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NORBA series round 5 - E1
Mt. Snow, Vermont, August 15-18, 2002
Short-track - August 17:
Redden and Green take wins; Dunlap and Wells the titles
Chrissy Redden (Subaru/Gary Fisher)snapped Alison Dunlap's winning streak at four, winning the last Balance Bar Short Track of the five race Chevy Trucks NORBA Nationals.
World Champion Roland Green (Trek/Volkswagen) caught two rebellious riders, Seamus McGrath (Haro/Lee Dungarees) and Paul Rowney (Yeti/Pearl Izumi) with a half-lap to go and then rocketed towards a bar-to-bar finishing sprint. Green fended off Rowney and McGrath to win with a bike throw.
The womens' race started with all eyes on Alison Dunlap (Luna Chix), who had won four straight short track races and held the record for most short track victories (11). She would ride, however, with a broken wrist. From the gun, however, another Alison, Alison Sydor (Trek/Volkswagen) opened with a stunning solo attack. Eventually she drew a response from a gathering of stars that numbered eight. Near the halfway point of the 30-minute race, Redden broke loose. The leaders hesitated to watch Dunlap.
Redden opened a sizable margin and dug in for the solo win. Dunlap attacked hard, with only Sydor able to hang. Redden's lead started to melt, but the lap cards came out to show three. Dunlap pushed once and shed Sydor. She pushed again with under two laps to go and nearly closed on Redden. But Redden found reserves. On the last time up a backside climb, Redden sprung from the saddle and nailed the win shut.
Dunlap broke and settled for second. Sydor cracked but clung to third. Defending US Short Track Champion Sue Haywood (Trek/Volkswagen) attacked hard and nearly retrieved Sydor by the finish line. Jimena Florit (RLX Polo Sport) took the final podium spot.
The results left Dunlap the series winner and the US champion. The series podium included Florit, Mary McConneloug (Seven), Shonny Vanlandingham (SoBe/Cannondale) and Haywood.
The men's race saw drama at the start line. In the lead for the US title hunt, Todd Wells (Mongoose/Hyundai) missed his pedals at the start and went from the front row to dead last. He had apparently blown the national championship.
At the front, Frank Mapel (Specialized) lit up a first-lap flyer that drew up Rowney and snapped the field into a single line that seemed to spell doom for Wells. The pace also popped Wells' nearest contender Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (RLX Polo Sport). Wells composed himself and went into pursuit, slashing to mid-pack with 15 minutes to go. Then his teammate, Marc Gullickson (Mongoose/Hyundai) drifted back to help Wells drive forward.
At the 12-minute mark, McGrath launched an attack and Rowney responded. The lead bunch, an elite dozen, paused to watch Ryder Hesjedal (Subaru/Gary Fisher). This pause allowed McGrath and Rowney to add time to their lead but also offered a chance for Green to see the front.
The leaders kept a smooth pace; the chasers made erratic pushes but couldn't dent McGrath's lead. This up-and-down pace enabled Wells and Gullickson to drive back into contention. Green started to launch attacks that stretched, but didn't snap, the chase group. Horgani-Kobelski latched to that group and clung to the hope that Wells would pop.
With a half lap to go, Green waited for the steepest section of the climb to attack. He popped across to McGrath and Rowney and barreled towards the sprint. Green took the sprint followed by Rowney and McGrath; Hesjedal won the bunch sprint for fourth followed by Chris Sheppard (Haro/Lee Dungarees).
All eyes then turned to the finish chute. Wells rolled in for an amazing 11th place to win the national title.
Photography
Photos thanks to Ken Keefner
- Luna Women on the prowl
- Newcomer Becky Smith learns how to suffer like a pro
- The peloton chases hard
- Alison Sydor attacks hard on the back stretch
Results
Women 1 Chrissy Redden (Can) Subaru-Gary Fisher 25.17.12 2 Alison Dunlap (USA) Luna Women 0.17.03 3 Alison Sydor (Can) Trek-VW 0.18.44 4 Susan Haywood (USA) Trek-VW 0.21.16 5 Jimena Florit (Arg) RLX Polo Sport 0.23.72 6 Mary Mcconneloug (USA) Seven 0.24.07 7 Shonny Vanlandingham (USA) Sobe/Cannondale 0.24.42 8 Julie Emmerman (USA) Ritchey 0.30.04 9 Katerina Hanusova (USA) Luna Women 0.45.73 10 Kelli Emmett (USA) Luna Women 0.54.22 11 Willow Koerber (USA) Cane Creek 1.01.01 12 Kerry Barnholt (USA) Sobe Cannondale 1.02.48 13 Kiara Bisaro (Can) Gearsracing 1.04.54 14 Mary Grigson (Aus) Subaru-Gary Fisher 1.06.09 15 Lisa Matlock (USA) Ford No Boundaries 1.08.99 16 Lanie Mason (USA) Cane Creek 1.13.92 17 Karen Dewolfe (Can) Rags/Hapoo 1.18.66 18 Trish Sinclair (Can) Gearsracing 1.24.17 19 Gretchen Reeves (USA) Rocky Mountain 1.30.28 One lap behind 20 Dara Marks (USA) Titus 21 Gina Hall (USA) Luna Women 22 Alice Pennington (USA) Clif Bar 23 Karen Matamoros Zungiga (CRc) Costa Rica 24 Sally Warner (USA) Biogen 25 Linda Murphy (USA) Trek/Jbl/V 26 Kyia Malenkovich (USA) Dogfish/Trek 27 Jennifer Smith (USA) Dean/Dynat 28 Lea Davison (USA) Team Devo/ 29 Sara Bresnick (USA) Rage-Harrp 30 Rachel Massey (USA) Ford 31 Becky Smith (USA) South Park 32 Abigail Hippely (USA) Maverick A 33 Petra Rocha (Aut) Trek/VW 34 Shari Hausbeck (USA) Ford No Bo 35 Nina Musich-Baker (USA) Highlands 36 Kimberly Flynn (USA) Team Peggy 37 Heather Svahn (USA) The Backco 38 Robin Mcgee (USA) Gurus 39 Leslie Gilmore (USA) Soulcraft 40 Kate Lynch (USA) Gurus 41 Lisa Peck (USA) Biogen 42 Ellen Carroll (USA) Epx Carbon 43 Suzanne Filippone (USA) Trek New E Men 1 Roland Green (Can) Trek/VW 23.02.82 2 Paul Rowney (Aus) Yeti/Pearl Izumi 0.00.48 3 Seamus Mcgrath (Can) Haro Lee Dungarees 0.01.08 4 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Subaru-Gary Fisher 0.03.73 5 Chris Sheppard (Can) Haro Lee Dungarees 0.04.17 6 Geoff Kabush (Can) Kona 0.08.55 7 Andreas Hestler (Can) Rocky Mountain 0.09.23 8 Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) RLX Polo Sport 0.18.87 9 Peter Wedge (Can) Kona ÚSA 0.23.70 10 Jose Adrian Bonilla (CRc) Caf De Costa Rica 0.36.25 11 Todd Wells (USA) Mongoose 0.47.86 12 Mathieu Toulouse (Can) Gearsracing 0.48.70 13 Ricky Federau (Can) Gearsracing 0.49.01 14 Travis Brown (USA) Trek/VW 0.49.44 15 Brian Matter (USA) Hayes Brak 0.50.28 16 Marc Gullickson (USA) Mongoose/H 0.50.96 17 Jeff Hall (USA) Salsa 0.54.38 18 Carl Swenson (USA) RLX Polo Sport 1.00.62 19 Andy Jacques-Maynes (USA) Solano Ave 1.06.37 One lap behind 20 Adam Craig (USA) Balance 21 Deiber Esquivel Benavide (CRc) Café De Costa Rica 22 Henry Raabe Mendez (CRc) Café De Costa Rica 23 Mike West (USA) Trek/VW 24 Jamey Yanik (USA) Giant Bicy 25 Frank Mapel (USA) Specialized 26 Carl Decker (USA) Deschutes 27 Ryan Trebon (USA) Highland 28 Josh Bezecny (USA) Dragob 29 Chris Eatough (GBr) Trek/VW 30 Michael Broderick (USA) Seven Cycles 31 Cody Peterson (USA) Lost River 32 Alan Obye (USA) Team Balance 33 Chad Melis (USA) Pcw/Tfg/Sm 34 Jay Henry (USA) Specialized 35 Jason Sager (USA) Team Diabe 36 Jeremiah Bishop (USA) Trek/VW JB 37 Barry Wicks (USA) Clif Bar 38 Eric Jones (USA) Sobe/Canno 39 Ben Moody (USA) Harpoon Br 40 Ariel Lindsley (USA) Subaru/Gary Fisher 41 Skyler Reeves (USA) Specialized 42 Perren Delacour (Aus) Yeti/Aust 43 James Van Toever (Can) Highlands 44 Brent Miller (Aus) Khs Shimano 45 Julian Hine (Can) Gearsracing 46 Walker Ferguson (USA) Subaru 47 Nick Waite (USA) Balance 48 Matt Pacocha (USA) Ritchey 49 John Macinnis (USA) Sobe/Cannondale 50 Nick Gould (USA) Santa Cruz 51 Bryson Perry (USA) Guru's 52 Russ Tiles (USA) Chalchalch 53 Jorel Hendershot (USA) Sobe/Headshok 54 Warren Gravely (USA) Dean Bicycles 55 Troy Barry (USA) Guru's/SRA 56 Doug Swanson (USA) Trek/VW/Jb 57 Brandon Dwight (USA) Ritchey 58 Adam Bucklin (USA) Harpoon 59 Jason Moeschler (USA) Giant
