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NORBA series #6 - NE
Brian Head, Utah, USA, August 6-7, 2005
Main Page Results Overall standings Previous Race Next Race
Race 2 - August 6: Cross Country
Irmiger takes first win as JHK overtakes Kabush
By Andy Lee, USACycling.org
Heather Irmiger completed the inevitable path to her first career cross country win on the NORBA National circuit with a victory in today's 26-mile pro women's race while Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski captured a win in the men's race to overtake Geoff Kabush in the overall Shimano NORBA National Mountain Bike Series standings after six events.
With a base altitude of 9,600 feet and a course that took riders above 11,000 feet, the Southwest Utah locale provided an added element of difficulty for the 55 men and 37 women, favoring those who come from higher elevations. The two Boulder-based riders each soloed to convincing victories - Irmiger ahead of Shonny Vanlandingham and Horgan-Kobelski in front of Jeremiah Bishop (Harrisionburg, Va.).
After the initial gun, riders faced an immediate four-mile climb that stretched out the men's field as Horgan-Kobelski, Adam Craig, Walker Ferguson and Canadian Roland Green formed a small lead group of four riders near the top of the ascent. "Adam attacked right away, and then Walker bridged up to him," explained Horgan-Kobelski. "A lot of us were content to sit in for a while and then Roland attacked and I went with him and the two of us bridged up to Adam and Walker. Then I attacked those guys right before we went into the downhill."
As the group crested the rise, Horgan-Kobelski's attack proved to be the decisive move as the reigning U.S. National Champion's lead was never threatened in the ensuing 22 miles. At the finish line, he put 2 minutes, 43 seconds on second-place finisher Bishop as Todd Wells and Adam Craig contributed to a near all-American sweep of the podium in third and fourth respectively. Canadian Seamus McGrath was fifth.
As the series leader heading into the event, Geoff Kabush placed ninth after suffering a flat tire and paved the way for Horgan-Kobelski to leapfrog the Canadian in the overall standings. With two events remaining, Horgan-Kobelski holds a slim 22-point advantage over Kabush.
In the women's race, Irmiger slipped to the front of the field early during the opening ascent. "I kind of just played it pretty conservative at first and I knew it was a long time until it got higher and harder, "she said." I started to notice that people taking pulls weren't going quite as hard. It gave me the confidence to go to the front. It's kind of an amateur tactic. I don't really know what else to do, so I just keep trying to go to the front and it's kind of been working."
At the top of the initial climb, Irmiger held a small advantage on Vanlandingham, but the two soon came back together on the following descent. "I was playing the downhill pretty conservative because of my flat in Aspen," explained Irmiger of her misfortune in the last NORBA National. "I was pretty paranoid."
The duo stayed together until the last stretch of selective terrain provided Irmiger with the right opportunity. "Shonny and I were together on the final climb, and then I punched it into the last piece, the hardest part of the course."
The move gave Irmiger a 43-second advantage at the finish line over Vanlandingham while Dara Marks-Marino, Alison Dunlap and Willow Koerber rounded out the top five respectively.
Irmiger's win comes during a breakthrough season for the 26-year-old that's seen her on the NORBA cross country podium twice previously this summer. Her steady rise has her seventh in the overall standings with a couple of lower-altitude, east coast venues left on the '05 circuit. "I'd really like to show myself that I could conquer West Virginia and Vermont and not just be a high-altitude racer, so those are definitely both on my list to be on the podium at."
Sue Haywood maintained her overall lead in the series despite finishing off the podium for the first time in 2005. Her sixth-place effort on Saturday keeps her ahead of Koerber by just 38 points.
Results
Men 1 Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher 1.34.23 2 Jeremiah Bishop (USA) Trek/Vw 2.43 3 Todd Wells (USA) Gt/Hyundi 4.15 4 Adam Craig (USA) Giant 4.44 5 Seamus Mcgrath (Can) Haro Bicycles 5.00 6 Roland Green (Can) Kona/Les Gets 5.10 7 Chris Sheppard (Can) Haro Bicycles 6.20 8 Peter Wedge (Can) Kona/Les Gets 6.22 9 Geoff Kabush (Can) Team Maxxis 6.45 10 Brent Miller (Aus) Wtb/Fox Shox/Santa Cruz 6.49 11 Michael Broderick (USA) Kenda/Seven Cycles 7.01 12 Andy Schultz (USA) Cannondale 7.14 13 Alex Hagman (USA) Cannondale MTB Team 7.21 14 Roan Exelby (RSA) Mongoose 7.32 15 Douglas Ryden (USA) Pro Cycling 9.25 16 Carl Decker (USA) Giant 9.42 17 Barry Wicks (USA) Kona/Les Gets 9.47 18 Matt Shriver (USA) 3D Racing/Easton 10.05 19 Trent Lowe (Aus) Subaru-Gary Fisher 10.40 20 Josh Bezecny (USA) 3D Racing 11.01 21 Ross Schnell (USA) Tokyo Joes/Go-Lite 11.53 22 Jesse Jakomait (Can) Dark Horse/Giant 12.11 23 Miles Venzara (USA) Team Health Fx 12.19 24 Tristan Schouten (USA) Trek Midwest 12.41 25 Marcus Roy (NZl) Cabinracing.Com 12.42 26 Cody Peterson (USA) 3D Racing 13.07 27 Eric Ransom (USA) Team Iomega/Orbea Usa 13.13 28 Greg Lewis (USA) Healthfx/Cwc 13.30 29 Eric Jones (USA) Biogen-Idec 14.02 30 Kris Sneddon (Can) Kona/Lesgets 14.34 31 John Osguthorpe (USA) Ogden One 14.48 32 Nick Martin (USA) Trek-Vw 15.54 33 Cale Redpath (USA) 3D Racing 16.52 34 Brent Winebarger (USA) Health Fx/Cwc 17.10 35 Ryan Hopping (Can) Team Maxxis 17.37 36 Thomas Spannring (Aus) 1800 Contacts/Jans 17.50 37 Mike West (USA) Maverick 18.51 38 Lance Runyan (USA) Titus/Stein Ericksen Spor 18.56 39 Spencer Paxson (USA) Devo Balance Bar 18.57 40 Aaron Potts (USA) Colorado Premier Trainin 19.31 41 Kevin Day (USA) Stein Eriksen Sport 20.27 42 Amon Pease (USA) Intense 21.21 43 Todd Johnson (USA) Jackson Hole 21.53 44 Travis Woodruff (USA) Pcw Cycling 22.30 45 Adam Snyder (USA) Balance Bar/Devo 23.35 46 Joey Thompson (USA) Balance Bar/ Devo 24.00 47 Adam Hoppe (USA) Team Sol/Cannondale 24.33 48 Jason Sager (USA) Team Hotel San Jose 26.57 49 Aren Timmel (USA) Soul Craft 31.32 50 Alan Obye (USA) U23 National Team 31.52 51 Perry Paolini (USA) Amgen Cycling 38.35 DNF Christian Favata (USA) Campmor/Hutchinson DNF Ryan Lynch (USA) Maverick/Ciber DNF Walker Ferguson (USA) Scott Usa/Spinner Women 1 Heather Irmiger (USA) Tokyo Joes/Go Lite 1.55.56 2 Shonny Vanlandingham (USA) Luna Womens MTB Team 0.44 3 Dara Marks-Marino (USA) Ford/Specialized 2.40 4 Alison Dunlap (USA) Luna Womens MTB Team 4.25 5 Willow Koerber (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher 4.27 6 Susan Haywood (USA) Trek-Volkswagen 4.40 7 Kathy Sherwin (USA) Biogen-Idec 7.01 8 Mary Mcconneloug (USA) Kenda/Seven Cycles 7.26 9 Kelli Emmett (USA) Ford/Specialized 10.45 10 Katerina Hanusova (Cze) Luna Womens MTB Team 10.57 11 Zephanie Blasi (USA) Kenda/Dt Swiss/Gu 11.44 12 Kerry Barnholt (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher 12.04 13 Sandra Bloomer (USA) Clif Bar/Squadra 13.17 14 Sara Bresnick-Zocchi (USA) Ford/Specialized 13.35 15 Nina Baum (USA) Cannondale 14.02 16 Jenna Zander (USA) Cannondale 15.02 17 Jennifer Kandolin (USA) Hoback Sports 16.45 18 Sue Abbene (USA) Biogen-Idec 17.20 19 Abigail Hippely (USA) Maverick 17.45 20 Megan Monroe (USA) Pcw Cycling 18.23 21 Shannon Gibson (USA) Crazy Cat Cyclery/Yeti G 18.50 22 Becca Blay (USA) Team Dean 19.43 23 Heather Svahn (USA) The Backcountry 21.02 24 Kristi Lewis (USA) Sun & Ski Sports 25.19 25 Lea Davison US1 Balance Bar/Devo 26.12 26 Cindi Hansen (USA) MTBchick.Com/Cannondal 26.39 27 Molly Hummel (USA) Team Dean 28.08 28 Susie Fiore (USA) Colavita 30.28 29 Alicia Hamilton (USA) Dark Horse/Giant 31.05 30 Megan Elliott (USA) Bianchi-Grand Performan 32.35 31 Stacey Scanlan (USA) Tamarack 33.29 32 Dj Morisette (USA) Ellsworth/Copper Chase 35.40 33 Georgia Gould (USA) Tamarack 40.05 34 Susan Grandjean (USA) Yipee Racing 41.13 35 Kimberly Flynn (USA) Defeet 43.04 DNF Gretchen Reeves (USA) Rocky Mtn / Business Obje DNF Jennifer Wilson (USA) Titus Overall standings after round 6 Men 1 Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru-Gary Fishe 979 pts 2 Geoff Kabush (Can) Team Maxxis 957 3 Adam Craig (USA) Giant 909 4 Todd Wells (USA) Gt/Hyundi 809 5 Liam Killeen (GBr) Specialized 650 6 Jeremiah Bishop (USA) Trek/Vw 648 7 Michael Broderick (USA) Kenda/Seven Cycle 609 8 Mathieu Toulouse (Can) Team Maxxis 595 9 Roland Green (Can) Kona/Les Gets 564 10 Trent Lowe (Aus) Subaru-Gary Fishe 560 11 Barry Wicks (USA) Kona/Les Gets 542 12 Chris Sheppard (Can) Haro Bicycles 538 13 Carl Decker (USA) Giant 525 14 Seamus Mcgrath (Can) Haro Bicycles 516 15 Peter Wedge (Can) Kona/Les Gets 513 16 Ryan Trebon (USA) Kona/Les Gets 512 17 Brent Miller (Aus) Wtb/Fox Shox/Sant 480 18 Cody Peterson (USA) 3D Racing 429 19 Sid Taberlay (GBr) Specialized 420 20 Kris Sneddon (Can) Kona/Lesgets 409 21 Jesse Jakomait (Can) Dark Horse/Giant 393 22 Andy Schultz (USA) Cannondale 389 23 Eric Jones (USA) Biogen-Idec 384 24 Matt Shriver (USA) 3D Racing/Easton 375 25 Jason Sager (USA) Team Hotel San Jos 369 26 Douglas Ryden (USA) Pro Cycling 338 27 Kashi Leuchs (NZl) Bianchi Agos 335 28 Roddi Lega (Can) Norco Factory Te 331 29 Sam Schultz (USA) U23 National Team 325 30 Tristan Schouten (USA) Trek Midwest 318 31 Nick Martin (USA) Trek-Vw 305 32 Alex Hagman (USA) Cannondale MTB Te 280 33 Amon Pease (USA) Intense 277 34 Nick Ranno (USA) Trek Rocky Mtn Re 255 35 Bart Gillespie (USA) Biogen-Idec 249 36 Josh Bezecny (USA) 3D Racing 217 37 Roan Exelby (RSA) Mongoose 216 38 Ricky Federau (Can) Gearsracing.Com 204 39 Thomas Spannring (Aut) 1800 Contacts/Jans 201 40 Jay Henry (USA) Ford/Specialized 201 41 Cale Redpath (USA) 3D Racing 186 42 Alan Obye (USA) U23 National Team 181 43 Ross Schnell (USA) Tokyo Joes/Go-Lite 177 44 Bryan Fawley (USA) Wheelsinmotion/Ke 171 45 Lance Runyan (USA) Titus/Stein Erickse 152 46 Sam Jurekovic (USA) U23 National Team 152 47 Spencer Paxson (USA) Devo Balance Bar 146 48 Andrew Lee (USA) Grand Sports/Cro 144 49 Miles Venzara (USA) Team Health Fx 144 50 Keiichi Tsujiura (Jpn) Bridgestone Anch 143 51 Christian Favata (USA) Campmor/Hutchins 138 52 Raita Suzuki (Jpn) Bridgestone Anch 138 53 Robert Cotton (USA) Structural Syste 131 54 Marcus Roy (NZl) Cabinracing.Com 129 55 Takahiro Ogasawara (Jpn) Subaru-Gary Fishe 127 56 Nick Gould (USA) Santa Cruz/Honey 126 57 Charles Pendry (USA) Inland - Btd 125 58 Todd Johnson (USA) Jackson Hole 120 59 Mark Weir (USA) Wtb/Fox Shox/Sant 120 60 Michael Weiss (Aut) Srm Simplon Team/A 117 61 Phillip Spencer (GBr) Trek Uk 111 62 Evan Plews (USA) Santiam Bicycles 110 63 Eric Ransom (USA) Team Iomega/Orbea 109 64 Mike West (USA) Maverick 108 65 Karl Platt (Can) Rocky Mountain Bu 108 66 Clint Muhlfeld (USA) Big Mtn Montana 100 67 Joey Thompson (USA) Balance Bar/ Devo 100 68 Carl Swenson (USA) Rlx Ralph Lauren 96 69 Martin Lazarski (Can) Rocky Mountain Bu 96 70 Nat Ross (USA) Subaru- Gary Fishe 95 71 Michael Janelle (USA) Tokyo Joes/Go Lite 94 72 Kevin Day (USA) Stein Eriksen Spor 93 73 Anthony Colby (USA) Team Health Fx 93 74 Adam Hoppe (USA) Team Sol/Cannond 91 75 Charles Storm (USA) Inlandconst/Btd 90 76 Derek Zandstra (Can) 3 Rox Racing 90 77 Patrick Bush (USA) Clif Bar 88 78 Adam Snyder (USA) Balance Bar/Devo 88 79 Sean Donovan (USA) Steven K Sport 85 80 Oscar Alb Campos (Mex) Mexicao National 81 81 Nick Waite (USA) U23 National Team 81 82 Andy Johnston (USA) Kenda/Cycle Youth 78 83 Marc Hug DEU Srm Simplon Team / 77 84 Andy Mills (USA) Trek-Vw 77 85 Aaron Potts (USA) Colorado Premier 75 86 Carlos Hernandez (Mex) International You 72 87 Brian Smith (USA) Trek/Rocky Mtn Re 72 88 Vincente Octavio (Mex) Alu Bike 69 89 Aren Timmel (USA) Soul Craft 69 90 Greg Lewis (USA) Healthfx/Cwc 66 91 Jj Clark (USA) Stein Erikson 63 92 Matt Unger (USA) Team Dean 63 93 Scott Wingo (USA) Team Cavina 60 94 Thomas Turner (USA) Cannondale Pro M 60 95 Brian Laiho (USA) Dean Bicycles 60 96 John Osguthorpe (USA) Ogden One 58 97 Evan Sherman (Can) United Cycle 56 98 Collin Becker (USA) Maverick Ciber 55 99 Steven Carwile (USA) Jamis Nw 54 100 Guido Visser (Can) Bromont/Cycles 54 101 Joseph Marshall (USA) Ritchey 53 102 Ryan Lynch (USA) Maverick/Ciber 52 103 Brent Winebarger (USA) Health Fx/Cwc 52 104 Ethan Harrison (USA) Vertical Earth 50 105 Leonardo Sandoval (USA) Bicycle Johns/Lites 49 106 Jesse Rients (USA) Nature Valleypenn 46 107 Lucas Livermon (USA) Pacesetter Steel 45 108 Shun Matsumoto (Jpn) Trek 44 109 Joshua Powers (USA) Red Rock Racing 43 110 Jesse Swift (USA) Dean Bicycles 39 111 Justin Becker (USA) Biowheels/Union/K 37 112 Charles Jenkins (USA) Cytomax/Khs 37 113 Tim Carleton (Can) Sport Swap Racing 37 114 Emanuel Valencia (Mex) Mexico National 37 115 Ryan Hopping (Can) Redbike Ertc 36 116 Travis Woodruff (USA) Pcw Cycling 36 117 Mitch Westall (USA) Team Dean 36 118 Andre Sutton (Can) Hardcore Racing T 35 119 Dion Clark (Can) Bow Cycle/Cmc 34 120 Kristophe Holden (USA) Wheelsport/Specia 33 121 Jonathan Nutbrown (Can) The Bike Shop 32 122 Mark Batty (Can) Gears Racing 32 123 Daniel Corum (USA) Paceline Bikes 30 124 Ali Goulet (USA) Rhodes/Mccann/Eri 29 125 Perry Paolini (USA) Amgen Cycling 29 126 Juan Hernandez (Mex) Team Ghost 28 127 Derek Prechtl (USA) Bells Beer/Trek 27 128 Dana Weber (USA) Jax Bicycle Center 26 129 Duncan Meyers (USA) Soulcraft 25 130 Mike Andres (USA) Soulcraft 24 131 Eric Jellum (USA) Ford/Giant 21 132 Arlo Buijten (USA) Titus/Schwalbe 20 133 Matt Douglas (Can) 3 Rox Racing 19 134 Kyle Douglas (Can) 3 Rox Racing 16 135 Jason Eder (USA) Team Devo/Balance 15 136 Micah Joseph (USA) Sponser Me 15 137 Hal Helbock (USA) Cytomax/Khs 7 138 Whitey Debroux (USA) Maverick/Cibe 1 Women 1 Susan Haywood (USA) Trek-Volkswagen 955 pts 2 Willow Koerber (USA) Subaru-Gary Fishe 917 3 Dara Marks-Marino (USA) Ford/Specialized 878 4 Alison Dunlap (USA) Luna Womens MTB T 877 5 Shonny Vanlandingham (USA) Luna Womens MTB T 873 6 Katerina Hanusova (Cze) Luna Womens MTB T 825 7 Heather Irmiger (USA) Tokyo Joes/Go Lite 791 8 Kelli Emmett (USA) Ford/Specialized 748 9 Kerry Barnholt (USA) Subaru-Gary Fishe 704 10 Georgia Gould (USA) Tamarack 680 11 Kathy Sherwin (USA) Biogen-Idec 676 12 Sara Bresnick-Zocchi (USA) Ford/Specialized 655 13 Nina Baum (USA) Cannondale 578 14 Zephanie Blasi (USA) Kenda/Dt Swiss/Gu 537 15 Jenna Zander (USA) Cannondale 489 16 Shannon Gibson (USA) Crazy Cat Cyclery/ 429 17 Megan Monroe (USA) Pcw Cycling 420 18 Mary Mcconneloug (USA) Kenda/Seven Cycle 411 19 Kristi Lewis (USA) Sun & Ski Sports 359 20 Lea Davison (USA) Balance Bar/Devo 336 21 Kiara Bisaro (Can) Gearsracing.Com 310 22 Heather Svahn (USA) The Backcountry 293 23 Cindi Hansen (USA) MTBchick.Com/Cann 289 24 Alicia Hamilton (USA) Dark Horse/Giant 284 25 Rebecca Gross (USA) Sun And Ski Sports 265 26 Jennifer Wilson (USA) Titus 263 27 Kimberly Flynn (USA) Defeet 247 28 Melissa Thomas (USA) Tokyo Joes 245 29 Gretchen Reeves (USA) Rocky Mtn / Busine 236 30 Becca Blay (USA) Team Dean 231 31 Jennifer Smith (NZl) Go Lite/Tokyo Joes 230 32 Sandra Bloomer (USA) Clif Bar/Squadra 213 33 Paula Burks (USA) Defeet 211 34 Jenny Copnall (GBr) Subaru-Gary Fishe 204 35 Alice Pennington (USA) Desalvo 189 36 Alison Sydor (Can) Rocky Mtn Busines 182 37 Sue Abbene (USA) Biogen-Idec 180 38 Jennifer Kandolin (USA) Hoback Sports 177 39 Stacey Scanlan (USA) Tamarack 166 40 Kyia Malenkovich (USA) Headmethod.Com 165 41 Kristy Mantz (USA) Snowshow/Dirtbea 165 42 Caitlyn Tuel (USA) Trekvw 150 43 Dj Morisette (USA) Ellsworth/Copper 144 44 Theresa Richardson (USA) Cannondale Mtn Bi 138 45 Laura Anderson (USA) Bicycle Johns 137 46 Judy Freeman (USA) Cannondale Mtn Bi 137 47 Monique Sawicki (USA) Team Mata 135 48 Carolyn Popovic (USA) Bike Works 132 49 Megan Elliott (USA) Bianchi-Grand Perf 129 50 Abigail Hippely (USA) Maverick 129 51 Wendy Simms (Can) Frontrunners 127 52 Julie Emmerman (USA) Maverick 126 53 Jaqueline Mourao (Bra) Scottusa/Red Bull 124 54 Susie Fiore (USA) Colavita 120 55 Laura Bowles (USA) Inlandconst/Btd 119 56 Molly Hummel (USA) Team Dean 119 57 Lorien Lightfield (USA) Tamarack 117 58 Lyne Bessette (Can) Elicycle/Louis Gar 117 59 Susan Schubel (USA) Dark Horse Brewe 111 60 Dellys Starr (Aus) Fuentes Design 111 61 Mical Dyck (Can) Terrascape Racing 105 62 Catherine Pendrel (Can) The Bike Barn 99 63 Lesley Clements (Can) Marin Bikes 94 64 Carla Salgado (Mex) 93 65 Danelle Kabush (Can) Timex 90 66 Niki Gudex (Aus) Srm/Intense Cycle 90 67 Kristina Andrus (USA) Canyon Cycles 90 68 Sandra Walter (Can) Adventurebound.C 84 69 Robin Farina (USA) Cumberland Transi 83 70 Abbie Lueders (USA) 78 71 Jennifer Tilley (USA) Sunflower 76 72 Sarah Kennedy (USA) Boulder Cycle Spo 75 73 Mandi Riddle (USA) Snowshoe Racing/ 75 74 Heather Szabo (USA) Tokyo Joes/Golite 72 75 Tonya Laffey (USA) MTBchick.Com/Cann 69 76 Kristi Berg (USA) Bicycle Centers R 66 77 Madeline Bate (Can) Terrascape Racing 63 78 Polly Simpich (USA) Totally Wired Cycl 63 79 Shari Hausbeck (USA) Sram/Rockshox 58 80 Marisa Tosi (Can) Terrascape Racing 56 81 Shannon Tupa (USA) Tokyojoes/Golite 56 82 Suzanne Aguero (USA) Orbea/Mad Duck 54 83 Theresa Mattingly (USA) 52 84 Susan Grandjean (USA) Yipee Racing 52 85 Cheryl Olson (USA) Advantage Benefit 52 86 Jennifer Schulz (Can) Fresh Air Experien 50 87 Leah Tingley (USA) Team Us Armed For 46 88 Hillary Harrison (USA) Kenda/Pinnacle Eli 46 89 Rebecca Much (USA) 39 90 Ruby Evans (USA) Helens Cannondal 36 91 Amy Bowen (USA) Platinum Performa 35 92 Mary Lynn Wikar (USA) Titus Titanium 31 93 Patricia Sinclair (Can) Scott Usa 94 Lisa Matlock (USA) MTBchick.Com/Cann 95 Erin Winter (USA) Trek 96 Melissa Buhl (USA) Khs Bicycles 97 Lisa Peck (USA) Biogen-Idec 98 Kathy Pruitt (USA) Luna Womens MTB T 99 Michele Keane (USA) Tokyo Jos
