March 14, 2004
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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.
