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NORBA USA National Championships - CN
Mammoth Mountain, CA, USA, September 15-18, 2005
Main Page Results Overall standings Race Details Previous Race Next Race
Race 2 - Friday, September 16: Cross Country
JHK and McConneloug get their XC titles
By Steve Medcroft
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Under crystal blue skies and swirling, dusty headwinds, Mary McConneloug (Seven Cycles/Kenda) and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru/Gary Fisher) rode into U.S. National Championship jerseys this afternoon in Mammoth Mountain, California.
Defending National Champion Horgan-Kobelski dominated the men's race. "There was a deceptive amount of climbing on the course," he said after the finish. "There were long fire-road climbs at the bottom then singletrack climbs at the top." Knowing this, and being somewhat of a high-altitude climbing specialist, Horgan-Kobelski said his tactic was to "put in a huge effort on the second or third lap and hopefully get a gap to demoralise people."
Horgan-Kobelski executed his plan on the first lap. "I pulled away up the first
climb," he said. Adam Craig (Giant), fresh off successful back-to-back European
races (21st at World Championships and 7th at the Fort William World Cup finals)
was hot on his heels. "Adam came blowing by me on the downhill," Horgan-Kobelski
said, "and I had to get back on him."
Although Craig says his choice of full-suspension allowed him to take chances
on the downhills, he didn't feel that he had the form to win; he was fatigued
from travel. "I've been so jacked this week," he said. "I was in survival mode;
riding slow. I figured if there was anywhere I could make up time it would be
on the downhills."
Eventual second-place rider Todd Wells (GT/Hyundai) sat behind Craig and former
Junior World Champion Walker Ferguson (HealthNet/Maxxis) in fourth after two
laps. "On the first lap, things were pretty close," Wells said. "There was a
little bit of a gap but I could still see them ahead of me. Then they were gone."
With JHK riding smooth off the front - opening the gap to almost three minutes - Craig says he was stuck in survival mode. "I couldn't get my heart rate over 140 beats per minute on the climbs. It was pathetic." Ferguson faded too and soon, Wells found himself in second place. "I don't know what happened," Wells said. "I just kept it steady throughout the race and they came back real fast on the fourth lap. I turned a corner and (Craig and Ferguson) were right there."
Wells says he tried to lift his pace after slipping into second but knew there
was nothing but bad luck on Horgan-Kobelski's part that would move him into
first. Horgan-Kobelski won with a final advantage around two minutes followed
by Wells, Craig then Ferguson. Fifty year-old Ned Overend (Specialized) rounded
out the podium in fifth.
In the women's race, Mary McConneloug (Seven Cycles/Kenda Tires) got just the
kind of break that Todd Wells could have used to take her second National Championship
jersey (she won her first in 2003, the last year where the National Championship
was decided on NORBA series points and not in a one-day race like Mammoth).
2004 and 2005 NORBA National Championship Series Cross Country winner Shonny Vanlandingham (Luna Chix) rode at the front of the women's race until the very last mile, when she flatted on a downhill and crashed entering the final straight. Hard-chasing Mary McConneloug, who had sat second on the course in the last lap, slipped past a heartbroken Vanlandingham for the National Championship.
"Shonny got the gap on the first lap," McConneloug, who started on the back row (she hasn't raced many NORBAs in 2005 and Nationals call ups aren't based on UCI points like they are at international competitions) said after the finish. "By the feed zone (beginning of the second lap), I was up front. Shonny came around at the top and I was running second position the rest of the race."
By the final downhill in the three-lap race, McConneloug had all but given
up on anything better than second-place. Then the unthinkable happened to Vanlandingham.
"I front flatted," she said at the finish. "I was holding it off and rode the
whole descent with a front flat."
"It all happened in the last mile," said McConneloug. "People were yelling that
Shonny had a flat. I saw her on the last downhill, in the singletrack. I thought
the race would come down to a sprint."
The sprint never materialised. As soon as the forgiven dusty silt of the singletrack downhill gave way to pavement of the finishing straight, the wheel gripped and threw Vanlandingham to the ground. "I hated to see it," McConneloug said. "It was totally awful to see her lying there, knowing she was hurting." But as an elite-level racer, McConneloug knew that she had to take the advantage given her and crossed the line first for the title. Vanlandingham ran her bike across the finish line for fourth. 2004 National Champion and retiring former World Champion Alison Dunlap finished second.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Rocky Arroyo/www.arroyophotography.com
- A dream machine for some… a work machine for others
- Lined up and ready for action
- Just say cheese… but try your best not to smile
- Sam Schultz (U23 National Team) looks very relaxed before the start of the U23 race
- Andy Schultz (Cannondale) focusses before the start of the U23 race
- Sam Schultz (U23 National Team) handles the curves with ease
- Nick Ranno (Trek/VW) works the turn in the U23 race
- Andy Schultz (Cannondale) shows no sign of slowing down in the technical sections
- Andy Schultz (Cannondale) works the grade
- Nick Ranno (Trek/VW) tackles the grade
- Start line energy.
- Start line energy.
- Todd Wells (GT/Hyundai) attacks the technical single track in lap two.
- Adam Craig (Giant) tops a hill section on lap two to eventually take 3rd.
- Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru/Gary Fisher) works the hill portion of the course again in lap two to eventually take 1st place.
- Ned Overend (Specialized) still shows that he can work us all at age 50 and come in at 5th place.
- Walker Ferguson (Scott USA/Spinner) tackles the climb on lap two.
- Adam Craig shows us how to sip oxygen at high altitude, climb and still take 2nd place without showing any sign of grief.
- Todd Wells (GT/Hyundai) can still smile while climbing above nine thousand feet.
- Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru/Gary Fisher) tackled the down hill on the third of four laps.
- Walker Ferguson (Scott USA/Spinner) eases into his turns on the third of four laps.
- Todd Wells (GT/Hyundai) shows no holding back on his turns on lap three.
- Ned Overend (Specialized) takes fifth place, beating more than a few riders half his age.
- The men's podium - Ned Overend, Adam Craig, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Todd Wells, and Walker Fegurson.
- Quietness at the start line.
- Shonny VanLandingham (Luna Women's MTB Team) prepares for the start.
- Shonny VanLandingham (Luna Women's MTB Team) prepares for the start.
- Shonny VanLandingham (Luna Women's MTB Team) handles the curves on the single track to complete the first of three laps.
- Susan Haywood (Trek-Volkswagon) works to complete the first of three laps to eventually take fifth place.
- Alison Dunlap (Luna Women's MTB Team) kicks up dust on the first of three laps to eventually take second place.
- Willow Koerber (Subaru-Gary Fisher) works her way up the grade on her second of three laps.
- Willow Koerber (Subaru-Gary Fisher) serves me some serious dust for lunch on her descent from the first of three laps.
- Mary McConneloug (Kenda/Seven Cycles) shows us a well earned and emotional finish.
- Shonny VanLandingham (Luna Women's MTB Team) arrives at the finish in 4th place. Despite a flat tire and a displaced drivetrain, Shonny still showcased an amazing race and a podium finish.
- The women's podium - Sue Haywood, Willow Koerber, Mary McConneloug, Alison Dunlap, and Shonny Vanlandingham
- The new US national champions - Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Mary McConneloug
Images by Steve Medcroft/Cyclingnews.com
- Having a chat... Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru/Gary Fisher) and Adam Craig (Giant) waiting for the start of the men's U.S. National Championship Cross Country race.
- Todd Wells would finish second after four laps of racing.
- Inaugural MTB World Champion and hall-of-famer Ned Overend (Specialized) battled Jay Henry (Ford/Specialized) for the final podium spot and won.
- Craig and Horgan-Kobelski led the field up the big climb to open the second lap.
- Todd Wells never let up his chase and when the two riders immediately ahead of him (Craig and Walker Ferguson) faded, he foudn himself in second place.
- Clearly in National Championship winning form. Shonny Vanlandingham (Luna Chix) led the women's race from the first lap. A flat tire and subsequent fall in the final mile saw that lead disappear and left the win for Mary McConneloug (Seven Cycles/Kenda Tires).
- Willow Koerber (Subaru/Gary Fisher) and Dara Marks-Marino (Ford/Specialized)
- Mary McOnneloug stayed close enough to gain the advantage when Vanlandingham suffered a final-mile mechanical.
- Former World and defending National Champion Alison Dunlap finshed second behind McConneloug in her second-to-last race before retiring.
- Once Horgan-Kobelski established his lead, he never relinquished time.
- Adam Craig said he could not properly recover from his recent back-to-back European campaign weekends and raced in "survival mode."
- Fresh from a road campaign with HealthNet/Maxxis, former Junior World Champion Walker Ferguson came third in the race and proved he is ready to re-focus on elite-level mountain biking.
- Shonny Vanlandingham seemed to have no trouble with the downhills.
- Horgan-Kobelski cantered in and finished with no challenger in site.
Results
Pro Men 1 Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher) 1.50.40 2 Todd Wells (Gt/Hyundi) 3.53 3 Adam Craig (Giant) 4.59 4 Walker Ferguson (Scott Usa/Spinner) 5.29 5 Ned Overend (Specialized) 5.45 6 Jay Henry (Ford/Specialized) 6.29 7 Michael Broderick (Kenda/Seven Cycles) 9.25 8 Carl Decker (Giant) 9.47 9 Cody Peterson (3D Racing) 10.59 10 Erik Tonkin (Kona/Team S And M) 11.40 11 Barry Wicks (Kona/Les Gets) 12.22 12 Nick Gould (Santa Cruz) 14.22 13 Brig Brandt (Team Rebound) 15.32 14 Alan Obye (U23 National Team) 15.34 15 Charles Pendry (Inland - Btd) 15.35 16 Evan Plews (Santiam Bicycles) 15.57 17 Douglas Ryden (Pro Cycling) 18.12 18 Dana Weber (Jax Bicycle Center) 18.15 19 Ben Thompson (Second Ascent) 18.19 20 Michael Janelle (Tokyo Joes/Go Lite) 19.11 21 Jeff Schalk (Bikeworks) 19.23 22 Greg Lewis (Healthfx/Cwc) 20.21 23 Charles Jenkins (Cytomax/Khs) 20.55 24 Brent Winebarger (Health Fx/Cwc) 21.34 25 Brian Laiho (Dean Bicycles) 23.10 26 Aren Timmel (Soul Craft) 24.31 27 Hal Helbock (Cytomax/Khs) 25.06 28 Leonardo Sandoval (Bicycle Johns/Litespeed) 27.03 29 Amon Pease (Intense) 27.22 DNF Eric Jones (Biogen-Idec) DNF Kyle Dixon (Bicycle Warehouse) DNF Sean Donovan (Steven K Sport) DNF Nat Ross (Subaru- Gary Fisher) DNF Travis Brown (Trek/Frs Plus) DNF Patrick Bush (Clif Bar) DNF Joshua Powers (Red Rock Racing) DNF Miles Venzara (Team Health Fx) DNF Mike West (Maverick) DNF Ross Schnell (Tokyo Joes/Go-Lite) DNF Jeff Burnard (Mrazek) DNF Cale Redpath (3D Racing) Pro Women 1 Mary McConneloug (Kenda/Seven Cycles) 1.40.54 2 Alison Dunlap (Luna Womens Mtb Team) 0.09 3 Willow Koerber (Subaru-Gary Fisher) 0.10 4 Shonny Vanlandingham (Luna Womens Mtb Team) 0.46 5 Susan Haywood (Trek-Volkswagen) 0.59 6 Heather Irmiger (Tokyo Joes/Go Lite) 1.02 7 Dara Marks-Marino (Ford/Specialized) 2.32 8 Georgia Gould (Tamarack) 4.23 9 Kathy Sherwin (Biogen-Idec) 4.40 10 Kelli Emmett (Ford/Specialized) 7.33 11 Jamie Whitmore (Reebok/Felt) 8.03 12 Gretchen Reeves (Rocky Mtn / Business Objects) 8.43 13 Sara Bresnick-Zocchi (Ford/Specialized) 8.49 14 Nina Baum (Cannondale) 10.21 15 Lorien Lightfield (Tamarack) 11.57 16 Judy Freeman (Cannondale Mtn Bike Team) 12.23 17 Lea Davison (Balance Bar/Devo) 12.35 18 Jenna Zander (Cannondale) 13.14 19 Shannon Gibson (Crazy Cat Cyclery/Yeti G) 13.29 20 Zephanie Blasi (Kenda/Dt Swiss/Gu) 13.44 21 Carolyn Popovic (Contentworks) 14.32 22 Sue Abbene (Biogen-Idec) 15.25 23 Stacey Scanlan (Tamarack) 16.11 24 Heather Svahn (Reno Wheelman/The Back) 16.57 25 Cindi Hansen (Mtbchick.Com/Cannondale) 17.04 26 Susie Fiore (Colavita) 18.57 27 Kristina Andrus (Canyon Cycles) 19.39 28 Kristi Lewis (Sun & Ski Sports) 20.43 29 Caitlyn Tuel (Trek Vw) 20.44 30 Beverley Harper (Contentworks) 20.50 31 Theresa Richardson (Cannondale Mtn Bike Team) 21.04 32 Rebecca Gross (Sun And Ski Sports) 22.32 33 Becca Blay (Team Dean) 23.48 34 Shari Hausbeck (Sram/Rockshox) 24.31 35 Megan Elliott (Bianchi-Grand Performance) 30.54 DNF Kerry Barnholt (Subaru-Gary Fisher)
