Mountain

On September 25, cross-country mountain biker Jimi Mortensen received a two-year doping suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for missing three out-of-competition tests during an 18-month period from late 2004 to early 2005. Mortensen wasn’t exactly dodging the tests. The Eagle, Colorado, resident says he simply stopped filling out his USADA paperwork because he was fed up with being a part of USADA’s out-of-competition testing group. Mortensen became a member of the group after representing the United States at the 2003 world mountain-bike championships in Lugano,

The Australian Cycling Federation recently named downhill mountain-bikecoach Scott Sharples as its 2006 cycling coach of the year. Sharples, whoraced downhill as a pro with Trek-Volkswagen in the 1990’s, helped guideSam Hill (Monster-Ironhorse), who claimed the country’s first-ever downhillelite world title at the 2006 World’s in Rotorua, New Zealand. Sharples runs and operates his country’s downhill training center outof his home in Nevada City, California. Most of Australia’s top gravitytalent spends half the year living and competing in the United States,and Sharples’ training center has

Fat-tire fans will remember Costa Rica’s 2006 La Ruta de los Conquistadores for the race’s epic, 60-mile stage 1 from Jaco to El Rodeo, which included 14,500 muddy feet of climbing and sent 50 percent of the field home early. They will also remember the triumph of the skinny 24-Colombian Leonardo Paez, who dominated the three-day race in just his first attempt. But for many, the lasting image of the 2006 la Ruta is that of bloodstained American Jeremiah Bishop (Trek-Volkswagen) rolling across the finish of Stage 2 after hitting the deck in the final kilometers. The high-speed crash mangled

If last week’s announcement that USA Cycling has decided to create itsown racing series for 2007 has your head buzzing with questions, well,you’re not alone. As most fat-tire fans know, the world of domestic mountain-bikeracing is already a confusing twine of overlapping national and local series,peppered liberally with successful stand-alone events. And with such catchyacronyms as NORBA, AMBC and NMBS floating around, understanding the currentsystem requires an advanced degree in – acronym-ology.To set the record straight, the newest, shiniest acronym on the blockis MBNC. I know, I know,

Hector Leonardo Paez (Full Dynamix) easily held off a concerted effort by local Costa Rican teams in the final day of La Ruta de los Conquistadors to win the overall title. Locals managed to salvage a modicum of pride when second-placed GC rider Andrei Amador (BCR-Pizza Hut) broke away in the final kilometers to win the final stage. Marga Fedyna (bungalowboys.com) took her third consecutive stage win to dominate the women's competition. The 122 kilometer final stage is the longest, but generally slopes downhill to the finish at the Caribbean beach resort of Playa Bonita after an

Jeremiah Bishop (Trek-VW) made an attempt to put pressure on race leader Hector Leonardo Paez (Full Dynamix) on the second day of La Ruta de los Conquistadors, but went down hard on the final descent, ending his chances of winning the overall title. While Bishop did finish the stage in second place to Paez, he was immediately rushed to hospital with a broken nose and at least two broken teeth. According to Paez, "I was being careful, he was going faster. Descending is not really my best skill, so I am always more careful. When I passed him (Bishop), he was surrounded by people ... I looked

Michigan’s favorite fat-tire export Kelli Emmett (Ford Cycling) stormed to a second consecutive win at the Iceman Cometh Challenge, a popular mountain-bike season closer in frigid northern Michigan on Sunday. Making it an all-Michigan affair was pro men’s winner Mike Simonson (Bell’s Brewery-Quiring Cycles), a 26-year-old from Oxford, a suburb of Detroit, who held off two former winners from Wisconsin: Tristan Schouten (Trek-Volkswagen) and Brian Matter (PCW-Hyundai), who finished second and third respectively. Snow flurries fell throughout the morning’s amateur races, but by the time the

Playa Jacó, Costa Rica.- Colombian Leonardo Paez (Full Dynamix)won the first stage of the 14th edition of La Ruta de los Conquistadoreslater this morning at 6:00:25. Paez crossed the finish line 15 minutesahead from the second place, Jeremiah Bishop (Volkswagen-Trek). Today’sroute departed from the Pacific Coast into Carara National Park, towardsthe heart of Costa Rica. After arriving, Paez explained he had some problemsclimbing and decided to walk several paths of the race, instead of fightingit. This is the first time Paez does La Ruta. “I thought it would be tough,but not this

One might think that after a long summer of racing mountain bikes in the U.S. and abroad, Adam Craig would be ready for a little down time. You’d also figure a three-day race with a Mount Everest’s worth of climbing wouldn’t be something the average cross-country pro would be up for.

With less than three days before the 14th edition of La Ruta de los Conquistadores commences, organizers of the three-day mountain bike race across Costa Rica unveiled final 2006 course details on Tuesday. As usual the numbers are mind numbing.Total distance: 176.4 miles.Total climbing: 28,858 feet.Total maximum finish time: 35 hours.“It’s going to be an interesting three days,” said American Adam Craig, who was joined by Jeremiah Bishop and Colombian Leonardo Paez at the pre-race press conference held at the San Jose Hampton Inn on the outskirts of the Central American country’s sprawling

Angel Fire, N.M. (October 22, 2006)-Fort Lewis College completedits sweep of all four Division I men's events at the 2006 USA Cycling CollegiateMountain Bike National Championships as Chris Heath won Sunday's downhillcompetition to secure the overall Division I title for Fort Lewis College- its third championship in the last four years. Fort Lewis Collegeearned a total of 698 points to edge defending champion University of Coloradoby 25 points. After the men's squad won the short track and 4-cross eventsFriday and the cross country race Saturday, Heath clocked a winning timeof 5

Angel Fire, N.M. (October 21, 2006)--Fort Lewis College won itsthird consecutive event at the 2006 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain BikeNational Championships Saturday as Friday's shorttrack winner, Alex Hagman, won the 18-mile Division I men's cross countryrace.  Other key performances were turned in by the University ofArizona who placed first and second in the Division I women's cross countryevent and Colorado College who claimed the top-two spots in the DivisionII men's cross country contest.After Hagman captured the short track title Friday and teammates EricRansom and

Angel Fire, N.M. (October 20, 2006)-Backed by a sweep of the top-three spots in the men's short track cross country race and the top-two spots in the men's 4-cross competition, Fort Lewis College dominated the Division I ranks as the 2006 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships opened Friday.Alex Hagman, Eric Ransom and Noah Singer claimed first, second and third place respectively in the morning's short track race to put the Durango,Colo.-based institution on pace to win the overall Division I championship it last captured in 2004.

RhabdomyolysisA common disorder which may result from a large variety ofdiseases, trauma, or toxic insults to skeletal muscle. It may be definedas a clinical and biochemical syndrome resulting from an injury which damagesthe integrity of the sarcolemma of skeletal muscle, leading to the releaseof potentially toxic muscle cell components into the circulation.(1,2,3)This may result in potential life-threatening complications including myoglobinuricacute renal failure, hyperkalaemia and cardiac arrest, disseminated intravascularcoagulation, and more locally, compartment syndrome.Craig Gordon

With less than three days before the 14th edition of La Ruta de los Conquistadores commences, organizers of the three-day mountain bike race across Costa Rica unveiled final 2006 course details on Tuesday. As usual the numbers are mind numbing.Total distance: 176.4 miles.Total climbing: 28,858 feet.Total maximum finish time: 35 hours.“It’s going to be an interesting three days,” said American Adam Craig, who was joined by Jeremiah Bishop and Colombian Leonardo Paez at the pre-race press conference held at the San Jose Hampton Inn on the outskirts of the Central American country’s sprawling

Chris Eatough’s attempt to secure his seventh straight victory at the 24 Hours of Adrenalin Solo World Championships ran into an impassable roadblock Sunday morning — Australian Craig Gordon. Gordon, a 34-year-old former World Cup cross-country rider, hails from Sydney, Australia. After riding wheel-to-wheel at a blistering pace, Eatough and Gordon lapped the field after only eight hours. But as night fell, Gordon (Cannondale) gradually rode away into the dark, adding two minutes, three minutes, five minutes, and once even ten minutes per lap over the 31-year old Eatough (Trek-Volkswagen).

A mountain of pressure sits on Chris Eatough’s back this week, as the six-time solo 24-hour mountain-bike world champion prepares once again to defend his title. The 31-year old Eatough, who has made a career of dominating 24-hour events, knows he is expected to bring home number seven as he and others ready for this weekend’s world championships in Conyers, Georgia. The 2006 24-Hours of Adrenaline’s solo world championships are slated for this Saturday and Sunday in Conyers, the site of the 1996 Olympic cross-country race. Eatough’s primary sponsor, Trek Bicycles, would like nothing more

CABLE, Wisconsin – Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru/Gary Fisher) and his wife Heather Irmiger (Subaru/Gary Fisher) nearly became the first husband and wife to win the men’s and women’s races at the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival. But while Horgan-Kobelski won the 24th edition of the 40-mile race after pulling away from breakaway companion and two-time champion Doug Swanson (Trek/VW) with five miles to go, Irmiger finished second to Sara Kylander-Johnson (Trek/VW) of Duluth, Minn. In the men’s race, Jeff Hall (Salsa) fought his way back into third, after struggling in the early

American Jill Kintner (GT) had the 2006 four-cross World Cup title sewed up before she even set foot in Schladming, Austria, for the finals. It was a good thing — a nasty crash at the Jeep King of the Mountains finals in Beaver Creek, Colorado, left the 24-year old two-time world champ with a shredded shoulder. The injury kept Kintner out of the race, but allowed her to do some reporting for VeloNews.com.—Editor The dream team did it again, as Sam Hill and Sabrina Jonnier (Monster-Iron Horse) took wins Sunday at the final round of World Cup downhill racing in Schladming, Austria. Jonnier

The 2006 World Cup cross-country series finished up in Schladming, Austria, Saturday.Taking the win in the women’s race was Canadian Marie-HélènePrémont (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects), who took the fourth WorldCup win of her career and her second of 2006. The victory bumped her up tofinish second place in the overall, behind world champion Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesja of Norway (Multivan Merida). The 4.9 kilometer circuit consisted of about one-fifth asphalt, andran through the town, including through the local brewery, Schladminger.The women raced seven laps of the circuit. After the first

It was a good week for mountain-bike racers Jill Kintner and Michal Prokop. Last weekend the red-hot gravity racers were crowned four-cross world champions in New Zealand, and on Sunday each walked away from the Jeep King of the Mountain series finals at Beaver Creek, Colorado, as a happy new owner of a 2007 Jeep Compass. The Jeep King of the Mountain series differs from NORBA and World Cup competition in a number of ways. It’s an elite, invitation-only race that features 16 of the top athletes from the gravity-racing world at each event. Each of the three races in the 2006 series is

As Filip Meirhaeghe rolled to the starting line of the men’s cross-country world championship, an awkward silence hushed over the few hundred fans surrounding the start/finish. A few uttered muffled boos. Some clapped. The race announcer briefly mentioned the Belgian’s 2003 world championship victory and then hurriedly moved on to the next racer. He said nothing of Meirhaeghe’s 2004 positive test for EPO. It’s the typical greeting Meirhaeghe has received at non-Belgian mountain-bike races this year. With his 18-month suspension up, and his motivation to race returned, Meirhaeghe returned

The world’s two most-dominant cross-country racers, Norwegian Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesja and France’s Julien Absalon, wrote themselves into the pages of mountain biking history at the 2006 World Mountain-bike Championships in Rotorua, New Zealand, with each claiming a third-consecutive world title Sunday. Absalon, who took the title in 2004 and 2005, became only the second man ever to take three individual world cross-country titles. Denmark’s Henrik Djerins won three consecutive titles during the sport’s primordial years, from 1992-’94. Dahle-Flesja, the world champion in 2002, ’04 and ’05,

As downhill racing’s fastest couple on two wheels, Sam Hill and Sabrina Jonnier spend most weekends each year racing bikes around the world. After racking up scores of wins over the past three years, the couple still had never claimed corresponding victories at a major race. Before a crowd of several thousand in Rotorua, New Zealand, that drought ended, as both scored wins, and more importantly rainbow stripes, at the 2006 World Mountain-bike Championships. “When I was won, I was happy, but I wanted Sam to win too,” said Jonnier, who was first to earn her title. “When he won, my heart

Roaring voices, clinking beer bottles — even a clattering marching band — pierced Friday’s late-afternoon air, as several thousand spectators watched the finals in Four-cross at the 2006 world mountain-bike championships in Rotorua, New Zealand. The immense crowd was there to see Czech Michal Prokop and American Jill Kintner — both pre-race favorites — take easy victories in their respective events. Prokop and Kintner have already sewn up the 2006 World Cup titles, even with the September 9-10 World Cup finals in Schladming, Austria, remaining. Prokop was dominant in the men’s

With a single Swiss flag hanging from the tallest of three flagpoles, a trio of Switzerland’s top young talents stood as their country’s national anthem — Sweitzerpsalm — played in honor of their sweep of the world junior cross-country championships on Thursday. Standing proudly in the crowd, 1996 world champion Thomas Frischknecht — Switzerland’s elder statesman of mountain-bike racing — couldn’t contain his tears. “We have a lot of riders who are already accomplished by the time they come to the junior level,” explained Frischknect, as to why his country’s junior ranks are so deep. “We

If the 2006 World Mountain-bike Championships were to have a poster boy, Clinton Avery would be the local’s choice. While Kiwi cross-country star Kashi Leuchs may garner the brunt of his country’s attention, Avery is Rotorua’s hero. The hulking 18-year old is a long-time member of the New Zealand national cycling team (both road and mountain), and the best up-and-coming mountain-bike racer in this small island nation. As a born-and-raised Rotoruan, Avery is the pride and joy of his community — especially of late. As the 2006 games got underway, Avery’s face graced the cover of the local

Ren Chengyuan and Ying Liu ushered in a new era for Chinese women’s cycling Wednesday, as the duo annihilated the field in the debut world U-23 women’s cross-country championships, in Rotorua, New Zealand. Chengyuan, the current U-23 points leader in the World Cup, took the win and the rainbow stripes, crossing the line with a 1:38 gap on her teammate. The win marks the first-ever world mountain-bike championship win for China. The closest pursuer, Sarah Koba of Switzerland, finished nearly five minutes in arrears. Tereza Hurikova of the Czech Republic, winner of last year’s junior world

New Zealand's winter weather on Tuesday offered up a wet and chilly combination before 14 teams took on the first event of the 2006 World Mountain Bike Championships, the 9.2-mile team relay, won in solid fashion by a strong and consistent Swiss team. Held near Rotorua, a geothermal resort community on New Zealand's north island, the world's got off to a somewhat stormy start on Tuesday as a strong downpour and subsequent ice storm left the course on the slopes of Mt. Ngongotaha covered with a glaze of slick mud. Conditions, however, did nothing to slow the Swiss team of Florian

It’s been 17 years since the world mountain bike championships debuted in Durango, Colorado. Since then, the discipline’s marquee event has ventured out of the mountains of North American and Europe only once, for the 1996 world’s in Cairns, Australia. For 2006, the world’s again head south of the Equator, this time to the resort town of Rotorua, on New Zealand’s north island, where a host of championship events will run through Sunday. The move underscores the UCI’s professed commitment to develop mountain-bike racing outside of traditional European and North American markets. The sport’s

Two-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist Julien Absalon of France is the man to beat in the world mountain-bike cross-country championships this week in Rotorua, New Zealand. Absalon, who won the European title at the end of July, heads the field contesting the 6km course along with third-ranked Jose Hermida (Spain) and second-ranked Christoph Sauser (Switzerland). The top-ranked woman in the cross-country is world and Olympic champion Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Norway), who will be trying to fend off a field including second-ranked German Sabine Spitz and Irina Kalentieva of

Rich Houseman has stood atop podiums at bike races for more than 20 years — the 1985 world BMX champion, now 28, started competing when he was only 5 years old. But after a decade as a professional mountain-bike racer, "Big House" hadn’t stood atop a NORBA National Mountain Bike Series podium — that is, until he won the 2006 mountain-cross title on Sunday at Snowmass, Colorado. "I grew up basically with Eric Carter as my older brother, and watched him bring home a lot of No. 1 plates," said Houseman (Yeti Cycles). "Now I’ve got mine. It makes for a good career." Houseman came into the NMBS

The names of the Luna Chix women’s mountain-bike team are displayed on the side of the blue team trailer. Beneath each name are stickers to record the victories each rider has scored at an NMBS event. Before Saturday’s cross-country race at the finals in Snowmass, Colorado, Argentina’s Jimena Florit was the only Luna pro without a win sticker below her name. “It’s inside motivation that we get from [team manager] Waldek [Stepniowski], and it’s been working,” said Florit. The Argentine wanted her victory sticker bad enough to stretch her first-lap solo attack into a solid win. The Luna

It’s been three months since the 2006 NORBA National Mountain Bike Series debuted in California’s dusty, industrial town of Fontana. This weekend the NMBS comes to a close at a contrasting setting — on the scenic, aspen-covered slopes of Snowmass, Colorado. The sixth event of the series, the NMBS finals run August 11-13, and feature cross-country and short track racing, as well as Super D, downhill, mountain cross and dual slalom. Organizers expect between 1000-1200 riders to fill the trails at Snowmass this weekend, making it the second-largest national race of the year behind the event

Melissa Buhl absolutely owned the women’s gravity races at the August 4-6 National Mountain Bike Series event at Brian Head, Utah. The 24-year-old won the dual slalom, then picked up a victory in the downhill, beating World Cup talents Sabrina Jonnier (Monster-Ironhorse) and Tracey Hannah (Orange). The wins came during a crucial point in the season for the 2005 national downhill champion. Buhl set out on an ambitious schedule for ‘06, hitting full the World Cup, NMBS and Jeep King of the Mountains series. The going was rough, to say the least. After the World Cup opener, the airlines lost

Just hours before the start of Saturday’s dual slalom at the No. 5 NORBA National Mountain Bike Series race in Brian Head, Utah, veteran gravity racer John Kirkcaldie announced his pending retirement from mountain-bike racing. "I’m getting too old for this," said the 30-year-old Kiwi, who admitted he had contemplated ending his 11-year career several times over the past two seasons. Kirkaldie (Maxxis) appeared motivated by his impromptu announcement, and rode like a man possessed, fighting his way past Cody Warren (C-Dub Racing) and Andrew Neethling (Mongoose) and into the finals of the dual

In preparation for the August 5-6 NORBA National Mountain Bike Series stop at Brian Head, Utah, husband-and-wife duo Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Heather Irmiger borrowed the Irmiger family pickup and headed to Winter Park, Colorado, for a quick high-altitude training camp. The regimen included staving off mosquitos, shooting slingshots and a few epic training rides through the Rocky Mountain backcountry. "We just wanted to have fun, and it worked out because the riding was great," Irmiger said. "I had a pretty awesome bonk one day. I broke my derailleur and ran out of water and food. Jeremy

The 2006 National Mountain Bike Series holds its fifth event of the year this weekend, as the series returns for a second-consecutive year to remote Brian Head, Utah. The venue hosts the full spectrum of NMBS events: cross-country, short track, downhill, dual slalom, Super D and marathon cross-country. Located 200 miles east of Las Vegas, about an hour’s drive from St.George, the Brian Head ski resort rises above 11,000 feet elevation, and towers above the Western Utah town of Parowan. The area is best known for Cedar Breaks, a picturesque system of sedimentary rock canyons whose stratified

Marga Fullana scored a big victory over the seemingly unbeatable Gunn-Rita Dahle by taking gold in Sunday’s European mountain bike championships in Italy. The rail-thin Spanish rider from Mallorca took 1:31 out of the Norwegian dominator to claim her biggest win in years. “I dedicate this win to all those who kept believing in me,” said Fullana, who scored silver at the Sydney Olympic Games, but faded out of the picture following a string of personal problems. “I have demonstrated that I am still here, that I have fully recovered and have confidence I can return to be on the highest steps of

Sao Paolo, Brazil (July 29, 2006)—The United States Cycling Team capturedthree world championships and added four more medals to its medal countSaturday as the 2006 UCI BMX World Championships continued with cruiserclass competition.Donny Robinson (Napa, Calif.) and Danny Caluag (Chino, Calif.) providedthe highlight of the day for Team USA as the duo threw a 1-2 punch in theelite men’s race to capture a world title and a silver medal respectively. Amanda Geving (Largo, Fla.) rode to a gold medal in the junior women’scategory and Joe Sowers III (Glendale, Ariz.) won the junior men’s

One year after he was forced to pull out because of gastro-intestinal issues and exhaustion, Chris Eatough (Trek-Volkswagen) claimed the solo National 24-hour Championship, beating second-place Nat Ross (Subaru-Gary Fisher) by one lap. Held at the 24-Hours of Nine Mile in Wasau, Wisconsin, organizers had to call the race after 22 and 1/2 hours because of severe thunderstorms. Eatough had lapped the field by that time, and was declared the winner. Taking the women’s race was Rebecca Rusch. Check back for a complete report from VeloNews.com's Fred Dreier. 2006 NORBA NATIONAL 24 HOUR

It’s been a while since VeloNews.com provided a Fred’s-Eye View of the domestic mountain-bike scene. It could have something to do with that skinny-tire race that’s been going on in France — but the fat-tire crowd has been throwing down, too. USA Cycling crowned some new champions July 13-16 out in sweaty Sonoma County, California, and more than a few newcomers made themselves players. Infineon Raceway was the stage, and I came back home with a camera full of snapshots and a tape recorder bursting with audio clips. Here are a few snippets from four days of dust, sun and fat tires. Ryan

Barry Wicks capped a winning weekend for the Kona-Les Gets squad, taking the men’s pro short track on Sunday at the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships in Sonoma, California. It was the first mountain-bike national championship win for the 24-year old Oregonian, who now resides in Santa Cruz, California.

Eric Carter (Mongoose) nailed the start and withstood a hard-charging Brian Lopes to defend his national mountain-cross championship at the 2006 USA Cycling National Mountain Bike Championships. The 36-year-old Carter, who hails from Temecula, California, was more than one second slower than Lopes in qualifying, but perfectly timed the dropping of the start gate to grab an advantage on the reigning world champion in the finals. Surprisingly, Lopes chose the outside lane in the finals, giving Carter the inside. "Luckily I was able to shut him down because we all know that when Brian gets out

Ryan Trebon has made a name for himself as one of the fastest starters on the NORBA National Mountain Bike Series circuit — the 6-foot, 7-inch rider likes to fire his afterburners early, and then try to hold on. Sometimes the tactic pays off — Trebon took the NMBS No. 3 short track at Mount Snow, Vermont, by soloing off the front early. However, more often than not, Trebon’s early suicide attacks have fizzled out long before the finish line. So when Trebon took a flyer on the first of four 7.9-mile laps during Friday’s national mountain-bike championships at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma,

Trek-Volkwagen’s endurance duo of Travis Brown and Chris Eatough dominated Thursday’s sweaty marathon national championships race, held at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. After disposing of Jay Henry (3D-Hillenbrand) on the third of eight laps, the two Trek riders spent the rest of the day riding together at the front. Brown was able to separate himself from cramping 24-hour champion Eatough midway through the final lap, and held his narrow 13-second advantage to the finish line. "The race was pretty conservative, but I felt totally dehydrated during the race, I drank 12 bottles

The 2006 U.S. National Mountain Bike Championships kicks off today at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, with the 56-mile marathon cross-country. Always a favorite of endurance freaks, pain gluttons and adventure-style riders, Thursday’s race spins seven laps around the same 7.9-mile loop that will be used for Friday’s cross-country races. Race organizers admit that using the cross-country course for the marathon is not ideal. However, it is one of the many alternative plans that have arisen in the wake of the national championships being moved from Mammoth, California. Record snow

Canadian Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) and Czech Katerina Nash (Luna) have spent the better part of the 2006 season confirming their dominance in short-track cross-country racing. That’s why few were surprised when they crossed their respective finish lines, arms raised, to win at Sunday’s Deer Valley NORBA National Mountain Bike Series race, the fourth event of the 2006 NMBS calendar. Kabush now owns 11 NMBS short-track wins — more than any man in the history of the series. "Every one I start I want to win," Kabush said. "I’m not winning any cross-country races this year, but I still have the

There was no disputing who was the best male cross-country rider to hit the single-track during Saturday’s pro cross-country at the Deer Valley resort at Park City, Utah. NORBA National Mountain Bike Series leader Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher) gapped the men’s field on the first of four seven-mile laps and held on to win , the fourth event of the 2006 series by more than three minutes. “I was honestly surprised I felt as good as I did, because I trained more with Sonoma in mind,” he said, referring to the national championships July 15-16 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma,

Last year saw 23-year-old Aussie sensation Jared Graves blaze through round after round of NMBS downhill and mountain cross. By year’s end, Graves had both series in his pocket, not to mention a second-place finish at the world championships in Livigno, Italy, behind American Brian Lopes. Graves has shifted his attention to the World Cup for 2006, and sits second in the four-cross standings behind 2003 world champion Michal Prokop (Author) of the Czech Republic. But Graves has something this year he couldn’t quite find last season — a World Cup win. The Aussie very nearly won the downhill at

Jill Kintner and Michal Prokop won the first stop of the 2006 Jeep King of the Mountains Mountain Biking World Professional Championships on Saturday in San Luis Obispo, California. The Czech Republic’s Prokop, 25, who has won four of the first five races of the 2006 UCI World Cup this season, defeated three-time world champ Brian Lopes in the final round. Kintner, who like Prokop is 25 and has four UCI World Cup wins under her belt, defeated 2005 NORBA downhill champ Melissa Buhl. Competitors in the Jeep series start on separate prongs of a Y-shaped course that converges in midrace,

Gravity racers hopped in their trucks and headed west Friday afternoon, driving 45 miles from Deer Valley, Utah — site of the fourth National Mountain Bike Series event for 2006 — to West Jericho, a suburb of Salt Lake City. The small, dusty town is home to the Rad Canyon BMX track, which hosted the mountain-cross competition. Rad Canyon is one of the best-known BMX venues in the country — it sits on the outskirts of a housing development, and routinely hosts the ABA National Championships. And the venue had most racers talking — but not about the long commute. “It looks like they have put

While most North American cycling enthusiasts have had their radar screens aimed toward southwest France, this weekend mountain-bike fans will focus on Utah’s Wasatch mountain range. That’s because the NORBA National Mountain Bike Series (NMBS) returns this weekend to Deer Valley ski resort in Park City, Utah. It’s the fourth of the six NMBS races held in 2006, and the first of three NMBS races to grace the high-altitude Rocky Mountain region. The weekend features the full schedule of NMBS events: cross-country, short track, marathon, downhill, super d and mountain cross. The cross-country,

Having struggled through disappointment on the 2006 World Cup circuit, reigning World Cup champ Christoph Sauser (Specialized) finally found victory on Sunday, winning the men’s cross-country at the Mont-Ste-Anne World Cup. "Oh, I struggled through the cold and mud of the last two races, it was not my type of conditions," said Sauser, who finished seventh at the third and fourth events in Spa Francorchamps, Belgium, and Fort William, Scotland. "I was not wanting to give up because I did not have a chance to win the World Cup [overall] anymore." But after a week of constant rain, the weather

Although he snapped his right ankle at the 2005 world championships only 10 months ago, Czech Mikal Prokop (Author) has assumed control of World Cup four-cross competition this year. The part-time BMX star continued his dominance Saturday at the No. 5 race in Mont-Ste-Anne, Quebec, winning all of his heats, including the finals. Prokop defeated Dutchman Jurg Meijer (Rabobank), Swiss Roger Rinderknecht (GT) and Brit Gee Atherton (Animal-Giant) to take his third World Cup victory of the year. "This year has been amazing so far," said Prokop, who lives and trains in Prague. "I had to go easy on

The UCI mountain-bike World Cup returns this weekend to the damp single-track at Mont-Ste-Anne, Quebec, a quaint ski resort roughly 30 miles outside of Quebec City, set on a steep hillside overlooking the St. Lawrence waterway. The June 24-25 Mont-Ste-Anne World Cup features competition for both the endurance and gravity squads – it’s the fifth of six cross-country races in the series, and the fourth of six gravity events. The World Cup weekend is the marquee event of a two-week bloc of mountain-bike racing at Mont-Ste-Anne. On June 11 the resort hosted the No. 3 Canada Cup downhill race;

Nothing snaps a rider out of a funk better or faster than logging his first ever big win, and doing it with some flair doesn’t hurt either. Ryan Trebon (Kona) nabbed his first NORBA series win with a dominating solo win in the pro men’s Short Track at the Mt. Snow NORBA, Sunday in West Dover, VT. Trebon set off of his ultimately race-winning odyssey with the sort of early-race flyer that often punctuates a short track but seldom leads to anything. Trebon opened a small gap after less than a full lap of the undulating circuit, but by the fourth lap the margin had swelled to over 20 seconds and

Enduring a painful shoulder separation in the final technical section proved no match for the skill and panache of former DH World Champion Greg Minaar (Team G-Cross Honda) at Sunday’s Mt. Snow NORBA downhill in West Dover, VT. Punching the pace, trying to make up for some lost time on the upper wide-open speed sections, Minaar ricocheted off one rock, an impact that dislocated his left shoulder, but hit the next rock hard enough to put the socket back into place. Likely not how he had drawn up the finals while riding the lift to the top, but good enough all the same to win the race from

Austria’s Alban Lakata (Specialized) and Finland’s Pia Sundstedt (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects) took the second round of the UCI World Cup marathon, held Saturday at Mont Ste Anne, Quebec. The course sent riders from downtown Quebec City spinning along fire roads to the Quebec ski resort, where athletes then tackled a 30 km loop around the venue. The win puts both Sundstedt and Lakata in first place in the marathon World Cup rankings. UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE MARATHON WORLD CUP NO. 2MONT STE ANNE, QUEBECJUNE 17, 2006Men1. Alban LAKATA (AUT); 85 KM in 4:10:422. Peter Riis ANDERSEN (DEN);

Like a pair of comfy old slippers, the ones you just can’t stop wearing no matter how threadbare they look to others, the Mount Snow cross-country course never ceases to evoke praise as one of the best race tracks on the world mountain bike circuit. Despite remaining largely unchanged over a decade of racing, the single-track rich perennial NORBA and former World Cup venue always seems to crown a deserving winner, one with the perfect combo of climbing form and technical descending skill. Race number three on the 2006 NORBA National Series Cross-country, June 17 in West Dover, Vermont, proved

After a day where he started off feeling like "he could have been in a body bag," Geoff Kabush rallied in the final lap of Sunday’s short-track competition to score his 10th win in that category during the second round of the NORBA National Mountain Bike Series in Banner Elk, North Carolina. During their approximately 20-minute/10-lap jaunt, the quartet of Kabush (Maxxis), Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher), Jeremiah Bishop (Trek-Volkswagen), and Ryan Trebon (Kona-Les Gets) passed around the lead while maintaining a 20-to-30-second gap on their nearest competition. Considering how

Despite the murmurs about rain heard up and down the course at the Sugar Mountain Ski Resort in Banner Elk, North Carolina, the second leg of this year’s NORBA national mountain bike series got under way Saturday under optimal conditions. Beginning just after high noon, the pro men took off across the gravelly start for the first of four loops around the 6.6-mile course. But the shape of the race remained essentially static once the riders got to the top of the first lap and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher) launched an attack into the single-track. JHK kept the small gap he had on

Summer may be coming up, but the 2006 NORBA National Championship Series is headed back to the ski slopes this weekend at Sugar Mountain Ski Resort in Banner Elk, North Carolina. The resort, which has run its Showdown at Sugar event for more than a decade, steps into the national arena for the first time as it plays host to the second NCS event of the year June 8-11. Some 1200 riders are expected throughout the various classifications. The downhill riders will cast off from Sugar's 5300-foot peak, while cross-country racers will tackle a 6.6-mile loop. "Hopefully it'll be fairly

World Cup leaders Michal Prokop (Author) and Jill Kintner (GT) didn’t lose a single heat en route to their respective finals during the 4-cross on Sunday in Fort Willliam, Scotland. In the downhill, meanwhile, Australian Sam Hill (Monster-Iron Horse MadCatz) took the win and the series lead, while Tracy Moseley (Kona Les Gets) topped the women’s competition. Gravity events are definitely the crowd favorites in Fort William, with thousands braving rain and below-average temperatures to stand in the mud for hours and cheer the riders on. After a torrential rain soaked the cross-country,

The first triple of the Mountain Bike World Cup takes place this weekend in Fort William, Scotland. This is race No. 4 in the cross-country series, and No. 2 for the gravity riders. The cross-country and 4-Cross events take place on Saturday, with the downhill on Sunday. Training had been less than enjoyable Friday, with constant rain and cold wind. Weather forecasts call for it to clear overnight and warm up considerably for the rest of the weekend. The circuit used for the cross-country is almost identical to past years. Despite the rain and mud, riders report that the whole course is

In a repeat of last weekend's World Cup in Madrid, reigning Olympic and world champions Julien Absalon and Gunn-Rita Dahle each earned convincing cross-country wins on a muddy Sunday at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium. With three of six races now complete, Absalon (Bianchi-Agos) has a commanding 225-point lead over Bart Brentjens (Giant) in the overall standings. Dahle (Multivan-Merida), who's won all three World Cups this year, is 260 points up on German Sabine Spitz (Specialized). A win is worth 250 points. The victory brings Dahle's career total to 25, leaving her just three

Two weeks after the Giro d’Italia kicked off here in southeastern Belgium, the World Cup mountain bike circuit has come to Wallonia for the third stop of the six-race cross-country series. Following a full slate of junior and amateur racing Saturday, both the pro men and pro women will do battle Sunday at Spa Francorchamps. The ladies are first up at 11 a.m. local time, with the men to follow at 2 p.m. The big buzz during the lead-up to the race was the expected size of both fields. In Madrid last weekend 212 men toed the start line, with 108 women showing up for the women’s race. With

Gunn-Rita Dahle (Multivan-Merida) once again made it a race for second place in the Madrid women’s cross-country race, but the all-powerful Norwegian is finally finding some challengers nipping at her heels. Dahle dropped a revived Marga Fullana (Spiuk-Illes Balears) on the first of five laps and then held off a late charge by nemesis Marie-Helene Premont (Rocky Mountain) to win for the second time this World Cup season. "This course is so fast you can never let up even for a moment or they’ll get you back," Dahle said after winning in 1:39:11. "I thought maybe I went out too hard and I was

Timing is everything, especially on a fast, high-speed course in Madrid’s Casa de Campo, where passing lanes are as rare as they are on a Spanish mountain highway. Reigning world champion Julian Absalon (Bianchi) took some choice words of advice from his coach in the closing half-kilometer and sneaked past arch-rival Christoph Sauser (Specialized) to secure victory Sunday in the second round of the men’s World Cup mountain bike series. "I tried to drop him on the final hard climb, but he was too strong and I thought it would be a sprint, but my coach told me to get past him in the last flat

After a six-week hiatus, the cross-country mountain bike World Cup starts up again this weekend in Madrid. The long gap from the season-opener in Curaçao, in the Caribbean, means that everyone is starting from scratch, as far as knowing who is on form. Extremely large fields and a very hard, fast course also mean that a good start (and start position) will be crucial to doing well. The Madrid circuit, held in the Casa de Campo park just outside of the city central core, is well known for being extremely fast and dusty. Some of the descents are packed so hard that there are black skid marks

Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, will host the 2006 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships July 13-16 as part of the Infineon Technologies Cougar Mountain Classic. Originally planned for the following weekend, the 2006 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships have been moved up one week after a record amount of snowfall forced the event's relocation from Mammoth Mountain last month.

Our friends over at the Urban Dictionary (www.urbandictionary.com) have come up with a few definitions for two-time NORBA champion Geoff Kabush’s last name: 1. Kabush(1) The sound of an explosion(2) What you say when something explodes(3) When you are about to f.s.o. up. You show him the fingerA: Kabush!B: You are about to get kabushedC: This building exploded and I was like 'Kabuuuuush' After watching Kabush’s performance at Sunday’s short-track cross-country during the NORBA National Mountain Bike Series opener in Fontana, California, I think they hit the nail on the head. While

The 2006 NORBA National Mountain Bike Series kicks off today at Southridge Park in Fontana, a small city just west of San Bernadino in Southern California’s Inland Empire. Unlike the previous two NMBS openers, which featured solely cross-country racing, the Fontana NMBS hosts the full spectrum of endurance and gravity events: marathon cross-country, cross-country, short-track cross-country, downhill, mountain-cross and super D. This is the first time the NMBS series will grace the dry, dusty California town, which is also home to the California motor speedway. Fontana has hosted its own

Due to massive snowfall on Mammoth Mountain this winter, USA Cycling will be relocating its 2006 Mountain Bike National Championships, scheduled for July 20-23. After a record 664 inches of snow fell this season, Mammoth Mountain has reported a base depth of nearly 20 feet as of May 1 – a figure that ultimately put the resort’s ability to host a national-championship-caliber event in jeopardy.

The domestic Cannondale mountain-bike team has inked a three-year sponsorship deal with Bear Naked Granola, a natural-food company out of Darien, Connecticut. The cash sponsorship begins in mid-season for the Cannondale team, which sponsors more than 40 professional and amateur racers. "This deal is going to allow us to run the team at a greater level than we have the past two years," said team director Matt Jewett. "We already have a team that brings a lot to domestic racing. This will allow us to bring the personalities and performance of our team outside of the bike industry." The deal

It’s a rainy morning at San Jose International airport, and more thana few skinny, tan-lined travelers are sporting the Sea Otter hangover look.It’s an easy look to spot — the sunspots under the eyes, chapped lips andthat familiar blank bicycle-overload stare are dead giveaways. But thisyear an additional telltale sign is there — huge rings of dried, chunkymud still clinging to pants, shirts and shoes. Yep, the month of rain thatbattered NorCal in March turned every inch of the Otter into a muddy, shoe-eating quagmire. The slop was darn thick too. It found its way intomy pockets, pant legs,

Great Britain’s Liam Killeen (Specialized) has spent the first months of 2006 proving that, when he’s on form, few athletes can stand in his way. In March, he scored a big win at the March Commonwealth Games in New Zealand. Last week, he finished third at the World Cup opener in Curaçao, And on Sunday, Killeen scored a decisive victory in the Sea Otter Classic cross-country. "I never really felt that in trouble during the race," said the muddy Brit after finishing. "I’m really happy with my early season form at the moment. It’s all coming together." It was another Commonwealth rider —Chris

American Olympian Mary McConneloug (Seven-Kenda) and Swiss star Ralph Naef (Multivan-Merida) won Friday’s second stage of the Sea Otter Classic pro mountain-bike race, a two-mile time trial. While warm temperatures and sunshine brought a bit of relief to the waterlogged Laguna Seca staging area, they did little to dry out the hilly, two-mile time-trial circuit around the mountain-cross and dual-slalom courses. Standing water concealed many large, muddy holes that sent even seasoned veterans tumbling into the goo. The surprise of the day came in the women’s time trial, where two-time world

European riders dominated the first day of racing at the 2006 Sea Otter Classic as Frenchman Jean-Christoph Peraud (Orbea) and Norway’s Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesja easily won Thursday’s super cross-country event. Held on the Laguna Seca speedway’s tarmac and on soggy double-track on the surrounding hillsides, the super-XC proved to be a sloppy kickoff to the four-stage cross-country competition. Heavy rain helped transform the course’s off-road sections into impassable quagmires midway through the women’s event. Large holes and hub-deep mud stopped racers dead in their tracks, forcing men and

A gang of fat gray clouds loitered above Laguna Seca Raceway on Wednesday as vendors, team managers and riders prepared for Thursday’s opening of the 2006 Sea Otter Classic. Like clockwork, the skies burst at 4 p.m., pelting the saturated Central Coast hill country with yet another driving rain. Nobody was surprised. Why? Because Northern California has endured its second-wettest March since 1850. Nary a day has passed without rain for more than three weeks. The hills around Laguna Seca display a deep greenish hue overlaying a soggy, muddy base. The dirt infield sports a thick layer of mud.