By Eddie Arnet
(Photos by Jimmy Mac)
THE CHALLENGE: A six mile loop with 1400 feet of climbing. Top elevation is right at 9000 feet. The men raced four laps and the women three.
THE THREATS: Defending champ Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski swept Mammoth last year, winning both the cross-country and short track titles. Even despite a crash and injury-filled year, Jeremy still came closer to taking the NORBA National Series than any other American had in a long, long time. Jeremy's biggest threat at Mammoth has to be Adam Craig, who is the only American in recent history to consistently place in the top 10 at World Cup events. Adam also won the NORBA opener in Texas, and ended the year in third overall. Todd Wells was the third best NMBS American.
THE ALTITUDE: Jeremy is from Boulder, Colorado and loves elevation. Adam is from Bend, Oregon and suffers in thin air. He blew last year at Mammoth.
VIRTUAL WOMEN: Who were top females on paper? NORBA National Championship Series Champ Shonny Vanlandingham has to be the favorite. When Shonny wasn't winning, she was placing second. Willow Koerber and Alison Dunlap were the second and third best American women in the NORBA Series. Between the two, Alison was the only one to win a NMBS event.
Don't count out 2003 National Champ Mary McConneloug. A consistent top placer in Europe, Mary is faster than ever and has a point to prove.
THE DRAMA; We couldn't have scripted it any better. Dispelling all doubters that he wasn't quite the same after the last crash at Snowshoe, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski simply rode away to the checkers. Early aggressor Walker Ferguson, hanger-on and altitude anxious Adam Craig, and strong finisher Todd Wells were all no match for the defending champ. Mountain Bike Action is pumped for you, Jeremy. Also note Jay Henry's sixth place finish, only 26 hours after racing wide open for 66 miles in the marathon, in which he placed second.
We might be more pumped over Mary McConneloug's win. Driving towards the finish, Shonny Vanlandingham had 20 seconds on Mary McConneloug and Willow Koerber, with Alison Dunlap closing rapidly on all of them. Then it all hit the fan: Alison caught Willow, Mary upped the tempo and Shonny blew her front tire and crashed. At the line McConnelough found herself just nine seconds ahead of a sprinting Dunlap, who just nipped Koerber at the line. Sorry Shonny. You earned it and you deserve it, but Mary got it.
Nah, we're most pumped about 50-year old Ned Overend placing fifth! How heroic is that...
If all that wasn't enough, Eric Carter qualifying fastest after spending the year recovering from back-to-back injuries. Just think, this is only the second day of racing!
Page down for the mountaincross qualifying results
2005 U.S. NATIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY RESULTS
1. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski...Subaru-Gary Fisher...1:50:39.87
2. Todd Wells...GT-Hyundai...at 03:52.58
3. Adam Craig...Giant...04:58.94
4. Walker Ferguson...Scott USA-Spinner...05:28.94
5. Ned Overend...Specialized...05:44.71
6. Jay Henry...Ford-Sspecialized 1:57:09.10 usa19750323 06:29.23
7. Michael Broderick...Kenda-Seven Cycles...09:25.01
8. Carl Decker...Giant...09:46.79
9. Cody Peterson...3D Racing...10:59.03
10. Erik Tonkin...Kona/Team S and M...at 11:40.02
WOMEN
1. Mary McConneloug...Kenda-Seven Cycles...1:40:54.04
2. Alison Dunlap...Luna Chix...at 00:09.42
3. Willow Koerber...Subaru-Gary Fisher...00:09.83
4. Shonny Vanlandingham...Luna Chix...00:45.81
5. Susan Haywood...Trek-VW...00:59.50
6. Heather Irmiger...Tokyo Joe's-Go Lite...01:02.32
7. Dara Marks-Marino...Ford-Specialized...02:31.87
8. Georgia Gould...Tamarac...04:22.73
9. Kathy Sherwin...Biogen-Idec...04:39.59
10. Kelli Emmett...Ford-Specialized...at 07:33.09
U23
1. Andy Schultz...Cannondale...2:00:52.70
2. Nick Ranno...Trek Rocky Mtn Regional...at 00:50.88 b0128706
3. Sam Schultz...U23 National...01:11.83
4. Alex Hageman...Cannondale...05:27.23
5. Eric Ransom...Tamarack Resort-Intense...05:36.01
SEMIPRO
1. Kevin Bradford Parish...Bicycle Bu...2:09:05.40
2. Zach Vestal...Trek-VW...2:09:06.00
3. Mark Cesal...Trek...2:10:35.42
4. Christian Ball...Idependent...2:10:36.78
5. Osvaldo Olmos...Team Corin...2:11:29.96
JUNIOR
1. Michael Cummings...Kenda...2:05:27.38
2. Colin Cares...SMBA...2:06:50.06
3. Mitchell Peterson...Balance Bar...2:08:03.61
4. McConnell Franklin...Colavita...2:10:41.51
5. Kevin Rice...Tokyo Joe's...2:11:06.29
MOUNTAINCROSS QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Eric Carter...Mongoose-Hyundai
2. Garrick Anderson...Fox-Maxxis-Bombshell-Answer-spy
3. Chris Powell...Specialized
4. Ross Milan...Yeti
5. Brian Schmit...Mongoose-Hyundai
6. Rich Houseman...Yeti...
7. Christopher Herndon...Cane Creek
8. Lars Sternberg...Fluidride
9. Steve Wentz...Turner-Fox-Michelin-The Fix
10. Curtis Beavers...WTB-Santacruz-Fox
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