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Max Plaxton ready for Test of Metal

June 10, 2014
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Max Plaxton races at the NIMBY Fifty (Photo: Dave Steers)
Max Plaxton races at the NIMBY Fifty (Photo: Dave Steers)

Canadian mountain bike racer Max Plaxton is ready to take on the Test of Metal, in Squamish, B.C. The Team ShoAir/Cannondale rider swapped out European World Cup plans to focus on recovery from a knee injury and race in more local events.

A little more than a week ago, Plaxton won the NIMBY 50, a technical point-to-point race on trails outside of Pemberton, B.C. Plaxton finished nearly three minutes up on Cory Wallace, who finished second.

“That race is really not a walk in the park, but I had some experience there before, which helps,” said Plaxton, who has won the race twice in the past three years. “It’s a tough course, and there’s not a lot of rest. You have to control your pace and plan your effort.”

Plaxton already feels fully recovered from earlier knee problems, and said the choice to skip the Czech and German World Cups was based on the desire to “take one step back in order to take two steps forward.”

Max Plaxton races at the NIMBY Fifty. (Photo: Dave Steers)
Max Plaxton races at the NIMBY Fifty. (Photo: Dave Steers)

Plaxton will race the Test of Metal this weekend, before heading to the next two rounds of the US XC Pro Cup, in Missoula, Mont., and Colorado Springs, Colo., during the following two weeks. Plaxton is ranked third in the US series, with 425 points. The points leader is fellow Canadian Geoff Kabush, with 540 points.

Plaxton will also race in the Canadian mountain bike championships in July, and represent Canada at the Commonwealth Games in Scotland later this summer. In August, he plans to race both the Mont-Sainte-Anne and Windham World Cups

In the meantime, Plaxton is focused on training and competition.