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| Bike Race:
Norba NCS #2, 1999 - Welch Village, MN |
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Tinker riding
to a solid 5th place finish will be trying to
defend his National Championship Title he received
in 1998. This photo was taken in the "REI
Drop" that was very challenging for all
riders. Plenty of spills and chills were dished
out to all of the spectators that were watching
this section of the course. |
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The races
started bright and early on Saturday morning
at 7:AM. The semi-pro class racers were the
guinea pigs to determine how much the course
had dried out from the rains that fell earlier
in the week. On Thursday the course had to
be closed for pre-riding due to saturated
trails and deteriorating conditions. The semi-pro
class race was postponed on Friday to try
to let the track dry-out.
In
the semi-pro race, Chris Decker (Deschutes),
leading for the entire race, took the top
spot and the National win by beating Jeremiah
Bishop (Bike Dr./Cannondale) by over a minute.
Bishop who moved up from sixth place on the
third lap finished extremely strong and outlasted
the powerful Costa Rican rider Adrian Bonilla
(Cafe Costa Rica) who won Big Bear just a
week ago. Bonilla held on to a strong third
place finish.
Paul Cordes
(Team Wolf Creek/bikeparts.com) rode to a
solid 5th place finish in his first semi-pro
race ever. "Trying to hold on to Jeremiah
Bishop on lap three was a challenge,"
said Cordes. "He pushed hard over the
top of the feed-zone climb and I never saw
him again."
For the
semi-pro class and all expert classes the
course was soft and even muddy in some sections.
As the race unfolded the course actually deteriorated
even more. The key to this particular race
seemed to be keeping your traction and staying
flawless through the technical single-track.
The climbs, though short, were demanding as
ever and the loss of traction proved to make
them even tougher.
Semi-pro results:
1. 2:14:28
CHRIS DECKER (DESCHUTES), 2. 2:15:29 JEREMIAH
BISHOP( BIKE DR./CANNONDALE),
3. 2:17:30 ADRIAN BONILLA (CAFE DE COSTA RICA),
4. 2:17:35 MIKE WEST (TREK), 5. 2:18:47 PAUL
CORDES (WOLF CREEK/BIKEPARTS.COM), 6. 2:19:44
BRANDON DWIGHT (TREK/VOLKSWAGEN), 7. 2:19:45
DONOVAN LYNCH (SCHWINN/TOYOTA), 8. 2:19:53
MICHAEL LEE (TREK/VOLKSWAGEN), 9. 2:20:40
BENJAMIN ZAMBRANA (WOLFCREEK/BIKEPARTS.COM,)
10. 2:20:52 JASON BAUSCH (TREK/VOLKSWAGEN),
11. 2:21:34 PHIL NOBLE (KHS/KENDA/JMB), 12.
2:21:51 KC S. COPPER (BICYCLE LINK), 13. 2:22:20
JOSH FIX (SOBE/HEADSHOK), 14. 2:23:56 DEWEY
DICKEY (BENNETTS/SCHWINN), 15. 2:24:01 CAMERON
BRENNEMAN (TREK/VOLKSWAGEN), 16. 2:25:12 DEREK
PRECHTL (SOBE HEADSHOK), 17. 2:25:13 DANIEL
GILLESPIE (LITESPEED), 18. 2:25:21 JOHN POLLI
(WOLFCREEK/BIKEPARTS.COM), 19. 2:25:38 COLIN
ROONEY (COTTONWOOL CYCLE), 20. 2:26:32 (SAM
ARMAO SEROTTA/TBS).
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In
the Pro Class, for the third year in a row,
Steve Larsen, Bend, Ore. (LL. Bean/Mongoose)
won the men's cross-country race. Alison Dunlap
(Team GT) earned her first national series race-win
by crushing the competition by over 2 minutes.
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| Larsen led
the race from the gun. After a short parade
lap the men's pro field was off for a demanding
5 laps on the classic Welch Village Course.
The weather was in the middle 70's and the humid
conditions made the race even tougher. A lead
group of 12 men, including Steve Larsen (LL.
Bean/Mongoose), Tinker Juarez (Trek-Volkswagen),
Travis Brown (Trek-Volkswagen), Carl Swenson
(Catera), and junior Matt Kelly (Devo), set
an impressive pace during the beginning of the
2 hour race. Larsen, who has won at Welch Village
in 1997 and 1998 stayed in front the entire
race. |
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The two biggest
threats to Larsen were Chris Sheppard and
Kirk Molday. Sheppard pressed Larsen early
in the race and Larsen was well aware of him
close behind. Pushing hard over the short
and steep climbs kept him out in front of
Sheppard and Larsen was able to gap him during
the third lap. Kirk Molday, who started way
back, rallied to make up lost ground from
a poor starting position and challenged Larsen
late in the race.
Molday, who
suffered from Epstein-Barr Syndrome last season
was finally back with excellent form. Though
he attacked Larsen hard on the final two laps
he was unable to catch the blistering pace
set by the two time Welch Village winner.
Molday closed within 20 seconds at one point
in the race but finally ended up 55 seconds
back at the end. Appearing very healthy and
ready for the 1999 season Molday will be one
to keep your eye on.
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In
the women's race, Alison Dunlap (Team GT)
was the one to beat. After taking over the
lead from Jimena Juarez (Polo Sport) during
the first lap, Dunlap set a pace that was
unbeatable on this day. Leading almost the
entire race Dunlap scored her first National
win of her career. Her form, strong and smooth,
proved that her win earlier this season at
the Diesel/UCI World Cup Opener in Napa, California
was no fluke.
Dunlap already
had a one minute lead on Juarez after the
first lap. Jimena Juarez raced one of the
best races of her young career. Holding second
place for almost the entire race, Juarez proved
that she will be a contender for the overall
standings this season. As the race unfolded
Ruthie Matthes (Trek/Volkswagen), pressed
Juarez and finally caught and passed Juarez
on the bell lap. Trying to hang-on to third,
Juarez began to cramp and was unable to stay
mounted in the tricky REI Drop that had been
challenging the technical skills of riders
all day.
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Lesley Tomlinson
(Polo Sport) took advantage of Juarez' (right)
cramping and was able to take the bronze medal
from her by winning a sprint in the final
100 yards of the race.
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In the overall
standings, Larsen took the leader's jersey
from Polo Sport rider David Wiens, while Airborne
rider Ann Trombley held on to the top spot
for the women.
Pro Results:
Pro Men,
5.5 laps, 27 miles 1. STEVE LARSEN, Bend,
Ore. (LL. Bean/Mongoose) at 2 hours, 3 minutes
and 1 second; 2. Kirk Molday, Temecula, Calif.
(Trek-Volkswagen) @ :55 back; 3. Chris Sheppard,
Kamloops, BC, Canada (Catera) @ 1:49; 4. Travis
Brown, Boulder, Colo. (Trek-Volkswagen) @
2:26; 5. Tinker Juarez, Downey, Calif. (Volvo-Cannondale)
@ 5:00; 6. Marc Gullickson (Marin) @ 6:11;
7. Carl Swenson, Boulder (Catera) @ 7:22;
8. Matt Kelly, Johnson Creek, Wis. (Devo)
@ 7:38; 9. Andy Bishop, Williston, Vt. (Gary
Fisher-Saab) @ 7:42; 10. Jimi Killen, Fort
Collins, Colo. (Diamondback) @ 8:16
Pro Women,
4.5 laps, 22 miles 1. ALISON DUNLAP, Colorado
Springs, Colo. (Team GT) at 2 hours, 5 minutes
and 36 seconds; 2. Ruthie Matthes, Durango,
Colo. (Trek-Volkswagen) @ 2:32 back; 3. Lesley
Tomlinson, Victoria, BC, Canada (Polo Sport)
@ 3:11; 4. Jimena Juarez, Downey, Calif. (Polo
Sport) @ 3:22; 5. Ann Trombley, Golden, Colo.
(Airborne) @ 5:27; 6. Mary Hearn, Menlo Park,
Calif. (Gary Fisher-Saab) @ 5:27; 7. Rene
Marshman, Lafayette, Colo. (Moots) @ 6:31;
8. Ann Grande, Seattle (unattached) @ 7:27;
9. Willow Koerber, Horseshoe, Colo. (Cane
Creek) @ 8:09; 10. Carmen Richardson, Colorado
Springs (SoBe/Headshok) @ 8:44
OVERALL
STANDINGS
Pro Women
1. ANN TROMBLEY, Golden, Colo. (Airborne)
356 pts.; 2. Rene Marshman, Lafayette, Colo.
(Moots) 330; 3. Rachle Lloyd, San Anselmo,
Calif. (Gary Fisher-Saab) 296; 4. Mary Hearn,
Menlo Park, Calif. (Gary Fisher-Saab) 280;
5. Shonny Vanlandingham, Pagosa Springs, Colo.
(KHS) 278
Pro Men 1.
STEVE LARSEN, Bend, Ore. (LL. Bean/Mongoose)
386 pts.; 2. Travis Brown, Boulder, Colo.
(Trek-Volkswagen) 328; 3. Chris Sheppard,
Kamloops, BC, Canada (Catera) 304; 4. Marc
Gullickson (Marin) 300; 5. David Wiens, Gunnison,
Colo. (Polo Sport) 298
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