NORBA National series #2 - E1

McDowell Mountain Park, Arizona, March 17-20, 2005

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Day 1 - March 17: Marathon, 81 miles

Eatough and Thomas tough out mega marathon

By Eric Wallace

NORBA stop number two dropped in on Fountain Hills Arizona with a St. Patrick’s Day marathon event of 81 miles of sweet rolling singletrack. Weather conditions couldn’t have been more perfect with mid-70s temperatures, clear blue skies and very light winds. With both the men and women’s winners from Tapatio not attending, the fields were wide open and looking for fresh blood atop the plinth.

The opening mile saw a blistering pace with riders opening a gap and forming a breakaway of an even dozen. This group continued to increase their advantage all the while dropping the weaker riders from the pack. Chris Eatough (Trek-VW), Amon Pease, Jay Henry (Ford/Specialized), Mike Jannell (Tokyo Joes), Todd Helmuth (Trek) and Ian Stanford (Nature Valley) formed the most dangerous threat to the pack and swapped through a pace line for the first loop and a half of the desert trudge. “The course was lots of fun but very tactical with the group of us at the front,” said eventual winner Chris Eatough. “We just kept the pace up into the wind until Amon and I were all alone at the front."

With only the final loop of 27 miles remaining, Etough and Pease were working together on the front against the strong headwind. Pease eventually faded and lost his podium position as Stanford, Henry and crew rolled in towards the line. Eatough claimed his first victory of the year along with the overall lead in the marathon series. Relative newcomer Ian Stanford crossed the line in the silver medal position at seven minutes and Jungle Jay Henry another five minutes in arrears to claim the bronze medal. Mike Jannell and Todd Helmuth rounded out the final podium spots.

The women started alongside the men in the mass start event, racing on the same course and for the same distance. Midway through the first loop, winner Melissa Thomas (Tokyo Joes) found herself in no-woman’s land with a chase group behind her and nothing but men in front. With the iPod headphones filling her head with Loverboy and Motley Crue, Thomas treated the race as a time trail - albeit a marathon length one! “The course was super fun, great trails and beautiful surroundings, even the cactus were blooming!” she said.

As Thomas enjoyed the scenery a battle was brewing behind with Monique Sawicki, Jennifer Bennet (Titus) and the Gravity Goddess herself Marla Streb (Luna Women’s Mountain Bike Team). Streb yo-yoed back and forth a bit, her iPod a bit more on the mellow side with lots of Grateful Dead and Portishead. Sawicki made a final surge near the middle of the final loop, separating herself from the Luna Chick and finishing in a solid second place. Streb rolled across the line in third place with Jennifer Bennet rounding out the finishing women’s podium. The desert certainly took its toll as the final rostrum was not completed with a fifth place rider.

Racing continues on Friday with the start of the pro athletes stage race and an 8.2-mile Time Trial.

Eric Wallace is manager of Team Maxxis.

Results

Men
 
1 Chris Eatough (USA) Trek-VW              4.51.11
2 Ian Stanford (USA) Nature Valley            7.25
3 Jay Henry (USA) Ford-Specialized           12.40
4 Mike Jannell (USA) Tokyo-Joes              13.09
5 Todd Helmuth (USA) Trek                    15.20
 
Women
 
1 Melissa Thomas (USA) Tokyo Joes          5.34.20
2 Monique Sawicki (USA)                      12.44
3 Marla Streb (USA) Luna Women’s MTB Team    25.41
4 Jennifer Bennett (USA) Titus               49.41