ROUND 3
Deer Valley, UTAH
30th June - 1st July 2001
Downhill & Dual
Repo by Paul Skilbeck

Downhill
TWO IN A ROW FOR GIOVE AND PEAT

Missy Giove and Steve Peat again went fastest on a difficult course in dry, dusty conditions to win the pro women's and men's downhill events on the final day of competition at round three of the Chevy Trucks NORBA National Championship Mountain Bike Series at Deer Vally Resort, Utah.

The 2.2 mile Deer Valley track was praised by the world's top riders for its design and obstacles. Stephan Girard, the manager of the Vouilloz Racing team, pointed out that the most challenging downhill courses are now found in North America, which is partly why seven times world champion Vouilloz chose to compete here rather than at the European championships this weekend.

Steve Peat, Great Britain (GT), after winning round two one week ago was clearly the best again today, finishing almost three seconds faster than second-placed Vouilloz. Towards the end of his run, however, Peat was almost thrown off his bike and for an instant was hanging on in the Superman position.

Chris Kovarik of Australia extended his lead in the series with a third place, which he earned despite crashing near the mid-point. The top US rider is Todd Leduc, Cherry Valley, Calif. (Foes/Azonic) in fourth position overall.

Missy Giove, Durango, Colo. (Global Racing) predicted that if she hit form on her run, she would be untouchable on this dry, dusty medium-altitude course. She reported having some scary moments, but her descent of the track was fast enough to earn her a second consecutive win in the five-race series.

Elke Brutsaert, Durango, Colo. (Schwinn) took second place in a return to form after a bruising crash in practice prior to round one of the series, at Snow Summit Resort, Big Bear, Calif. on 3 June.

Giove's win today extended her series lead over second placed Marla Streb, San Geronimo, Calif. (Foes/Azonic), who today finished sixth.

QUOTES - Women

Missy Giove, Durango, Colo. (Global Racing) - 1st place
"I screamed like a girl!" (at one point when she thought she was about to crash).
"I was out of control, it's really hard to put it together, I didn't have a clean run."
"Since I was the only member of the Global Racing team here, I'd say it was a good representation of my team!"
"This is a great course because it's fast and it's technical. World Cup courses are getting faster and less technical to make it look faster and have closer finishes, which is better for TV."

Elke Brutsaert, Durango, Colo. (Schwinn) - 2nd place
"I felt good on the course. As my run progressed I felt more and more confident."
"I'm finally feeling better now, the past few days have been the first time in weeks I haven't felt discomfort in my ribs."
"I came into this season just as fit and just as confident as last year, but one big crash can change everything. I'm scared to death of certain situations. This course doesn't have any of those 'do or die' sections that
I'm scared to death of."

Leigh Donovan, Capistrano Beach, Calif. (Schwinn) - 3rd place
"I kept losing my rear end. It felt like my rear tire was a little bit flat. I knew it wasn't a winning run, but I thought it would be good enough for top five."
"I think it's cool to have different kinds of courses and for us to ride the range of riding. Because we get such a wide range of riding we're going to be strong at the world's this year, but it's good for all racers to have wider experience."

QUOTES - Men
Steve Peat, Sheffield, Great Britain (GT) - 1st place
(Asked where he thought he may have won the race) "All the way down. You've got to be smooth and ride all the lines right. And the course has been changing constantly over the past few days."
"I'm super-confident in general, although I was a little bit nervous before the race, because these conditions are not really what I ride normally - whereas Nicolas Vouilloz and those guys are more used to it."
"The altitude and dust makes it particularly difficult - I'm not used to either of those."

Nicolas Vouilloz, Nice, France (Vouilloz Racing) - 2nd place
(On his first visit to a NORBA series event) "There are many people here to watch the race, and I like this kind of track. The event looks really professional. I'm happy to have come here to race."
"My run was good, but compared to Steve Peat's time this morning (in the qualifying run), it was not enough. He will do a 3:40 - 3:42."

Chris Kovarik, Carrara, Australia (Intense/Foes) - 3rd place
"I was a lot faster compared to the qualifier, but in the final run I had a crash in the rock garden. I was off my bike for five seconds. When you have a crash like that you always get back on and try harder to make up time."
(On his streak of good form this year) "It's like Christmas! I get a podium result every weekend! Racing against Nicolas Vouilloz and Steve Peat here this weekend is especially good."

RESULTS, ROUND 3, DEER VALLEY RESORT, UTAH, 28 JUNE - 1 JULY 2001

TOP TEN RESULTS - WOMEN
1. MISSY GIOVE, Durango, Colo (Global Racing) 2.2 miles in 4 minutes, 23.5 seconds
2. Elke Brutsaert, Durango, Colo. (Schwinn), 4:26.85
3. Leigh Donovan, Capistrano Beach, Calif. (Schwinn), 4:31.15
4. Kathy Pruitt, Lake Almanor, Calif. (Dirt Works), 4:35.48
5. Katja Repo, Finland, (GT), 4:36.07;
6. Marla Streb, Chatsworth, Calif. (Foes/Azonic), 4:38.53
7. Melissa Buhl, Chandler, Ariz. (ODI/JHS), 4:48.29
8. Tara Llanes, Newport Beach, Calif. (Yeti/Pearl Izumi), 4:49.45
9. Lisa Sher, Capistrano Beach, Calif. (Chumba/Azonic), 4:53.36
10. Cheri Elliott, El Dorado Hills, Calif (ODI/Azonic), 4:56.99

Series overall - top five women
1. Missy Giove, 586 points; 2. Marla Streb, 514 points; 3. Leigh Donovan, 500 points; 4. April Lawyer, 454 points; 5. Tara Llanes, 446 points

TOP TEN RESULTS - MEN
1. STEVE PEAT, Great Britain (GT) 2.2 miles in 3 minutes, 40.67 seconds
2. Nicolas Vouilloz, France (Vouilloz Racing), 3:43.36
3. Chris Kovarik, Australia, (Intense/Foes), 3:45.40
4. John Kirkcaldie, New Zealand, (Maxxis Tires), 3:48.94;
5. Todd Leduc, Cherry Valley, Calif. (Foes/Azonic), 3:53.91
6. Eric Carter, Temecula, Calif. (Mongoose/Hyundai), 3:53.54
7. Michael Ronning, Australia (Intense/Foes), 3:53.70
8. Shaums March, Santa Barbara, Calif. (Chumba Wumba), 3:53.84
9. Gary Houseman, Temecula, Calif. (Tomac), 3:55.69
10. Jared Rando, Australia, (Foes/Azonic), 3:56.22

Series overall - top five men
1. Chris Kovarik, 504 points; 2. John Kirkcaldie, 440 points; 3. Jared Rando, 434 points; 4. Todd Leduc, 422; 5. Steve Peat, 400 points

Dual

PARK CITY (Ut.), 30 June 2001 - Michael Deldycke (Schwinn) of France took over the series lead on a night when Leigh Donovan (Schwinn) Capistrano Beach, Calif., took her third straight win, and Eric Carter (Mongoose/Hyundai) Temecula, Calif., surprised himself to emerge as the winner of the night under hot evening sun at Deer Valley Resort in the round three of the SoBe Dual Slalom discipline of the Chevy Trucks National Off-Road Bicycling Association National Championships Mountain Bike Series.

After working his way through the stellar men's field that included world champions Mike King (Haro/Lee Dungarees) San Diego, Calif., Brian Lopes (GT/Fox) Temecula, Calif., and Nicolas Vouilloz (Vouilloz Racing), Carter defeated the fast Chris Kovarik (Intense) Australia, in the final heat for the win.

The battle for third and fourth between Brian Lopes (GT/Fox) Temecula, California, and Michael Deldycke was the key contest of the event, since this decided the series leader. Deldycke came back in the second run, beating Lopes for third place.

Leigh Donovan in great form, was barely challenged and in the final overcame Tara Llanes (Yeti/Pearl Izumi) Newport Beach, Calif., in the finals. Tai-Le Muxlowe (Dirtworks) Australia, found herself against Katja Repo (Team GT) Finland, in a surprise match-up for third place. Katja confidently raced her way into a bronze medal while Katja took forth in her first appearance in the NORBA dual slalom series this year.

QUOTES

Leigh Donovan -
"This win was awesome but nothing will top my Big Bear win - in front of my family and all. This course was good, though I'm not much of a berm-girl!"

Eric Carter -
"This course was really easy to make mistakes on, as everyone did. You had to ride well and be able to make it up when you slipped."

Men Results:
1. Eric Carter, Temecula, Calif. (Mongoose/Hyundai)
2. Chris Kovarik, Australia (Intense)
3. Michael Deldycke, France, (Schwinn)
4. Brian Lopes, Laguna Beach, Calif. (GT/Fox)

Women Results:
1. Leigh Donovan, Capistrano Beach, Calif. (Schwinn)
2. Tara Llanes, Newport Beach, Calif. (Yeti/Pearl Izumi)
3. Katja Repo, Finland (GT)
4. Tai-Le Muxlowe, Australia (Dirt Works)

Overall Series results after three of five rounds (top five)
Men
1. Michael Deldycke, 420 points,
2. Brian Lopes, 380
3. Eric Carter, 360
4. Wade Bootes, Australia (Trek/Volkswagen), 340
5. Chris Kovarik, Australia (Intense)

Women
1. Leigh Donovan, 600 points
2. Tara Llanes, 500
3. Katrina Miller, 400
4. Missy Giove, 320
5. Cheri Elliott, 240