Napa Valley World Cup - Cat. CDMCalifornia, USA, March 26, 2000
Women's reports Women's results Men's reports Men's results Grigson scores first World Cup winBy Tim Maloney, cyclingnews.com correspondent Australian Mary Grigson (Gary Fisher-SAAB) and Bas Van Doren (B-1) each won the opening round of the 2000 MTB World Cup Cross Country at Domaine Chandon in Napa, California. As poppies and lupines bloomed on a beautiful spring day in Northern California, the world's top female mountain bikers headed out for a dusty day of riding. On the first of 5 laps, a group of 7 rode away from the pack. Alison Sydor (Can) of Volvo - Cannondale, World Champ Marga Fullana (Spa) Specialized, Barbara Blatter (Swi) Scott, Alison Dunlap (USA) GT and three women from Team Gary Fisher - SAAB: Paola Pezzo (Ita), Mary Grigson (Aus) and Chrissie Redden (Can), with Laurence Leboucher (Fra) GT just chasing behind. With three of the five 6.4 km laps complete, Grigson attacked hard and got a gap. "I felt good and told Chrissie and Paola I wanted to attack. I went before the singletrack section and it worked." Suddenly, Grigson had a 45" gap, with Fullana chasing hard behind. The Spanish world champ flatted and it was up to the strong, but not brilliant Sydor to catch Grigson. But nothing was going to stop Grigson, who shares AIS coach Damien Grundy with fellow Aussie Cadel Evans. She pounded through the feed zone with Dunlap 1'45" behind, and a group of Sydor, Pezzo and Redden at 2'15". At the end, Grigson kept her lead over Dunlap, while Sydor dumped her Gary Fisher shadows and grabbed third ahead of Pezzo and Redden. "I'm really happy ! I just felt great today," said Grigson afterwards. Her teammate Paola Pezzo described the attack: "When (Mary) went, we chased Fullana and tried to get a gap...we rode really well as a team today. I felt good but cramped at the end." Her other teammate, Crissie Redden was happy with herself as well: "I'm really pleased with my ride...we knew Mary was strong after her great ride at Sea Otter and I was happy to ride for her today," she said.
Grigson triumphs at Napa ValleyReport by David Ewins Australian women's MTB cross-country champion Mary Grigson has scored a morale boosting win for the Australian MTB squad in the opening round of the MTB World Cup staged at Napa Valley in the USA on Saturday, March 25, finishing ahead of US champion Alison Dunlap and defending World Cup champion Alison Sydor (Canada). The Atlanta Olympian, whose previous best performance was a silver medal in the Sydney Round of the 1999 World Cup, was overjoyed with her win which came after a gutsy attack in the third lap of the five lap race. She was with a lead group of riders who had attacked in the first lap, but felt strong enough to attack on lap three to stay away. "I managed to do that and from there it was head down and bum up to the finish," said Grigson from her hotel room afterwards. "I'm pretty tired now but I am just so elated with this win. With the injuries and illness [she sustained last year] I didn't really know how well I would be riding at World Cup level," said Grigson. "But the course was very technically demanding and I used that to my advantage." It was a timely victory for Grigson and compatriots Honi Geysen, Dellys Franke, and Anna Bayliss, who are now all the more motivated for the Olympics in September. Grigson has proven the early season good form that enabled her to successfully defend her Australian XC title after recently signing with the US based Gary Fisher/SAAB racing team. The result should not only establish her as a front runner for Olympic selection, but springboard her onto the world stage with renewed enthusiasm. Her team-mates now include reigning Olympic women's champion Paola Pezzo and Canadian Chrissy Redden. In the week leading up to the Napa Valley round, Grigson began to assert herself within the Gary Fisher/SAAB squad by clinching third overall in the Sea Otter Classic. Her motivation caught on, as not only did the Aussie XC star deliver the team’s first major victory of the season, but she lead the assault which saw her teammates Pezzo and Redden claim fourth and fifth places respectively at the World Cup opener. As is usually the case, whenever the Italian superstar Pezzo makes an appearance at a race, she attracts the majority of the attention. And this Napa valley opener was no exception. After a much reported upset over her custom front suspension – which had Roxshox technicians scurrying all weekend – Pezzo grabbed the early limelight when she appeared dressed completely in pink/purple riding gear with pink bike to match (in contrast to the teams traditional yellow/red/black garb). Women - 38 km1 Mary Grigson (Aus) Gary Fisher/Saab 1.56.17 250 pts
2 Alison Dunlap (USA) Team GT 1.55 200
3 Alison Sydor (Can) Volvo/Cannondale 2.10 170
4 Paola Pezzo (Ita) Gary Fisher/Saab 2.29 150
5 Christina Redden (Can) Gary Fisher/Saab 2.34 130
6 Laurence Leboucher (Fra) Team GT 3.06 95
7 Barbara Blatter (Swi) Scott USA 3.31 90
8 Corine Dorland (Ned) Be-One Team 4.02 85
9 Sandra Temporelli (Fra) Look/La Poste 4.49 80
10 Gunn-rita Dahle (Nor) Dbs Wc-Team 4.58 75
11 Chantal Daucourt (Swi) Trek/Volkswagen 5.50 71
12 Ruthie Matthes (USA) Trek/Volkswagen 6.00 67
13 Hedda Zu Putlitz (Ger) Be-One Team 7.05 63
14 Sabine Spitz (Ger) Merida 7.07 62
15 Jimena Florit (Arg) Rlx Polo Sport 7.31 61
16 Ann Trombley (USA) Koulius Zaard 8.02 60
17 Lesley Tomlinson (Can) Rlx Polo Sport 8.48 59
18 Tracy Brunger (GBr) Great Britain 9.32 58
19 Melanie Dorion (Can) Team Ford-Devinci 10.12 57
20 Shari Kain (USA) Rlx Polo Sport 10.14 56
21 Petra Henzi (Swi) Fischer-K2 10.28 55
22 Patricia Sinclair (Can) Marin 10.29 54
23 Rachel Lloyd (USA) Voodoo 10.30 53
24 Annica Jonsson (Swe) Cyclepro 10.51 52
25 Audrey Augustin (USA) Koulius Zaard 10.52 51
26 Alla Epifanova (Rus) Volvo/Cannondale 11.12 50
27 Kimberley Smith (USA) Sobe Headshok 11.13 49
28 Shonny Vanlandingham (USA) Sobe Headshok 11.24 48
29 Hiroko Nambu (Jpn) Trek Japan 11.41 47
30 Sophie Villeneuve (Fra) Egobike/Camelback 11.48 46
31 Annabella Stropparo (Ita) Volvo/Cannondale 12.31 45
32 Gretchen Reeves (USA) Cane Creek 12.45 44
33 Yukari Nakagome (Jpn) Miyata Subaru 13.14 43
34 Louise Robinson (GBr) Stourbridge CC 13.22 42
35 Hanneke Geysen (Aus) Be-One/Ais 13.50 41
36 Rhonda Quick (USA) Jambajuice 14.20 40
37 Willow Koerber (USA) Cane Creek 14.20 39
38 Dellys Franke (Aus) Merida Australia 14.58 38
39 Elsbeth Vink (Ned) Subaru-Specialized 15.21 37
40 Kanako Kobayashi (Jpn) A&F 15.58 36
41 Anna Baylis (Aus) Cannondale Australia 17.10 35
42 Sara Ellis (USA) Moots/Kore 17.41 34
43 Nadine Bruhn (Den) Kolding 18.20 33
44 Erica Green (Rsa) GT 18.45 32
45 Irina Iagoupova (Rus) Russia Merida 19.07 31
46 Amber Chorney (Can) Team Ford-Devinci 19.28 30
47 Nikki Pippin (USA) Kaulius Zaard 20.00 29
48 Sadie Parker (Nzl) Helly Hanson/Giant/M 20.12 28
49 Gina Hall (USA) Koulius Zaard 20.28 27
50 Lory Laroy (Bel) Equipe Nat. Belgique 21.53 26
51 Carmen Richardson (USA) Sobe Headshok 22.59
52 Helene Drumm (USA) DBC 1 lap
53 Sue Thomas (GBr) Scott UK
54 Julie Emmerman (USA) Gary Fisher
55 Carolin Rahner (Ger) Fiat-Rotwild
56 Janie Dalton (USA) Missing Link Trek
57 Katrin Helmke (Ger) Stevens Racing
58 Katrin Schwing (Ger) Storck
59 Marie-helene Premont (Can) Oryx
60 Rachel Pickett (GBr) Helly Hanson/Giant/M
61 Weatherly Stroh (USA) Schwinn Toyota Rav 4 2 laps
62 Teresa Eggertsen (USA) Micro/Supreme/X-Men
63 Gloria Cisneros (Mex) Fairlinks.Com
64 Mary McConneloug (USA) Blizzard Brothers 3 laps
DNF Margarita Fullana Riera (Esp) Subaru-Specialized
DNF Birgit Jüngst (Ger) Scott-Polar-Racing-Team
DNF Daniela Gassmann (Swi)
DNF Lanie Mason (USA) Cane Creek
DNF Regina Marunde (Ger) Focus
DNF Marla Streb (USA) Yeti
DNF Helga Weiss (Ger) Rothaus-Storck
DNF Michelle Keane (USA) Aegis
DNF Hilary Simenstad (USA) Schwinn Homegrown
Men - Van Doren dominantBy Tim Maloney, cyclingnews.com correspondent After a race-long head to head duel, Bas Van Doren (Ned) of Team B-1 powered to victory over Miguel Martinez (Fra, Full Dynamix) for his second career World Cup win at Domaine Chandon. Van Doren had won the previous weekend at Sea Otter, but at Napa he beat the best the world has to offer in mountain biking. Martinez, last year's winner at Napa was aggressive from the outset, along with World XC Champ Michael Rasmussen (Den) Haro, Filip Meirhage (Bel) Specialized and Rune Hoydahl (Nor) Giant. After some fast start laps, the 140 rider pack hit the first of 7 big laps. Van Doren went to the front on the first big climb and his powerful push extracted a group of 8 riders from the main group. Van Doren, Martinez, Meirhage, Rasmussen, Luca Bramati (Ita) Scott, Roel Paulissen (Bel) GT, Thomas Frischknecht (Swi) Ritchey and Marco Bui (Ita) Full Dynamix, with Bart Brentjens (Ned) Specialized chasing just behind. By 4 laps to go, the front group blew apart under the impulsion of Van Doren, with Martinez staying with him, Rasmussen chasing at 15" and the suprising Marcel Heller (Swi) Arrow riding into 4th place. 45" behind the two leaders, Roland Green (Can) GT had joined Bui and Frischknecht. Meirhage retired with an asthma attack. Van Doren & Martinez had increased their lead with two to go, but on the penultimate climb through the Domaine Chandon hills, Van Doren attacked hard at the Disco Flyover. " When I put the hammer down, he just couldn't go with me," Van Doren told the press after his win. Martinez hung tough after Van Doren gapped him, while Brentjens surged through the field and joined Heller in third, but then flatted and lost ground. On the hot and dusty Napa hills, after 2 hours of racing, Van Doren kept his slim half-minute gap despite the relentless pursuit of Martinez. After a fast last lap, Van Doren took the win, jumping off his bike and kissing the finish line, while Martinez was 2nd, a half-minute behind. The suprising Heller held on for 3rd ahead of Green, while the resurgent Brentjens caught and passed the chase group for an excellent 5th place ride. Second placed Miguel Martinez didn't think that the parcours help him: "The course was too rolling for me; I couldn't make time on a power rider like Van Doren," he said. Bart Brentjens (5th), was certainly pleased: "I'm happy with my ride: I flatted and still came back. This year I changed my training for 2000 and had an off-season operation on a leg artery that has given me more power." Top Australian was Paul Rowney of Giant AIS with a steady 14th place ride, while Rob Woods of GT Australia was 25th. First American was 39 year old Tinker Juarez of Volvo-Cannondale in 37th, followed by Steve Larsen of LL Bean in 40th.
Men - 51 km1 Bas Van Dooren (Ned) Be-One Team 2.17.4 250 pts
2 Miguel Martinez (Fra) Full Dynamix 54.00 200
3 Marcel Heller (Swi) Arrow Swiss Bike Tm 2.01 170
4 Roland Green (Can) Team GT 2.22 150
5 Bart Brentjens (Ned) Subaru-Specialized 2.59 130
6 Roberto Lezaun (Esp) Orbea 2.59 95
7 Lado Fumic (Ger) German National Team 3.00 90
8 Thomas Frischknecht (Swi) Team Ritchey-Yahoo! 3.00 85
9 Christophe Dupouey (Fra) Giant 3.40 80
10 Marco Bui (Ita) Full-Dynamix 3.44 75
11 Jose Antonio Hermida (Esp) Bianchi Albacom 4.04 71
12 Thomas Hochstrasser (Swi) Scott USA 4.11 67
13 Dominique Arnould (Fra) Giant 4.24 63
14 Hubert Pallhuber (Ita) Diamondback 5.06 62
15 Paul Rowney (Aus) Ais-Brooks Giant 5.10 61
16 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Haro/Lee Dungaree 5.18 60
17 Rune Höydahl (Nor) Giant 6.27 59
18 Lukas Stoeckli (Swi) Arrow Swiss Bike Tm 6.36 58
19 Mirko Bruschi (Ita) Diamondback 6.38 57
20 Mauro Bettin (Ita) Full-Dynamix 6.41 56
21 Ludovic Dubau (Fra) Marin Smith 6.47 55
22 Rob Woods (Aus) Ais-GT Australia 6.55 54
23 Christoph Sauser (Swi) Volvo/Cannondale 7.06 53
24 Julien Absalon (Fra) Scott USA 7.06 52
25 Geoff Kabush (Can) Kona Factory Team 7.07 51
26 Jesper Agergaard (Den) Be-One Team 7.16 50
27 Martino Fruet (Ita) Team Ritchey-Yahoo! 8.02 49
28 Henrik Djernis (Den) Team Ritchey-Yahoo! 8.10 48
29 Yader Zoli (Ita) Diamondback 8.50 47
30 Peter Wedge (Can) Kona Factory Team 8.51 46
31 Josh Fleming (Aus) GT Australia 9.18 45
32 Massimo De Bertolis (Ita) Diamondback 9.39 44
33 Eric Tourville (Can) Oryx-Procycle 9.55 43
34 Jens Schwedler (Ger) Stevens-Jeantex 10.09 42
35 Tinker Juarez (USA) Volvo/Cannondale 10.29 41
36 Luca Bramati (Ita) Scott Racing Team 10.32 40
37 Tom Larsen (Nor) Giant 10.37 39
38 Steve Larsen (USA) Ll Bean/Mongoose 10.40 38
39 Barrie Clarke (GBr) Raleigh 10.50 37
40 Hans-jurgen Juretzek (Ger) Schwalbe Racing Team 10.59 36
41 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Gary Fisher/Saab 11.09 35
42 Andy Bishop (USA) Gary Fisher/Saab 11.55 34
43 Peter Van Den Abeele (Bel) Vlanderen 2002 Eddy Me 12.05 33
44 Markus Binkert (Swi) Scott-Elvia 12.10 32
45 Primoz Strancar (Slo) Stop Team-Lee Cougan 12.11 31
46 Hakon Austad (Nor) Dbs Wc-Team 12.11 30
47 Kashi Leuchs (Nzl) Volvo/Cannondale 12.34 29
48 Travis Brown (USA) Trek/Volkswagen 12.39 28
49 Frederic Frech (Fra) Scott La Clusaz 12.47 27
50 Patrick Trevisan (Bel) Orbea 12.58 26
51 Christophe Herisset (Fra) Orbea 13.23 25
52 Beat Wabel (Swi) K2 14.19 24
53 Andreas Hestler (Can) Team Ford-Devinci 14.23 23
54 Greg Randolph (USA) Team GT 14.31 22
55 Nicholas Craig (GBr) Diamondback 14.32 21
56 Jess Swiggers (USA) Mongoose Pro 14.39 20
57 Mirko Pirazzoli (Ita) G.S. Promobike 14.43 19
58 Matthias Mende (Ger) Stevens-Jeantex 15.07 18
59 Pavel Tcherkassov (Rus) Gary Fisher/Saab 15.21 17
60 Chris Eatough (USA) Trek/Volkswagen 15.39 16
61 Roland Stauder (Ita) Corratec World Team 15.50 15
62 Madrigal Ziranda (Mex) Turbo 16.15 14
63 David Wiens (USA) Rlx Polo Sport 16.26 13
64 Paul Redenbach (Aus) Raceline/Flexovit 16.34 12
65 Paul Lasenby (GBr) Marin Smith 17.15 11
66 Stefan Sahm (Ger) 17.16 10
67 Ian Wilkinson (GBr) Great Britain 17.23 9
68 Florian Eschenbach (Ger) Mapei-Kona 17.23 8
69 Peter Presslauer (Aut) Corratec World Team 18.37 7
70 Adam Craig (USA) Devo 1 lap 6
71 Matthew Decore (Can) 5
72 Frederik Stormo (Nor) Drammen Ck (N) 4
73 Lars Petter Stormo (Nor) Drammen Ck (N) 3
74 Brian Matter (USA) Grimace 2
75 Karl Platt (Ger) Mapei-Kona 1
76 Marc Gölz (Ger)
77 Matt Wallace (Aus)
78 Ian Cuthbertson (GBr) Merlin/Rock Lobster
79 Shinsaku Goto (Jpn) Team Giant Japan
80 Jose Adrian Bonilla (Crc)
81 Dario Acquaroli (Ita) Bianchi Albacom
82 Patrick Tolhoek (Ned) Be-One Team
83 Seamus Mcgrath (Can) Haro/Lee Dungaree
84 Barriga Salvador (Mex) Turbo 2 laps
85 Jorn Espen Bolstad (Nor) G-Sport MTB Team
86 Ken Helgeson (USA) US Air Force
87 Kai Steinhauer (Swi) Bikers Vision Wheelers
88 Andreas Dilger (Ger) Bse
89 Nigel Parkinson (GBr) Sobe/Headshok
90 Yohann Vachette (Fra) Giant
91 Matt Kelly (USA) Trek/Volkswagen
92 George Visser (Can) Oryx-Procycle
93 Elliot Baxter (GBr) Team Raleigh
94 Luke Stockwell (Aus) Rocky Mountain Bicycles
95 Laurence Mote (Nzl) Airborne
96 Christof Bischof (Swi)
97 Rudi Schnyder (Can) Norco Factory Team 3 laps
98 Philip Dixon (GBr) Great Britain
99 Mannie Heymans (Nam) Focus
100 Philip Mcnamara (Irl) Missing Link
101 Aslak Johansen (Nor) If Froy/N
102 Peter Swenson (USA) Sobe/Headshok
103 Aldon Baker (Rsa) Maxxis
104 Ricky Federau (Can) Rocky Mountain Bicycles
105 Thomas Nicke (Ger) Stevens-Jeantex
DNF Filip Meirhaeghe (Bel) Subaru-Specialized
DNF Jerome Chiotti (Fra) Giant
DNF Gregory Vollet (Fra) Bianchi Albacom
DNF Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Fiat-Rotwild
DNF Roel Paulissen (Bel) Team GT
DNF Chris Sheppard (Can) Haro/Lee Dungaree
DNF Carl Swenson (USA) Rlx Polo Sport
DNF Alessandro Fontana (Ita) Full-Dynamix
DNF Jan Ostergaard (Den) Frm
DNF Andres Brenes (Crc) Team Ritchey-Pizza Hut
DNF Philip Tavell (Swe)
DNF James Killen (USA) Schwinn
DNF Oliver Beckingsale (GBr) Scott
DNF Peter Pouly (Fra) Egobike Camelback
DNF Rok Drasler (Slo) Full Dynamic
DNF Carsten Bresser (Ger) Rocky Mountain
DNF Mathieu Toulouse (Can) Team Ford-Devinci
DNF Marc Gullickson (USA) Mongoose Pro
DNF Siegfried Zorn (Aut) I-www.rainer
DNF Eric Jones (USA) Sobe/Headshok
DNF Robert Kircher (Aut) Corratec World Team
DNF Silvio Bundi (Swi) Bikers Vision Wheele
DNF Timo Wölk (Ger) Stevens-Jeantex
DNF Daniele Bruschi (Ita) Marin Smith
DNF Jean-francois Robert (Can) OGC
DNF Dirk Van Wassenhove (Bel) Bianchi Albacom
DNF Dirk Van Schalen (Ned)
DNF Skyler Reeves (USA) Nantucket Nectars
DNF Michael Elsasser (Ger) Team Porsche Zentrum
DNF Daryl Saul (USA) Mongoose
DNF Barriga Rodrigo (Mex) Tecate Light
DNF Fernando Martinez (Mex) Magmaa
DSQ Marc Weichert (Ger) Schwalbe-Racing Team
DNS Kirk Molday (USA) Trek/Volkswagen
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