writing and photos by: Shannon Boffeli
Today's Cross Country represented the final race in the National Mountain Bike Series. Racers toed the start line at 2PM with threatening skies overhead. Rain had been forecasted with the possibility of snow flurries. The unseasonable weather held off long enough for some excellent racing to take place. With relatively small fields in the Pro class the men and women's fields started together on the opening road climb, and the racing didn't take long to heat up.
In the men's race, it was round five of the heavy weight battle between Jeremiah Bishop (Trek/VW) and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru/Gary Fisher). These two had gone four rounds last week battling each other in the American Mountain Classic stage race and today they picked up right where they left off. Both displayed incredible fitness and established an early gap which allowed them to battle each other alone. At the top of the Lowder Ponds descent it was JHK taking the lead but he was never able to gap the stubborn Bishop. At the end of the second climb it was Bishop's turn to lead. He put it a strong effort to pass JHK before the treacherous Dark Hollow descent. Both riders bombed down the technical rocky singletrack like water rushing between each forbiding rocks.
After relentless attacks by each racer they passed through the Boy Scout camp just miles from the finish. Bishop was itching to launch another offensive when his front tire nailed a rock and instantly went flat. And just like that the race was decided. JHK put his head down and rode strong to the finish, continuing his undefeated streak in the Brian Head Cross Country. He is now three for three. Ross Schnell capped of his exciting weekend finishing second behind JHK after taking his first Short Track win yesterday.
Behind the leaders an ever changing group of riders fought their way through the thin air of this challenging course. Riders like Ross Schnell, Germany's Ben Sonntag (Craft), Ryan Trebon (Kona), Colin Cares (U23), Andy Schultz (Kenda/Titus/Hayes), and Alex Grant (Rocky Mountain) all took turns clawing their way toward the front. One rider who seemed out of contention early was Geoff Kabush (Maxxis). The current NMBS points leader had flown 18 hours from Australia, where he had finished third in the World Cup just one day before. After the first climb he was out of the top-10 and seemed to be soft pedaling his way toward the NMBS series title. Proving once again that you can't keep Geoff Kabush down as the race went on Kabush slowly began to rise to the top. By the top of Dark Hollow Kabush moved to fifth and by the time he hit the finish line it was third for the overall series champ.
Behind Kabush came an impressive Colin Cares (U23). Cares had ridden strong all day never faltering and crossed the line with a huge smile and sincere congratulations from all the finishers in front of him. Andy Schultz rolled in fifth for his first trip onto the Cross Country podium. McConnell Franklin (Devo) came home sixth making it an outstanding weekend for the young riders in the professional peloton. Jeremiah Bishop limped in 14th with a flat front tire.
The women's race was equally intense. With Georgia Gould (Luna) recovering from a tough travel schedule and Katerina Nash (Luna) having just completed the grueling TransRockies two weeks earlier this weekend was the best chance to unseat the Luna girls from the top step of the Cross Country podium. After winning at Brian Head in '05 and '06 Heather Irmiger no doubt had her eyes on the top prize.
After a short neutral start the racers began the long opening climb to Brian Head Peak. Early on, the pace seemed controlled but by the time they hit the singletrack Katerina Nash had begun to pull away. Once in the trees she increased her lead with every technical descent, and on this course, there are lots of technical descents. Wearing the same shoes from TransRockies, the sole completely worn through from over 35 hours of riding and hiking in 7 days, Nash showed no wear on her fitness as she stayed clear of the field all day. She maintained an impressive pace on the climbs and used her considerable descending abilities to attack the technical downhill sections. Nash crossed the line at 2:06, two and a half minutes up on second.
Left in her wake were the best riders in the NMBS series. Lea Davison, still beaming after her first Short Track win yesterday, did her best to match Nash early on. She stayed within striking distance of the Luna rider through the opening climb and into the Lower Ponds descent. By the time the riders hit climb number two Davison was joined by Subaru/Gary Fisher girls Heather Irmiger and Willow Koerber, Pua Sawicki (Ellsworth), and Olympian Georgia Gould (Luna).
As the chase group began the second big climb of the day, back up to Dark Hollow, the pack showed off their climbing legs, slowly grinding up the long singletrack climb. By the top of the gnarly Dark Hollow desecent Gould had moved into second, where she would stay, followed by Lea Davison, a tenacious Pua Sawicki and Irmiger right behind. The race wasn't over yet as Irmiger moved past Sawicki and Davison to finish in the third spot while Davison held on for fourth capping off her best NMBS weekend of the year and Willow Koerber took the final podium spot in 5th.
Race Notes:Chloe Forsman (Luna) crashed hard on the Lowder Ponds descent injuring her knee. She was taken to a near by hospital for stitches.
Riders who competed at last weekend's American Mountain Classic 4-Day stage race seemed to have an advantage in today's Cross Country seeing most of them finish in the top-10. The list of AMC competitors who did well includes Heather Irmiger, Pua Sawicki, Jennifer Smith, and Lea Davison, for the men it was Jeremiah Bishop, JHK, Colin Cares, Alex Grant, Ben Sonntag, and Ryan Trebon.
Brian Head is quickly becoming one of the best destinations for mountain biking in the U.S. For anyone looking to test their abilities as a rider Brian Head's seemingly endless miles of technical singletrack is the ideal location.
