Mercury Tour - MTBColorado, USA, August 9-13, 2000The Stages
Prologue - August 9: Howelsen Prologue ITT, 1.85 km (W/M)Epifanova And Sheppard win successive Mercury Tour prologuesThe 2000 Mercury Tour kicked off on Wednesday afternoon with 1999 history repeating itself. Russian Alla Epifanova (Volvo-Cannondale) and Canadian Chris Sheppard (Haro-Lee Dungarees) won their second straight Howelsen Prologue, although this did not count toward the overall standings. Susan Haywood from Davis, W.V., had an early start time and held the lead for most of the race. USA Cycling National team member Rachel Lloyd (San Anselmo, Calif.) came the closest to Haywood's time, but ended up 5 seconds behind her in third. The podium finish was the first Mercury Tour podium appearance for both women. "I think I rode too much earlier today, but it felt good. I just wanted to nail all the turns, but my legs sort of still hurt from this morning," Lloyd said. "I hope to do well in the stage tomorrow, because it has lots of downhills. For this week, I just want to get some good training in and have fun." At the finish line, Epifanova admitted that she had been dreaming of the Mercury Tour all year. The Russian busted the time of Haywood by 4 seconds and finished the short prologue in 4 minutes and 13 seconds. "It was a nice course, dry and hard. I just wanted to do well," Epifanova said. "I don't have any goals for here, because I'm just using this race for training for the European championships at the end of August. I just want to have fun here. I can also make some good money. You can't make money like this in European races." After capturing his second prologue title, Sheppard said he rises to the occasion for time trials. "I just like the time trials," Sheppard said. "I don't know how riders can use this as a training race. It's non-stop suffering. I come here and race as hard as I can. I want to get as many podiums as I can, and go back to Canada a happy man." Past national collegiate mountain bike champion Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Nantucket Nectars-Specialized) continued to build on his recent successes, placing second in the prologue. Horgan-Kobelski held the prologue lead until Sheppard, who was the fourth-to-last rider to leave, took over. "It was fun waiting around and watching people come in with times slower than me," Horgan-Kobelksi said. Results
Pro women: 1. Alla Epifanova (Rus) Volvo-Cannondale 4.13 2. Susan Haywood (USA) Trek/W.V. Tourism 0.04 3. Rachel Lloyd (USA) USA Cycling National Team 0.05 4. Jimena Florit (Arg) RLX Polo Sport 0.08 5. Suzy Pryde (NZl) Saturn 0.12 Pro men: 1. Chris Sheppard (Can) Haro-Lee Dungarees 3.32 2. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) NN-Specialized 0.09 3. Frank Mapel (USA) Trek/VW/JBL 0.10 4. Jason Tullous (USA) 0.11 5. Pavel Tcherkassov (Rus) Gary Fisher-Saab 0.12 Stage 1 - August 10: Continental Divide Cross-country, 53.6 km (W/M)Gary Fisher-Saab take first stageStage one of the Mercury MTB tour was a clean sweep for team Gary Fisher-Saab, with Mary Grigson and Pavel Tcherkassov winning the Continental Divide Cross-country. The 53.5 km point to point race involved the 10,372 foot climb of Mountain Points Storm Peak Summit before finishing in Steamboat, Colorado. In the men's race, Russian Tcherkassov and Steve Larsen (LL Bean/Mongoose) rocketed off together from the start. Larsen, a past national cross-country champion, was racing with a broken rib and struggled with some sections of the course. Though Tcherkassov seemed to have stronghold on the lead, a punctured rear tire set him back nearly 2-1/2 minutes. The setback allowed Larsen and Canadian Seamus McGrath to move ahead of the Russian, but not for long. Tcherkassov quickly rejoined the two riders and took his place at the front again, this time for good. "I felt confident on the downhills, and my mechanics worked on my bike so that it was set up just right for today," Tcherkassov said. "I don't what I had today, some small thing that I can't put my finger on. It's hard to say why you are good one day and better the next day. It's like a one-percent difference. I knew this stage was really important. I'm just going to try to concentrate for the rest of the week and go home with the yellow jersey." Though Larsen and McGrath tried to hang on to Tcherkassov, Swenson began picking off riders until he moved in to second. Swenson, who's brother Carl finished sixth Thursday, said he had a slow start, but hung with his brother until he felt stronger. "I really couldn't get my legs going, so I just stayed with Carl (Swenson). I know he's (Carl Swenson) going to beat up on me tomorrow though," Swenson said. "Then my legs just started going. I was hoping to be in the top-10 by the end of the Tour, so this is a nice surprise today. Saturday I think will be the biggest day. If you have a good day, you will be in the top five." McGrath hung in for third, while Larsen crossed the line in fourth, while Tcherkassov now wears the overall and mountain leaders' jerseys going into Friday's second stage. Prologue second-place finisher Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Nantucket Nectars) wears the Best Young Rider jersey after his fifth-place finish Thursday. Grigson's win Thursday comes as no surprise given her domination of the sport this year. She currently leads the U.S. national series, winning three of four national races thus far. RLX Polo Sport rider Jimena Florit (Argentina) and Russian Alla Epifanova (Volvo-Cannondale) were off the front at the start of the race. Grigson stayed with chase group for the first third of the race, being careful of the cuts and bruises she suffered Wednesday during a training ride. Grigson, however, dominated the last two-thirds of the race after overtaking Epifanova and '99 Mercury Tour champion Florit, who finished second and third, respectively. "I'm just taking this race as training, so I am really surprised to win today. Once I hit the single track, I noticed riders were getting tired, so I just started to move myself up. I rode the course yesterday, so I knew it pretty well," said Australian Olympian Grigson. "Tomorrow is going to be really steep and hard. We'll see how my leg is feeling and go from there." Vanlandingham, who finished sixth overall in last year's Tour, put in her best-ever Mercury Tour stage performance Thursday. Like Swenson, Vanlandingham said her legs were not with her in the beginning, causing her to have a slow start. "I wanted to build in to the race, and I was feeling good about one-third of race through. I've had slow starts before and had some of my best results. It was a pretty long race, so every second counted," Vanlandingham said. "I was sixth here last year, so I'm hoping to do better than that. I'm just taking the steps I need to get better." The Mercury Tour continues tomorrow with the stage two Mt. Werner Hill Climb. Riders depart Steamboat and climb their way to the finish, which lies at 10,568 feet.
ResultsPro Men: 1 Pavel Tcherkassov (Rus) Gary Fisher-Saab 2.14.37 2 Pete Swenson (USA) SoBe/HeadShok 0.26 3 Seamus McGrath (Can) Haro-Lee Dungarees 0.59 4 Steve Larsen (USA) LL Bean/Mongoose 1.23 5 Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Nantucket Nectars-Specialized 2.33 6 Carl Swenson (USA) RLX Polo Sport 2.37 7 Kashi Leuchs (NZl) Volvo-Cannondale 3.15 8 Jay Henry (USA) 3.38 9 Frank Mapel (USA) Trek/Volkswagen 4.32 10 Marc Gullickson (USA) Mongoose Pro 5.48 11 Eric Jones (USA) Sobe/Headshok 5.54 12 Jason Tullous (USA) 6.32 13 Chris Sheppard (USA) Haro-Lee Dungarees 7.23 14 Christopher Decker (USA) 7.29 15 Jess Swiggers (USA) Mongoose Pro 8.03 16 Chris Eatough (USA) Trek/Volkswagen 8.47 17 Benjamin Zambrana (USA) 8.47 18 Ziranda Madrigal (Mex) Turbo 10.29 19 Mike West (USA) 11.01 20 Adam Craig (USA) Devo 11.01 21 Daryl Saul (USA) 11.32 22 Ken Helgeson (USA) US Air Force 12.20 23 Gabriel Blanco (USA) 12.23 24 Ross Schnell (USA) 12.54 25 Jamie Morgan (USA) 13.32 26 Phil Busching (USA) 14.23 27 Tim Johnson (USA) 15.12 28 Walker Ferguson (USA) Deve 15.27 29 David Weins (USA) 16.33 30 Brandon Sjoblom (USA) 17.12 31 Scott Blanchard (USA) 17.54 32 JR Thompson (USA) 18.23 33 Andy Johnson (USA) 18.40 34 Stephen Flynn (USA) 18.42 35 Pete Prebus (USA) 19.11 36 Adam Watts (USA) 19.27 37 Nigel Parkinson (USA) 20.03 38 Skyler Reeves (USA) 20.11 39 Salvador Barriga (USA) 21.42 40 Cody Peterson (USA) 21.53 41 Thomas Dannielson (USA) 23.40 42 Kirk Molday (USA) 26.50 43 Billy Holmes (USA) 31.49 44 Andy Guptell (USA) 35.25 45 Toby Swanson (USA) 46.44 46 Fabio Cardoso (USA) 48.54 47 Daniel Gillespie (USA) 50.32 Pro Women: 1 Mary Grigson (Aus) Gary Fisher-Saab 2.38.21 2 Alla Epifanova (Rus) Volvo-Cannondale 0.26 3 Jimena Florit (Arg) RLX Polo Sport 1.46 4 Shonny Vanlandingham (USA) 3.53 5 Rachel Lloyd (USA) SoBe/HeadShok 5.20 6 Susan Haywood (USA) USA Cycling National Team 6.30 7 Rene Marshman (USA) Moots 6.36 8 Lanie Mason (USA) Cane Creek 6.39 9 Audry Augustin (USA) Koulius Zaard 8.10 10 Gretchen Reeves (USA) Cane Creek 12.57 11 Willow Koerber (USA) Cane Creek 13.20 12 Suzy Pryde (NZl) Saturn 14.02 13 Nancy Busching (USA) 14.36 14 Katherine Zambrana (USA) 14.52 15 Rhonda Quick (USA) 14.53 16 Kelli Emmett (USA) 15.37 17 Niki Pippin (USA) Kaulius Zaard 16.42 18 Amber Neben (USA) 17.18 19 Karen Masson (Aus) Gary Fisher 21.36 20 Kerry Barnholt (USA) 22.35 21 Jilayne Lovejoy (USA) 23.30 22 Twila Wellman (USA) 23.31 23 Theresa Eggersten (USA) 24.35 24 Caroline Duncan (USA) 24.40 25 Marie Ange Anderson (USA) 25.22 26 Tiffany Kenny (USA) 25.38 27 Julie Emmerman (USA) 25.54 28 Heather Szabo (USA) 26.06 29 Lorien Anderson (USA) 28.36 30 Janie Dalton (USA) 28.57 31 Monique Merrill (USA) 29.49 32 Sue Behme (USA) 31.32 33 Gina Hall (USA) Koulius Zaard 33.37 34 Heather Grau (USA) 36.49 35 Shannon Tupa (USA) 42.49 36 Marley Mueller (USA) 42.49 37 Carmen Richardson (USA) Sobe-Headshok 42.49 38 Heidi Anderson (USA) 42.49 Stage 2 - August 11: Mt. Werner Hill Climb, 26.5 km (W/M)Good and bad for Gary FisherGary Fisher-Saab rider Pavel Tcherkassov claimed his second consecutive 2000 Mercury Tour stage on Friday, winning the grueling Mt. Werner Hill Climb and moving into a commanding position overall. The Russian rider conquered the mountain stage, which began at 6,795 feet and ended at 10,568, in one hour and 17 minutes. Carl Swenson (RLX Polo Sport) took second, with Sobe's Eric Jones in third. The 16.5-mile course began in downtown Steamboat Springs and took riders to the Mt. Werner summit. In the women's event, defending '99 Mercury Tour winner Jimena Florit (RLX Polo Sport) won the mountain stage, breaking Alison Dunlap's unbeaten run in this stage since the inaugural 1997 race. She beat Russian Alla Epifanova (Volvo Cannondale) and Susan Haywood (Trek/W.V. Tourism) by an impressive 3'40 and 4'04 respectively. Tcherkassov started the race in front with a group of riders that included Swenson and reigning junior world champion Walker Ferguson (Devo). Tcherkassov wasn't interested in keeping any company though, and quickly broke from the pack in the switch back section. "When you're leading, it's always easier than chasing. You suffer more when you are the second, third, fourth rider. The first guy always suffers less. I felt great, just flying," said Tcherkassov, a member of the 2000 Russian Olympic mountain bike team. "I expected (Steve) Larsen and Swenson to attack, but something happened again and I was in front." Swenson mustered up more energy toward the end of the race, but the American couldn't pull out enough against the tough Russian. "I started coming back on him in the end. It was tough climbing that stuff. I got off a couple times in the sandy, loose areas. I felt good from the very beginning. I relaxed in the beginning so I could spin a little more in the middle part," said Swenson. "I just tried to stay steady because if you jump too fast in the beginning, you can really blow it later." Eric Jones also put in a great performance, finishing third. However, past national cross-country champion Steve Larsen, who was favored in this year's Mercury Tour, pulled out of the event. The Oregon resident had been racing with a broken rib since the end of July. After losing to Aussie Mary Grigson (Gary Fisher-Saab) on Thursday, Florit was hungry to reclaim the leader's yellow jersey. Grigson wouldn't prove to be a threat in Friday's race, after she pulled out about halfway. Grigson had suffered minor injuries Wednesday during a practice ride. Florit was waiting for the pack to start moving, but got bored with the slow pace. The Argentine Olympian decided it was time to take the race in to her own hands, and began to make her climb up the mountain. By the mid-way point of the race, Florit had a three-minute lead on the women's field. "Nobody was going hard or taking the lead, so I just went. Usually Mary (Grigson) starts slow and picks it up toward the end, so I was pacing myself for that, but she never came," Florit said. "Then I heard Mary dropped out of the race. So I said 'alrighty', and I just started going. I rode slow and steady. I wanted to stay comfortable in case some one tried to attack. No one did, so I took advantage of it." Haywood was in second place toward the end of the race, passing Russian Alla Epifanova (Volvo-Cannondale) and American Audrey Augustin (Koulius Zaard) in the technical climbing area. Epifanova, however, was able to catch up and passed Haywood before the finish. "I can't believe how good I felt today," Haywood said. "This is absolutely one of my best races. I'm not a climber, but I'm a good stage racer, and I'm finally getting acclimated to the altitude." Results
Pro Men: 1. Pavel Tcherkassov (Rus) Gary Fisher-Saab 1.17.52 2. Carl Swenson (USA) RLX Polo Sport 0.30 3. Eric Jones (USA) SoBe/HeadShok 0.55 4. Seamus McGrath (Can) Haro-Lee Dungarees 0.59 5. Jay Henry (USA) 3D Easton 3.02 General classification after stage 2: 1. Pavel Tcherkassov (Rus) Gary Fisher-Saab 3.32.24 2. Carl Swenson (USA) RLX Polo Sport 3.08 3. Seamus McGrath (Can) Haro-Lee Dungarees 3.55 4. Peter Swenson (USA) RLX Polo Sport 6.08 5. Jay Henry (USA) 3D Easton 6.44 Pro Women: 1. Jimena Florit (Arg) RLX Polo Sport 1.35.35 2. Alla Epifanova (Rus) Volvo-Cannondale 3.40 3. Susan Haywood (USA) Trek/W.V. Tourism 4.04 4. Audrey Augustin (USA) Team Koulius Zaard 4.55 5. Shonny Vanlandingham (USA) SoBe/HeadShok 6.06 General classification after stage 2: 1. Jimena Florit (Arg) RLX Polo Sport 4.15.34 2. Alla Epifanova (Rus) Volvo-Cannondale 2.20 3. Shonny Vanlandingham (USA) SoBe/HeadShok 8.18 4. Susan Haywood (USA) Trek/W.V. Tourism 8.53 5. Rachel Lloyd (USA) USA Cycling National Team 11.02 Stage 3 - August 12: Thunderhead Circuit, 25 km/39 km (W/M)Tcherkassov and Florit stay in commandArgentine rider Jimena Florit (RLX Polo Sport) and Russian Pavel Tcherkassov (Gary Fisher-Saab) masterminded more stage wins on Saturday at the 2000 Mercury Tour in Steamboat, Colo. The third stage of the event, the Thunderhead Circuit was a classic cross-country course, winding around Steamboat's Mt. Werner. The women completed 15.5 miles, with Florit's winning time at one hour and 38 minutes. Tcherkassov finished the men's 24-mile race in 2 hours and 13 minutes. Both riders retain the overall and mountain leader's jerseys. The front of women's race looked much like that of Friday's stage two hill climb, with Florit, Haywood, Russian Alla Epifanova (Volvo-Cannondale) and Audrey Augustin (Koulius Zaard) leading the field. The familiar duo of Florit and Epifanova rode together for much of the race, but Florit rode less aggressively than normal, not willing to jeopardize her overall lead. "I wasn't going to take any chances today, so I just played it safe. I knew Alla (Epifanova) would be chasing me, but I thought 'If she catches me, then she catches me.' I just focused on keeping it safe," the 2000 Argentine Olympian said. But Haywood proved to be the story of the race for the second-consecutive day. The East Coaster continued her mountain bike racing breakthrough Saturday, keeping pressure on Florit at the end of the race. "It was fun. I was surprised to be riding with Jimena (Florit) because she is a world-class cyclist," said 28-year-old Haywood. "I felt really calm today. Jimena and Alla (Epifanova) started slow because they were keeping an eye out for each other. They forgot that Shonny (Vanlandingham) and I had our own battle going for third on the podium. I think that was an advantage." Like Florit, Tcherkassov rode at the front for the majority of the race. Stage two second-place finisher Carl Swenson (RLX Polo Sport) kept pressure on the Russian through the start of the second lap. Swenson, however, blew up in the second lap, allowing Horgan-Kobelski a chance to move ahead. "I didn't think I was going that fast, but at the start of the second lap I caught Carl (Swenson)," said Horgan-Kobelski, a past national collegiate champion who turned 22 Friday. "I was ahead of him (Tcherkassov) on part of the descent, but it was a short-lived lead. I felt good at the start, and felt really good the whole race. When I got halfway up the first climb, I knew I was going to have a good day. I've been racing pro for four years, but it feels great to finally be getting some results." Tcherkassov's main concern Saturday was retaining the overall leader's jersey, something that eluded him in the past. The Gary Fisher-Saab rider finished second overall in 1997 and '98. "The course was kind of rough, and it would have been easy to get something going wrong. I just concentrated on my riding. I didn't want to take a chance and get a mechanical," said the 2000 Russian Olympian. "I just concentrated on keeping the yellow jersey, but when I thought I could win the stage, I went for it." Though Carl Swenson lost his energy for the race, brother Peter Swenson made a surge at the end and finished third. Carl was fifth. The 2000 Mercury Tour concludes Sunday, Aug. 13, with the Gondola Criterium, a short, fast 0.8-mile course at the base of Mt. Werner. Tcherkassov and Florit hold approximately seven minutes over their challengers, and the duo are expected to easily capture the 2000 Mercury Tour title. ResultsPro Men 1. Pavel Tcherkassov (Rus) Gary Fisher-Saab 2.13.41 2. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Nan. Nectars-Specialized 0.22 3. Peter Swenson (USA) SoBe/HeadShok 1.44 4. Eric Jones (USA) SoBe/HeadShok 3.19 5. Carl Swenson (USA) RLX Polo Sport 3.43 General classification after stage 3: 1. Pavel Tcherkassov (Rus) Gary Fisher-Saab 5.46.00 2. Carl Swenson (USA) RLX Polo Sport 6.55 3. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Nan. Nectars-Specialized 7.25 4. Peter Swenson (USA) SoBe/HeadShok 7.54 5. Eric Jones (USA) SoBe/HeadShok 10.13 Pro Women 1. Jimena Florit (Arg) RLX Polo Sport 1.35.35 2. Susan Haywood (USA) Trek/W.V. Tourism 0.12 3. Audrey Augustin (USA) Team Koulius Zaard 2.38 4. Shonny Vanlandingham (USA) SoBe/HeadShok 3.25 5. Kelli Emmett (USA) RLX Polo Sport 3.25 General classification after stage 3: 1. Jimena Florit (Arg) RLX Polo Sport 5.54.27 2. Alla Epifanova (Rus) Volvo-Cannondale 7.02 3. Susan Haywood (USA) Trek/W.V. Tourism 9.06 4. Shonny Vanlandingham (USA) SoBe/HeadShok 11.46 5. Audrey Augustin (USA) Team Koulius Zaard 14.05 Stage 4 - August 13: Gondola Criterium, 30 min/45 min (W/M)Tcherkassov, Florit have no problemsThe 2000 Mercury Tour concluded on Sunday, with Russian Pavel Tcherkassov (Gary Fisher-Saab) capturing his first overall Mercury Tour title. RLX Polo Sport rider Jimena Florit from Argentina clinched her second consecutive Mercury Tour title. In a change, neither Tcherkassov or Florit won Sunday's final stage, the Gondola Criterium. Canadian Chris Sheppard (Haro-Lee Dungarees) and Russian Alla Epifanova (Volvo-Cannondale) won the short-track race. Both riders won the opening prologue of this year's Mercury Tour. Only .08 miles long, the Gondola Criterium was a short, fast race at the base of Steamboat's Mt. Werner. Riders averaged 4-1/2 minute lap times, with the women racing for 30 minutes and the men for almost 45. For the fourth day, heat proved to be a factor, with temperatures reaching the 90s. Both Sheppard and Epifanova kept control of their respective races from the start. Sheppard had said earlier in the week that he was planning for a strong showing in Sunday's stage. The Canadian has performed well this year in the shorter races, earning podium finishes in the U.S. national short-track cross-country series. Behind Sheppard, the race shook out for second and third. It came down to Carl Swenson (RLX Polo Sport) and up-and-comer Adam Craig (Devo) in the last lap. Craig, a U.S. Olympic resident athlete, took the second spot with about 15 minutes to the finish, but Swenson eventually overtook him. "Carl (Swenson) caught me on the last lap," said Craig, who turns 19 years old Aug. 15. "I was feeling really good. It's nice to know I'm getting better and moving up to this level. This is my first year as a pro, so it gives me a lot of confidence." Tcherkassov went in to the final stage with a seven-minute lead, allowing him to ride with less pressure than those behind him Sunday. The Russian had no worries about his overall title after the first stage. "I was worried when I got a flat in the first stage. It was a crucial moment. Other than that, I felt comfortable. It's always nice to bring some bacon home," Tcherkassov joked. "It was a long way to go and after finishing second overall twice, it feels good to win." Epifanova never faltered at the front of the women's race. The field behind her spread out with no real threat to the Russian. U.S. Olympic resident athlete Rachel Lloyd rode in the chase group for much of the race before her chain became stuck in her bike frame just before the finish, costing her seven minutes. Moots rider Rene Marshman (Lafayette, Colo.) had one of her best performances of the year, placing third. "It's nice to finally get a podium this year," said Marshman, who will retire from the sport at the end of 2000. "The climb here suits me, and I'm very comfortable on the course. I was wondering how I would get motivated to train this next month, so I think this will get me going." Florit only needed to ride a safe race to keep her overall lead. The Argentine Olympic team member placed second. "It feels really good," Florit said. "I just wanted to keep the bike safe and not have any flats. Now I will get ready for Mammoth (U.S. national series finals, Sept. 8-10)." Tcherkassov took home $15,700 in prize money, with Florit snagging $10,125. Final Results
Pro Men: 1. Chris Sheppard (Can) Haro-Lee Dungarees 39.02 2. Carl Swenson (USA) RLX Polo Sport 0.25 3. Adam Craig (USA) Devo 0.39 4. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Nan. Nectars-Specialized 0.57 5. Kashi Leuchs (NZl) Volvo-Cannondale 1.06 Final general classification: 1. Pavel Tcherkassov (Rus) Gary Fisher-Saab 6.26.00 2. Carl Swenson (USA) RLX Polo Sport 5.30 3. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Nan. Nectars-Specialized 6.34 4. Peter Swenson (USA) SoBe/HeadShok 7.40 5. Eric Jones (USA) SoBe/HeadShok 10.22 Pro Women 1. Alla Epifanova (Rus) Volvo-Cannondale 30.01 2. Jimena Florit (Arg) RLX Polo Sport 0.30 3. Rene Marshman (USA) Moots 0.39 4. Rhonda Quick (USA) Jamba Juice 0.53 5. Susan Haywood (USA) Trek/WV Tourism 1.04 Final general classification: 1. Jimena Florit (Arg) RLX Polo Sport 6.24.54 2. Alla Epifanova (Rus) Volvo-Cannondale 6.31 3. Susan Haywood (USA) Trek/W.V. Tourism 9.43 4. Shonny Vanlandingham (USA) SoBe/HeadShok 12.31 5. Audrey Augustin (USA) Team Koulius Zaard 15.17 ! |