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NORBA series round 4 - E1
Durango Colorado, August 2-4, 2002
Downhill - August 4: Durango, x.xkm
It was a g'day for Australian Chris Kovarik
By Josh Ellis
Kovarik, grabbing the NO. 2 qualifying time, pedaled in the Finals, which propelled him to the finish line faster than any other racer in the National Championship Series pro men's downhill competition.
"I just cruised my qualifier and didn't pedal much. Then in the finals I got off the brakes a bit and pedaled. The crowd was good too. There was a crowd all the way cheering. It just makes you go faster. I'm feeling pretty good at the moment," Kovarik said.
Kovarik won despite suffering several injuries this season, including a broken thumb, bruised kidney and damaged ribs. Time off the downhill bike, and a switch to his cross-country bike helped him get healthy after the Mont St. Anne World Cup race.
Kovarik finished in 3 minutes, 37 seconds, 46 hundredths for the win. Shaving eight seconds off his fourth-place qualifying run, Kirt Vories was the top American less than three seconds back, 3:40.33.
"It was awesome. Everything worked as planned. The course was nice and fast, but rough on the bottom. I really liked the trees on the bottom. You had to be on your line or you'd be in the trees, or you'd hit one," Vories said.
Vories, always a top contender in the finals, finished the race without crashing - something that doesn't always happen for him. Vories was knocked unconscious at the Telluride, CO World Cup race and hauled off to the hospital.
John Waddell, another Australian, edged Kiwi Nathan Rankin by half a second for third place, finishing 3.41.29. Rankin completed the course in 3:41.74. Another resident of the former British Empire, Canadian Dustin Adams closed the top five with 3:43.27.
The NCS Finals will be held at Mount Snow, V.T. August 15-18.
They don't call her Missy "the Missile" Giove for nothing.
After qualifying seventh, "the Missile" sped down the 1.6-mile course, shattering all previous top times and grabbed a fist-clinching eight-second lead over all other pro women downhill racers at the National Championship Series today at Durango Mountain Resort.
"This is a race course. This is my style. This is fun, fast but tight and technical too. I love the mountain and I love being here in nature. The biggest hazard was people running on the course," Giove said, after her first win of the season.
Although Giove qualified seventh overall, on her qualifying run, a spectator jumped out in front of her as she was on the descent - forcing her to swipe a tree with her right shoulder.
Tracy Moseley set the top qualifying time, and finished one-second faster in the finals, The British racer couldn't match Giove's fierceness coming down the hill, however, and finished third overall. American Lisa Sher edged Moseley by 17-hundredths of a second for the second-best run of the day.
"I had as good a run as I could have. Missy just killed it. That was about all I could do. I loved the course - this rules. I love speed and I love motto and this was great," Sher said.
The course appealed to racers from all backgrounds because of the varied descent. The downhill course dropped 1,500 vertical feet in 1.6 miles with a maximum grade of 43 degrees. Spectators lined the course, while racers dropped off rock outcroppings up to 10-feet high. High-speed sections lead in to tight and technical forested trails.
Kathy Pruitt finished in 4 minutes, 16 seconds, 62 hundredths, good enough for fourth. Sabrina Jonnier, winner of the Durango mountain cross competition, rounded out the top five.
Photos
- Tracy Moseley is starting to find good form this year.
- The Missile about to touch down
- Missy "The Missile" Giove looks back to form with her seven second win
- Lisa Sher managed a sweet second place.
- Kirt Vories tries to find the tires break point.
- Chris Kovarik once again showing the Americans how it's done.
- The 100 yard stare in a skinsuit. Kovarik running smooth.
- Johnny Waddell made it two Aussies on the podium.
Results
Pro Men
1 Chris Kovarik (Intense/Fox) 3.37.46 200
2 Kirt Vories 2.87 186
3 John Waddell (Sunrace/Santacruz) 3.83 174
4 Nathan Rankin (Foes/Azonic) 4.28 164
5 Dustin Adams (Giant Bicycles) 5.82 156
6 Shaums March (Red Bull/Chumbawumba) 5.91 150
7 Colin Bailey (Maxxis Tires) 6.27 144
8 Eric Carter (Mongoose) 6.44 140
9 John Kirkcaldie (Maxxis) 6.62 136
10 Jared Graves (Mad Cats) 6.69 132
11 Mick Hannah (Haro Lee Dungarees) 7.09 130
12 Ben Cory (Foes Tioga) 7.38 128
13 Rich Houseman (Team Houseman) 9.04 126
14 David Klaassenvanoorsch (Intense) 9.56 124
15 Myles Rockwell (Giant Bicycles) 10.75 122
16 Jared Rando (Foes/Azonic) 11.28 120
17 Gary Houseman (Team Houseman) 12.21 118
18 Christopher Odriscoll (Azonic/Oak) 12.23 116
19 Rohan Gearing 13.38 114
20 Aaron Peters (Sunrace Santacruz) 13.65 112
21 Richard Lancaster (Wtb/Jerrico) 14.71 110
22 Will Corry (Taillefer) 16.68 108
23 Todd Bosch (Intense/Ra) 16.82 106
24 Jordie Lunn (Sunrace Santacruz) 16.88 104
25 Bernie Fredrick (Lenz Sport) 18.59 102
26 Bryn Atkinson 19.31 100
27 Judd De Vall (Scb/Oakley) 19.96 98
28 Glenn Haden (Romic/Azonic) 20.31 96
29 James Dodds (Dirty Dog) 20.38 94
30 Chris Del Bosco (Oakley) 20.58 92
31 Orlando Martinez (Spy Profile) 20.99 90
32 Waylon Smith 21.02 88
33 Joe Lawwill (Trek/ Fox) 21.10 86
34 Derrick Nobman (Racers Edge) 21.19 84
35 Alex Morgan (Bcd Sun) 22.74 82
36 Rob Sears (Razor Rock) 23.61 80
37 Philip Tinstman (Mad Catz) 23.75 78
38 Lars Tribus (Racers Edge) 23.81 76
39 Eric Rasmussen (Dirtworks) 23.82 74
40 Matt Thompson (Big Crank) 24.10 72
41 Chris Rowen (Oakley) 24.55 70
42 Mark Weir (Wtb) 24.77 68
43 Tim Krentz (Chumba Wumba) 27.93 66
44 Darrell Young (Arrow Racing) 28.02 64
45 Robin Baloochi (Oakley) 28.14 62
46 Kyle Ebbett (Iron Horse) 29.09 60
47 Aaron Chase (Sobe/Cannondale) 30.20 58
48 Travis Gardner (Odi) 30.33 56
49 Todd Leduc (Foes/Azonic) 31.93 54
50 Jody Stoddard (Fox/Intense) 32.59 52
51 Nate Adams (Big Crank) 33.34
52 Jeff Evans (Cheeta/Spy) 33.95
53 Gene Hamilton (Betteridge) 35.59
54 Mike Moga (Big Crank) 35.78
55 Chris Powell (Profile Racing) 36.63
56 Caile Noble (Royal Orange) 37.02
57 Lou Deangelis 38.49
58 Dave Ziegman (Big Crank) 42.16
59 Joshua Prater (Mrdirt) 45.50
60 Nicholas Oneil (Wtb Sunrace) 46.55
61 Kyle Leduc (Odi) 47.18
62 Travis Coleman 51.40
63 Scott Cooper (Tld/Michel) 58.46
64 Fabiano Lucena (Rotec) 1.17.12
65 Douglas Hallett (Turner Bikes) 1.22.56
Pro Women
1 Missy Giove (Global Racing) 4.05.46 200
2 Lisa Sher (Chumba Wumba) 7.94 186
3 Tracy Moseley (Team Kona) 8.17 174
4 Kathy Pruitt (Zeal Optic) 11.17 164
5 Sabrina Jonnier (Intense) 12.11 156
6 April Lawyer (Maxxis Tires) 16.66 150
7 Marla Streb (Luna Women) 17.96 144
8 Maxine Irving (Turner/Romic) 26.96 140
9 Dawn Bourque 30.61 136
10 Diana Marggraff (Royal Orange) 30.73 132
11 Melissa Buhl (Khs/Odi) 31.58 130
12 Gale Dahlager (Razor Rock) 36.25 128
13 Vanessa Quin (Intense Cycles) 40.49 126
14 Rachel Lloyd (Santa Cruz) 48.27 124
15 Hiroko Inomata (Foes/Credit) 48.85 122
16 Talitha Fitzgerald (Aus Ntl Mt) 54.57 120
17 Holly Kuhn (Racersedge) 56.79 118
18 Anka Martin (Turner) 1.03.74 116
19 Paula Santerior (Karpiel) 1.05.79 114
20 Martha Renn (Kind Cycling) 1.15.02 112
21 Kathi Krause (Avalanche) 1.22.32 110
22 Shannon Ambrose (Csr Smith) 1.24.97 108
23 Gina Grether (Intense) 1.25.67 106
24 Tammy Pickerrell (Velocity Rims) 1.36.01 104
25 Donna Fletcher (Iron Horse) 1.39.78 102
26 Gina Barbosa (Cevelex) 2.15.05 100
Cassandra Boon (Giant Bicycles) Dnf
Junior X Men
1 Cody Warren (Madcatz/Or) 4.15.40 30
2 Daniel Umland (Incycle/Sp) 5.20 25
3 Ian Odom (Cheeta/Oak) 6.10 21
4 Kyle Strait (Maxxis/Oak) 7.70 18
5 Steve Wentz (Cheeta Cyc) 8.40 15
6 Matt Mirell 10.60 12
7 Richard Lucchesi (Northern L) 10.70 10
8 Jhon Bonham (Bombsquad) 11.00 8
9 Cory Gustafson (Foes-Azoni) 13.00 7
10 Duncan Riffle (Chumba Wum) 16.20 6
11 Cole Bangert (Colorado B) 18.00 5
12 Heikki Hall (Evilbikes/) 22.70 4
13 Chris Main (Chumba Wum) 23.20 3
14 Cameron Zink (Bike Broth) 25.20 2
15 Peter Brennen (Rpm/Yeti) 25.80 1
16 Gabe Randall (Northernli) 26.40
17 Michael Ontiveros (Rpm/Yeti) 28.00
18 Mike Howse (Maxxis/Man) 28.60
19 Joseph Sanders (The Bike L) 30.30
20 Landon Taylor (Team Big B) 31.90
21 Tim Kachel (Mr. E's Ra) 32.60
22 Cody Wilderman (Totally Wi) 33.00
23 Matt Shirley (Rpm)
24 Isaac Pantone (The Bike S) 33.10
25 Eli Krahenbuhl (Be My Bike) 33.90
26 Daniel Baggs (Rpm) 35.90
27 Seth Harney 37.80
28 Taylor Sage (Insane Way) 38.30
29 Brian Webster (Waynes Bom) 41.00
30 Brian Gerrard (Hope) 41.60
31 Greg Vogt (Tld/Azonic) 42.20
32 John Reynolds (Rpm/Yeti) 45.00
33 Zac Weakley 46.20
34 Whit Harbaugh (Smith/Stur) 46.80
35 Tim Mccallum 47.90
36 David Camp 48.60
37 James Schwanke (Karpiel/Fo) 50.70
38 Sean Mcclendon (Azonic/Bom) 50.80
39 Thomas Aaby (Conflict I) 51.70
40 Anthony Cuomo (Adidas/Tur) 53.60
41 Jeff Brines 56.10
42 Nick Plagman 58.80
43 Hank Matheson 59.60
44 Tyler Jorgenson (No Breaks) 1.00.40
45 Michael Valach (Sun/ Ringl) 1.02.60
46 Dexter Levandoski (Team Rpm) 1.02.90
47 Jason Phillips (Conflict I) 1.05.00
48 Trevor Martin (Stonehouse) 1.06.80
49 Anthony Deangelis (10 10 Prod) 1.08.70
50 Patrick Hooper (Paragon) 1.10.00
51 Tom Reynolds (Rpm/Yeti) 1.18.90
52 Cris Winner (Bike Docto) 1.26.20
53 Taylor Dennis 1.28.70
54 Bryan Greene (Conflict I) 1.31.70
55 Cooper Quinn 1.33.60
56 Ian Ferguson 1.34.30
57 Jon Berkbigler (Azonic) 1.39.90
58 Tim Schafer 1.41.20
59 Jack Shure (Lenz Sport) 1.49.60
60 Drew Whitehead (The Bike S) 1.55.60
61 Hayden Price (Go Ride Sm) 3.52.60
Stephen Ruiz (Chumba Wum) Dnf
Jared Edens
Junior X Women
1 Leana Gerrard (Jf2 Racing) 6.32.90 30
2 Sarah Black (Specialize) 2.13.40 25
Expert Women 19-24
1 Jessica Vogt (Team Rpm/Y) 6.17.80 30
2 Emily Johnston (Troy Lee D) 2.50 25
3 Jennifer Jones (Bob's/Pfm) 22.80 21
4 Elberta Seybold 26.20 18
5 London Menlove (Dob Racing) 33.90 15
6 Hannah Steffens (Tree Top C) 1.11.90 12
7 Carrie Cleeton (Foes Azoni) 1.17.40 10
Expert Women 25-29
1 Linda Fijol (Sotar Bicy) 6.49.90 30
2 Emily Hagn 1.30.70 25
Mary Zwahien (Team No Br) Dnf
Expert Women 30-34
1 Kristan Powers (No Brakes) 7.06.70 30
2 Susan Galbraith 47.60 25
Holly Hagerman (Las Vegas) Dnf
Expert Women 35-39
1 Faith Bradley (Go-Ride.Co) 5.58.30 30
2 Kathy Bodie (Kb Homes/) 46.20 25
3 Terri Rippee (Go Girl/Ro) 1.44.70 21
4 Chris Locken (Greenline) 2.11.60 18
Expert Men 19-24
1 Sanjay Shanbhag 4.19.60 30
2 Josh Clark (Credit Car) 13.90 25
3 Moses Mexia (Sturtevant) 18.10 21
4 James Weingarten (Rocky Mtn) 19.60 18
5 Matt Vujicevich 19.90 15
6 Jason Rudd (Northern L) 21.10 12
7 Jess Pedersen 22.40 10
8 Justin Frey (Lenz Sport) 25.40 8
9 Jonathon Kim (Phluid Rac) 25.70 7
10 Brandon Somers (Azonic Odi) 26.30 6
11 Chad Cheeney (Mrazek/Ft) 27.10 5
12 Doug Ewer (Big Crank) 28.00 4
13 Eric Frost (Instant Re) 28.10 3
14 Oliver Kersley (Filz Built) 28.70 2
15 Eric Biboso (Fasttimes/) 29.70 1
16 Josh Hubbard (Wheelsport) 30.10
17 Carl Picciolo (Hanebrink) 31.90
18 Chris Carleton (Evil Bikes) 33.00
19 Chris Ciaci (Turner Bik) 33.30
20 Ian Collins (Michelin) 35.90
21 Kevin Van Loon (Porcupine) 39.80
22 Jose Contreras (Wtb-Sunrac) 42.00
23 Curtis Ellis (T & T Bike) 42.80
24 Reed Doerr 44.90
25 Mason Klebold 45.00
26 Paul Phillips (Intense/Az) 45.20
27 Brian Durling (Bikesmart.) 46.20
28 Mike Andres 48.00
29 Sunny Willis 48.70
30 Reggie Lebel (Evil Bikes) 51.50
31 Joseph Few 52.70
32 Kyle Passen 53.50
33 Josh Francis (Specialize) 58.30
34 Andrew Gibson (Conflict R) 58.60
35 Dave Barton (Azonic) 1.00.10
36 Matthew Day (Blue Wheel) 1.03.70
37 Sam Isett 1.05.70
38 Dan Milano 1.09.50
39 Billy Owczarski (Pacifc Ag) 1.11.10
40 Bryan Dance (Michelin) 1.12.00
41 Tyson Whitehead (The Bike S) 1.13.00
42 Mark Milliken 1.14.90
43 Mike Lents (Grc Azonic) 1.15.10
44 Cliff Pinto (Pedal The) 1.16.40
45 Frank Loccisano (Canflict) 1.21.90
46 Eric Ramirez 1.26.60
47 Jason Schippers (Bike Sport) 1.35.70
48 Dan Welch (Lenz Sport) 1.36.00
49 Josh Puyear 1.39.00
50 Bruce Swan 1.48.60
51 Ian Zander (Troy Lee D) 2.19.00
52 Damien Anderson 2.26.60
53 Roy Kapach 2.27.40
54 Benjamin Lance (Lehigh Uni) 4.28.80
Jeffrey Wu (Dirt Works) Dnf
Brett Luelling (Legionof D)
Richard Bragg (Inertia Br)
Casey Norton (Santa Cruz)
Antonio Gradillas
Aaron Bland
Jacob Hildebrand
Expert Men 25-29
1 Daniel Goss (Paragon Sk) 4.27.60 30
2 Saboo Takaki (Vision Sf) 3.20 25
3 Kyle Bielenberg (Azonic) 7.90 21
4 Doug Klacik (Vail Bicyc) 9.00 18
5 Chris Canfield (Canfieldbr) 9.40 15
6 Mark Christensen (Guthrie Bi) 12.50 12
7 Benjamin Greenberg (Dod Racing) 13.00 10
8 Josh Carson (Hopey Oamp) 13.30 8
9 Matthew Snyder (Motianboy.) 13.70 7
10 Gavin Slader 14.20 6
11 Joe Pena (Polar Revo) 15.90 5
12 Todd Koskinen 16.00 4
13 Daniel Sharp (Sharp Bros) 16.80 3
14 Chris Just (Chumba Wum) 21.80 2
15 Jason Beckley (Athens Bic) 22.00 1
16 Brian Peters (Oakley Vbs) 22.20
17 Bill Hane (Northernli) 23.00
18 Fred Taylor (Naked Watc) 25.90
19 Adam Swetlow (Exposed Te) 28.50
20 Josh Crawford (High Rolle) 29.50
21 Shawnee Mcgovern 33.70
22 Matt Phillips (Rodale Cyc) 34.80
23 Alex Boday (Tomac Azon) 35.30
24 Darren Brooks 35.90
25 Shane Lewis 37.80
26 Judge Leverich (Golsan/Azo) 38.90
27 Joseph Shepherd 39.10
28 Reggie Garcia 47.80
29 Bryan Skinner (Adrenaline) 51.30
30 Emmanuel Pons 54.30
31 Ralf Leidner (Rotec Cycl) 58.10
32 Aaron Gilliland (Azonic/Sun) 58.20
33 Philip Bire 1.03.30
34 Michael Blackmore (Csr/Colora) 1.06.40
35 Rodney James (Chumba Wum) 1.15.90
36 Joshua Mermelstein (Azonic/Whi) 1.59.10
37 Mark Bender (Rotec) 2.14.10
38 Stephen Bell (Poison Spi) 2.14.30
39 Chris Chuput (Paragon Sk) 2.17.80
40 Peter Schoenberg 6.21.70
Cedar Kyes Dnf
Andy Hilliard (Team Jacka)
Michael Burke (Bh Bikes)
Chad Kittles (Denver Spo)
Dane Higgins (No Brakes)
Scott Wilson (Rbp Creati)
Expert Men 30-34
1 Chris Monestier 4.25.40 30
2 Alejandro Gallego (Maxxis/Goj) 6.70 25
3 Tony Santoro (Highroller) 9.50 21
4 Andrew Zimmerle (Mcdonalds) 10.10 18
5 John Herod (Racers Edg) 15.20 15
6 Daniel Dickan (Advance Cy) 15.90 12
7 Lee Manvell (Mbk Bikes) 16.90 10
8 Moe Hutchison (Turner/Axo) 17.10 8
9 Tony Gardikis (Turner/Rom) 19.40 7
10 Jim Beckman (Titus) 20.30 6
11 Chris Bowers (Troy Lee D) 20.50 5
12 Jason Ryland (Jackass Ra) 23.70 4
13 Jeff Hienton (Colorado S) 24.70 3
14 Rob Salcedo (Fox Racing) 26.00 2
15 Patrick O'leary (Vision Sf/) 27.00 1
16 Terry Maddox (Chumba Wum) 27.80
17 Neal Giska (Green Mtn) 28.80
18 Terry Hinton (Appalachia)
19 Erron Mccurdy (Phluid Rac) 31.30
20 Matt Collins (Solidfoto) 31.60
21 Justin Alvey (Go Rider.C) 34.10
22 Bart Bachura (Goride.Com) 35.50
23 Scott Moore (Denver Spo) 36.00
24 Matt Palmisano 36.50
25 Shaun Simon (Csr/Colora) 37.00
26 Jeff Horne (Azonic) 37.30
27 Michael Gee (Intense)
28 Andrew Rodriguez (Teamless R) 43.90
29 Greg Austin (Madcatz/Or) 52.10
30 Kurt Harsh (Hurricane) 1.03.50
31 Masahiko Shibata 1.10.10
32 Craig Jeffers (Pedal Powe) 1.12.90
33 Dale Bonn (Azonic) 1.17.60
Rob Fornataro (Guthrie/Sp) Dnf
Nathan Smith (Joselyn Bi)
Gary Bischoff
Mark Zinser
Danny Post (High Rolle)
Expert Men 35-39
1 John Fisher (Momentum T) 4.23.00 30
2 Damon Kirchmeier (Go-Ride.Co) 17.20 25
3 John Galli (Advance Cy) 22.80 21
4 Tony Beaujon (Rock Soild) 25.60 18
5 Chuck Valenzuela (Khs) 27.50 15
6 Devin Lenz (Lenz Sport) 36.70 12
7 Gregory Westbrook (T Martin) 48.00 10
8 Joel Leyva (Axo/Oneal/) 48.70 8
9 Gavin Spaulding (Khs) 48.90 7
10 Rick Rossman (Insane Way) 49.00 6
11 William Newby (Big Kids R) 52.10 5
12 Jeff Bobbitt (Fox) 1.00.70 4
13 Erik Balle (Balle Raci) 1.06.70 3
14 Daniel Large (Azonic/Sod) 1.23.10 2
15 Darin Delio 4.04.60 1
David Sandman (Hodson Cyc) Dnf
Kevin Riseborouch (Az-Fattire)
Expert Men 40-44
1 Jason Hofman (Caffertys) 4.41.60 30
2 Lenny Ricketts (Yipprr Rac) 11.80 25
3 George Valinsky 14.30 21
4 Wade Wilderman (Totally Mi) 18.70 18
5 Don Jackson (Odi/Southr) 22.10 15
6 Bill Kieffer (Foes Azoni) 22.30 12
7 John Khademi (Fair Corne) 27.50 10
8 Moses Cruz (No Brakes) 35.20 8
9 Stephen Waldron 46.10 7
10 Bill Devlin (Titus) 54.20 6
11 Gary Deweese (No Brakes) 56.00 5
12 Mark Umland (Schroeder/) 2.03.40 4
Bill Hyer Dnf
Robert Bergman
Expert Men 45-49
1 Scott Smith (Odi /South) 4.38.60 30
2 Randy Lewis (Lv High Ro) 16.20 25
3 Karl Eberbardt (Redbull/Ha) 17.20 21
4 Bobby Bondurant (Intense Az) 25.30 18
5 Steve Cihylik (Revolution) 52.10 15
6 Joel Creed (Gillis Cyc) 1.06.90 12
7 Gerardo Florez (Pain Relie) 1.45.70 10
