Van Dooren

The Sea Otter cross-country main event finished up with a new stage winner and two familiar faces atop the overall standings, and it featured a sweet, paved sprint finish.

Cross-country's big day featured the long 34-mile, two-lap race to determine the overall winner of this three-stage event. France's Laurence Leboucher (FRA, GT) and Michael Rasmussen (DEN, Haro/Lee Dungarees) came into Sunday as the overall leaders, but Bas Van Dooren (NED, Be-One) wanted the men's title back and several women were hunting, as well.

When the XC ended, Leboucher had secured the women's title with some help from teammate Alison Dunlap (USA, Team GT) who acted as a windbreak and towed Laurence to the win. Leboucher returned the favor by leading out Dunlap in the final moments of their race, giving Dunlap the stage win. Current World Champion Marga Fullana (ESP, Subaru-Specialized) was caught in the middle, and finished 2nd after a long, three-way fight across the windy course.

"Rasmussen...succumbed to stomach cramps and low temperatures, finishing 7th...."

Van Dooren knew he'd have to go out hard to overtake Rasmussen for the general classification (GC) title, so he did just that and within the first lap established himself as the solo breakaway leader. After the first 17-mile lap, he was a full minute clear of his chasers, a quintet of men working together to reel in the thin Dutchman.

	Leboucher

Rasmussen was among those chasers, but succumbed to stomach cramps and low temperatures, finishing 7th. Defending Olympic gold medalist Bart Brentjens (NED, Subaru-Specialized) was also chasing and — in his best ride in years — finished a strong 2nd for the day. Canadian Roland Green (CAN, GT), who often does well here, finished 3rd for the day.

Overall the GC was dominated by Van Dooren and Leboucher, with the exception of Rasmussen's challenge on Saturday and the always-present threat by Spaniard Fullana in the women's chase. These two will be big threats come this weekend's Napa World Cup opener, and they both emphasized Napa as their main goal. The Sea Otter was just a warm up.

— Ari Cheren, one, two, three, four, five – senses working overtime for MountainZone.com.