March 14, 2004
CLICK HERE FOR JEREMIAH BISHOP WACO INTERVIEW
Waco, Texas - Jeremiah Bishop (Harrisonburg,
W.Va.) became the first American in three years to win a men's NORBA National
Mountain Bike Series cross country event, taking a significant step in
his quest for a spot on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team. Despite suffering an
eleventh hour flat tire with one kilometer remaining in the race, Bishop
managed to hold off Geoff Kabush (CAN) for his first significant victory
on the pro circuit.
In the women's event, Alison Dunlap (Colorado Springs, Colo.) clearly showed
that she is as strong as ever after riding to a win in her first cross country
race since suffering a season-ending injury last June. Dunlap escaped from the
remainder of the field with Canada's Alison Sydor early in the race and won a
two-up sprint to gain valuable UCI points necessary in her pursuit of an Olympic
berth.
The men's race, which consisted of three laps of a seven mile loop through Waco's
Cameron Park, started off quickly as riders jockeyed for position before the
opening stretch of pavement led them into the narrow single-track section of
the course that featured short power climbs and technical descents. A natural
selection of eight riders quickly formed and included Bishop, Jeremy-Horgan Kobelski
(Boulder, Colo.) local rider, Jason Sager (Austin, Texas) and five Canadians,
Kabush, Ryder Hesjedal, Seamus McGrath, Max Plaxton, and Roland Green. Riding
steadily behind the eight leaders were Todd Wells (Durango, Colo.) and U23 National
Team rider, John Devine (Dixon, Ill.).
As the race continued to unfold, a number of factors would become important as
riders like Horgan-Kobelski and Bishop were gunning for a win to help their cause
for Olympic selection, while McGrath was looking to tie up the general classification
and others were looking for the prestige of winning a NORBA National.
Near the end of the second lap, Bishop and Kabush had managed to open up a gap
and the lead group shattered just behind. Horgan-Kobelski managed to lay claim
to a solid third place position 40 seconds behind the leaders and 20 seconds
ahead of the Canadians as the third and final lap began.
Recognizing the importance of leading into the single-track section on the bell
lap, Bishop skipped his final opportunity for a feed just before the pavement
turned to dirt and held a few second advantage over Kabush. Bishop kept the pressure
on throughout the downhill and emerged from the descent with a five second gap
just as near disaster struck in the form of a front flat. Keeping his focus,
Bishop rode the final kilometer with the disadvantage, but managed to hang on
for the win.
Afterwards, the fastest rising star on the American mountain bike circuit who
rose to a level of national recognition after a solid 2003 season that included
the highest American placing at the World Championships, Bishop commented on
the race. “It was a hard day right from the gun,” he said. “I was lucky to be
in the front group at the beginning of the race because it was so fast. In the
end, I decided against better judgment to get to the single-track first and not
take a feed. Geoff was just behind me on that last downhill so I tried to put
the pressure on and came out of it with a few second advantage. Then, after the
flat I just kept my head down and rode as hard as I could to the finish.
Kabush's strong performance was enough to move him into the overall lead, thus
taking the victory in the 2004 NORBA National Mountain Bike Series opener which
was contested in a stage race format along with Friday's time trial and Saturday's
short track race. Bishop however received first place E2 category UCI points
that were allotted for the day's win.
A determined Dunlap kept her sights focused on UCI points today as she sprinted
for the win in the women's cross-country event. Essentially a two-woman race
for both laps of the same seven-mile circuit, Dunlap and Sydor broke away early
on and maintained a minute and a half gap over Willow Koerber (Horseshoe, N.C.)
and Katarina Hanusova (CZE).
Both key players had something on the line, as Sydor wanted the overall win and
Dunlap is on the comeback trail. By the beginning of lap two, Sydor and Dunlap
had a 2 minute gap on Koerber, Hanusova, and Kiara Bisaro (CAN). Sue Haywood
worked her way up and took fifth over Bisaro who finished seventh behind Chrissy
Redden (CAN).
“Right now I'm just picking off UCI points one race at a time,” Dunlap said afterwards. “It
was fun riding with Alison and I'm thrilled because it seemed like I had twice
as many fans on the course since half of them were cheering for her.”
Sydor was able to hold on to her overall win and Dunlap took second overall.