Reigning National Champions and 2008 Olympians Adam Craig (Bend, OR) and Mary McConneloug (Chilmark, MA) showed their readiness for Beijing at the 2008 U.S. Mountain Bike National. Craig put on a dominant performance to take his second consecutive Stars-and-Stripes jersey in the Pro Cross-Country at Southern Vermont’s Mount Snow Resort, while McConneloug defended her 2007 National Title by less than a wheel over fellow 2008 Olympian Georgia Gould (Fort Collins, CO).
 
Craig has a history of strong performances in national championship races. Just missing a national title with a second-place finish in the first single day national championship in 2004, Craig followed up that
performance with a third place effort in 2005 and a fifth place effort in 2006 before taking the title on the Mount Snow course last season. The newly named 2008 Olympian looks to be on good form heading into the Aug 23 Olympic Mountain Bike Race in Beijing.  
 
“This one is better than last year,” said New England native Adam Craig. “It’s always hard when you have a target on your back. This race was good prep as it offers some good power work riding up steep hills like we’re going to have to do in Beijing.” 
 
Competing over four laps of a five-mile circuit, Craig took the lead from the gun and held off the strong 58-rider field to win the title in 1:43:39. At the conclusion of the first lap, Craig had opened up a more than one minute gap on his closest competition, including the top rated American in the World Cup standings and fellow Olympian Todd Wells (Durango, CO) and last year’s national championship silver medalist Jeremiah Bishop (Harrisonburg, VA). Craig continued to ride strong finishing 1:37 ahead of eventually second place Ryan Trebon (Bend, OR) and more than two minutes in front of a surging Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, CO) in third. Carl Decker (Bend, OR) and Sam Schultz
(Colorado Springs, CO) rounded out the podium.
 
McConneloug repeated her Stars-and-Stripes performance from a year ago, outsprinting Gould to the line by less than a second as the two Olympians showed their dominance. With her victory McConneloug becomes the first woman to win back-to-back national titles since the single day national championship format was adopted in 2004.
 
Finding herself initially off the pace in the 15 mile contest, McConneloug quickly closed the gap on the early leaders to force a sprint to the finish with Olympic teammate Gould. With only hundredths
of a second separating the two, McConneloug’s winning time of 1:33:07 was just enough to earn her a third Stars-and-Stripes jersey. Her first title came in 2005 in Mammoth Lakes, CA and the most recent on the same course in last year’s competition.
 
“I was really conservative on the first lap. I didn’t want to go down, that’s when she passed me,” explained McConneloug. “We were riding together the whole race. Every climb I’d pass her and she’d pass me back on the descents. I knew I needed to catch her on the final climb and I did.”
 
That final pass by McConneloug set up one of the most exciting pro cross-country finishes as the pair sprinted down the final straight to give the crowd a near photo finish.
 
Cyclocross champion Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, CO) gunned it out of the start, but the pair of Olympians kept their composure after the first of three laps Gould and McConneloug established a strong lead over the 38-rider field. Heading into the final lap McConneloug found herself nearly 20 seconds off Gould’s leading pace with Heather Irmiger (Boulder, CO), Willow Koerber (Asheville, NC) and Leah Davison (Jericho, VT) in third, fourth and fifth, over a minute behind. McConneloug closed that gap on the final five mile loop earning her not only a fourth National Cross-Country title, but also posting her fourth win in as many tries on the Mount Snow course. (Prior to the one day U.S. National Mount Snow was part of the NORBA Series. McConneloug won two of the series events.)
 
Irmiger slowed her pace on the final loop, but was able to improve on last year’s fourth place finish, holding onto the bronze, 3:02 down. With the crowd cheering her through the woods on the backside of the course, hometown hero Davison was able to surge into fourth place while Koerber, in her first contest since the Mountain Bike World Championships in June, rounded out the top five, 5:48 back.   

DUAL SLALOM
In the other major pro today, 38-year-old Eric Carter (Temecula, CA) descended to his 11th national title in the men’s dual slalom, while 2008 World Champ Melissa Buhl (Chandler, AZ) captured the women’s crown. In the final Carter outrode eighth-seeded Geritt Beytagh (Fletcher, NC). Geritt was one of the favorites heading in, because of his recent overall win of Mount Snow’s SoBee Energy Downhill and Dual Slalom Series presented by e.thirteen. Number one seed Buhl took out the next best seed, Kathy Pruitt (Lake Almanor, CA), in the women’s final.
 
In the consolation rounds, 12th-seeded Chris Van Dine (Park City, UT) won the bronze medal over Ross Milan (Arvada, CO). Darian Harvey (Durango, CO) beat Jessica Vogt (Boulder, CO) in the women’s division.
 
In other day three news, Travis Livermon (Winterville, NC) and Betsy Shogren (Morgantown, WV) earned national titles in the men’s and women’s singlespeed event. Also, Mike Steidley (New Haven, CN) and Brian Yezierski (Middleton, CN) won the stock and modified trials competitions respectively.

U.S. CHAMP'S CROSS-COUNTRY RESULTS
1. Adam Craig...Giant...1:43:39.90
2. Ryan Trebon...Kona...1:45:17.51
3. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski...Subaru-GF...1:45:47.24
4. Carl Decker...Giant...1:48:02.01
5. Sam Schultz...Subaru-Gary Fisher...1:49:01.60
6. Todd Wells...GT...1:50:18.48
7. Jeremiah Bishop...Trek-VW...1:50:28.92
8. Michael Broderick...Kenda-Seven...1:51:00.00
9. Barry Wicks...Kona...1:53:28.26
10. Andy Schultz...Kenda-Titus-Hayes...1:53:35.05
WOMEN
1. Mary McConneloug...Kenda-Seven...1:33:07.82
2. Georgia Gould...Luna CHIX...1:33:08.15
3. Heather Irmiger... Subaru-GF...1:36:10.70
4. Lea Davison...Trek-VW...1:38:01.22
5. Willow Koerber...Subaru-GF...1:38:55.25
6. Monique Sawicki...Ellsworth...1:41:12.31
7. Kelli Emmett...Giant...1:41:44.19
8. Judy Freeman...ToughGirl-Contessa...1:42:10.05
9. Jenna Zander...Sobe-Cannondale...1:43:34.18
10. Katie Compton...Spike Shooter...1:45:21.60

U.S. CHAMP'S DUAL SLALOM RESULTS
1. Eric Carter...Mongoose
2. Geritt Beytagh...Morewood
3. Chris Van Dine...Cannondale
4. Ross Milan...Yeti-Fox Shox
WOMEN
1. Melissa Buhl...KHS
2. Kathy Pruitt
3. Darian Harvey...Sobe-Cannondale
4. Jessica Vogt...Turner