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NORBA national series #2 (NE)

Alpine Valley, Wisconsin, June 14-16, 2002

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Day 3 - June 16: Downhill

Kovarik, Jonnier land downhill double for Intense

To answer the first question, yes you can have a big-league pro downhill race in Wisconsin. The short course actually added to the excitement as Team Intense scored a double victory in the downhill race at round two of the Chevy Trucks NORBA Nationals.

Australian Chris Kovarik and Frenchwoman Sabrina Jonnier carried the black and gold jersey to the top spot on the podium on a course neither claimed to like.

"I prefer a longer race," said Jonnier, who danced down a precipitous starting section. "If you make a small mistake you can lose a lot of time." But Jonnier rode flawlessly to post a 1:24.91, more than a second faster than England's Tracy Moseley (Kona) and three seconds faster than Lisa Sher (Chumba Wumba).

The base elevation at Alpine Valley Resort, in the state's Kettle Moraine region, is just 700 feet, about one zero less than the base elevation of the first round of the series held at Snow Summit, Calif. The peak elevation at the start house, atop a man-made summit, was 1,050 feet. After plummeting out of the gate, the riders had to sprint across a ridge, negotiate two double jumps, and then thread their way through wooded sections at speed. They would drop 300 vertical feet in just over a minute.

The top 20 riders in the men's race were all crowded within five seconds of the winner. Kovarik had posted the fastest time in the qualifier, and hence had to start last. An early rider, Gary Houseman (Team House) had posted the fastest time for several riders until Jared Rando (Foes/Azonic) bumped him off the hot seat. There sat Rando as 35 riders – a who's who of gravity racing that included several world champions – failed to lower his mark. Then Eric Carter (Mongoose/Hyundai) pierced the veil, posting a 1:14. Out of the gate came Mick Hannah (Haro/Lee Dungarees), who had run a 1:12 in qualifying. He posted a 1:12.53 in the finals and moved into the hot seat - briefly.

"There's no room for error; you really have got to be on it. You've got to be out of the saddle most of the way down," said Kovarik. "It's pretty hard you know, standing up and sprinting out of every corner. It's actually more demanding than some of the longer courses."

To the thrill of the spectators who had tramped all over the Alpine Valley Resort to see every section of the course, Kovarik bombed down the mountain last and hit the tape fast. His time flashed up: 1:12.071, a half-second faster than Hannah.

With a third place finish, Carter was top American in the men's division. Kovarik took the overall series lead with Carter leading all Americans in the hunt for the national title. Also a third place finisher, Sher was top American in the women's division and remained the top American in the series. Jonnier took the overall series lead.

Results

Women
 
1 Sabrina Jonnier (Fra) Intense                                  1.24.910
2 Tracey Moseley (GBr) Kona
3 Lisa Sher (USA) Chumba Wumba)
4 Tara Llanes (USA) Yeti/Pearl Izumi
5 Vanessa Quinn (NZl) Intense
6 Fionna Griffiths (GBr) Ancillotti
7 Kathy Pruitt (USA) Zeal Optics
8 Maxine Irving  (USA) Maxxis
9 Melissa Buhl (USA) KHS/ODI
10 Mio Suemasa (Jpn) Trek/VW
 
Men
 
1 Chris Kovarik (Aus) Intense                                    1.12.071
2 Mick Hannah (Aus) Haro/Lee Dungarees
3 Eric Carter (USA) Mongoose/Hyundai
4 John Kirkcaldie (NZl) Maxxis
5 Nathan Rennie (Aus) Yeti/Pearl Izumi
6 Jared Rando (Aus) Foes/Azonic
7 Jared Graves (Aus) Mad Cats
8 Shaums March (USA) Red Bull/Chumba Wumba
9 Gary Houseman (USA) Team House
10 Colin Bailey (USA) Maxxis

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