Maghalie Rochette doubles up at Soldier Hollow Pro XCT
Clif Pro's Canadian wins Short Track and Cross Country race in Utah
Maghalie Rochette dominated the third round of US Pro XCT racing at Soldier Hollow in Utah, winning both rounds of racing over the weekend. The Clif Pro athlete won the Short Track XC on Saturday, held at the cross country skiing venue from the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, then continued to push the pace to double up and take the win in Sunday’s XCO as well.
Rochette, who was the 2016 Canadian national cyclocross champion, used her experience in the shorter, fast paced racing to take the weekends opening win over Sofia Gomez-Villafane (Stan’s-Pivot Pro Team) and 2017 U.S. junior national XCO champion Savila Blunk (Whole Athlete p/b DNA Racing). The win was Rochette’s first UCI short track race, a format that has be reintroduced as part of World Cup racing for 2018.
Carrying momentum from Saturday’s win into Sunday’s XCO race, a UCI C1 level event, Rochette battled with a hard charging Evelyn Dong (Stan’s No-Tubes), who attacked late in the to try solo to the win. Dong couldn’t quite make the move stick, and Rochette reeled her in to win her second race of the weekend.
The wins come after a pair of strong early season results for Rochette at HC level XCO events in California, placing 10th at Fontana City in a stacked field, and 13th at Bonelli Park. The Canadian XC and CX double threat was also 11th at Sea Otter Classic XC, an event won by Specialized’s World Cup XC star Annika Langvad.
Solder Hollow, just outside Salt Lake City, hosted the cross country skiing events at the 2002 Winter Olympics. The venue for Rochette’s first UCI short track win is the same that her Clif Pro teammate Katerina Nash competed in at those Olympics as a XC skier for her home country, the Czech Republic.
