Allison Mann (Murietta, Calif./Rock N Road) made her first national-level podium, taking fifth.

With the first of five Pro XCT events complete, Wells and Byberg have taken the early leads. The standings are as follows:

Men’s Standings
1. Todd Wells (Durango, Colo./Specialized) – 120
2. Geoff Kabush (CAN/Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) – 100
3. Max Plaxton (CAN/Sho-Air-Specialized) – 90
4. Sid Taberlay (AUS/Sho-Air-Specialized) – 80
5. Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont./Subaru-Gary Fisher) – 75

Women’s Standings
1. Lene Byberg (NOR/Specialized) – 120
2. Pua Sawicki (Yucaipa, Calif./OkoleStuff.com) – 100
3. Willow Koerber (Durango, Colo./Subaru-Gary Fisher) – 90
4. Kelli Emmett (Colorado Springs, Colo./Giant) – 80
5. Allison Mann (Murietta, Calif./Rock N Road) – 75

The Pro XCT will continue on April 18 with the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, Calif.
Photos from top to bottom: Todd Wells took a very close win in the men’s race over Geoff Kabush. Norwegian Lene Byberg claimed her first big win on U.S. soil. Photos courtesy of Dave McElwaine/trailwatch.net

*To see the 2010 USA Cycling Pro Mountain Bike Cross Country Tour standings or leaders board, please visit USA Cycling’s Pro XCT webpage