ROUND 4
Mammoth Mountain, Ca
21st -22nd July 2001
Downhill & Dual
Repo by Paul Skilbeck

Downhill

Barel Keeps GT on Top in Downhill; Giove Delivers Again

With World Cup leader Steve Peat (GT/Chevy Trucks) recovering from a separated shoulder, Frenchman Fabien Barel carried the GT flag to the podium with a narrow win at the fourth stop of the Chevy Trucks NORBA National Championship Mountain Bike Series.

WOMEN
Missy Giove (Team Global) came off a rare quarter-final elimination in dual slalom to win the women's downhill. Giove posted the fastest qualifying time and then matched it in the final to win. While her time stayed roughly the same, her challengers came close to beating her. Second place finisher Katja Repo (GT) came within a half-second of Giove and Leigh Donovan was 5 Seconds back to place third. Marla Streb (Foes/Azonic) was fourth fastest and 19-year-old Danni Connolly (Karpiel) in fifth rounded out the podium.

MEN
The men's downhill saw Nathan Rennie (Yeti/Pearl Izumi), riding in the early ranks, post a 4:07 and take the hot seat as the fastest rider. He stayed there while 26 riders tried to beat him. Finally South Africa's Greg Minnaar (Global) knocked him off with a 4:03.

Minnaar's teammate Mick Hannah ripped down the course, having to brake once when baulked by a spectator on the course. He also recovered from hitting his head on a tree during the qualifying run, in which he finished second. Nonetheless he delivered an eye-popping 4:00.17 to take the hot seat.

World Champion Myles Rockwell (Giant) had a poor run. Frenchman Mickael Pascal (B1 Mountain Bikes) posted a 4:05, fast enough for fourth place. Then all eyes watched as the last rider to start, Fabien Barel accelerated down the lower portion of the course. His midway split was nearly three seconds slower than Hannah.

In qualifiers he had posted a 4:04, so many wondered if he could win. "I tried to go easy on the top. Because I knew the bottom was a little flat. So I saved, I saved, and tried to run as clean as I could," said Barel, 20 . "I just kept the maximum energy and when I arrived near the end of the course I just went 100 percent." Barel hit the finish as the only rider to break the four-minute barrier with a 3:59.24, just .92 faster than Hannah.

RACE NOTES

The highest placed U.S.A male on the day was Richard Houseman (Tomac) in ninth place. The top U.S.A. rider in the series was neither defending World Champion Myles Rockwell nor defending U.S. Champion Eric Carter (Mongoose). That honor, with one race to go, is 23-year-old Todd Leduc (Foes/Azonic), who has a 22-point advantage over Carter after four races.

Encouraging for the future of downhill racing was the number of young racers in top spots. In the pro women's race, three teenagers, Danni Connolly (Karpiel), Melissa Buhl (ODI/KHS), and Kathy Pruitt (DirtWorks) all finished in the top 10. In the pro men's race, four of the five podium finishers were aged under 23, including Barel, 20; Hannah, 17; Minnaar, 19; and Pascal, 21. Six of the top seven and 11 of the top 20 were all under 23 years of age.

RESULTS

Pro Women Downhill

1.MISSY GIOVE, New York, N.Y., (Global), 4:36.43;
2. Katja Repo, Finland (GT/Chevy Trucks) @ 0.65;
3. Leigh Donovan, Capistrano Beach, Calif., (Schwinn) @ 5.64;
4. Marla Streb, Chatsworth, Calif. (Foes/Azonic) @8:35;
5. Danni Connolly, Novato, Calif. (Karpiel) @11.62;
6. Melissa Buhl, Chandler, Ariz., (ODI/KHS) @12.62;
7. April Lawyer, Big Bear Lake, Calif., (Maxxis) @13.17;
8. Elke Brutsaert, Durango, Colo. (Schwinn) @ 13.42;
9. Kathy Pruitt, Lake Almahor, Calif., (DirtWorks) @ 13.45;
10. Tara Llanes, Golden, Colo. (Yeti/Pearl Izumi) @14.19.

Pro Men Downhill

1. FABIEN BAREL, France, (GT/Chevy Trucks), 3:59.24;
2. Mick Hannah, Australia (Global) @ 0.92;
3. Greg Minnaar, South Africa (Global) @ 3.96;
4. Mickael Pascal, France, (B1 Mountain Bikes) @ 6.00;
5. John Kirkcaldie, New Zealand (Maxxis) @7.69;
6. Nathan Rennie, Australia, (Yeti/Pearl Izumi) @ 7.69;
7. Joel Panozzo, Australia, (SunRace/Santa Cruz) @ 8:48;
8. Michael Ronning, Australia, (Intense) @8.52;
9. Rich Houseman, Temecula, Calif. (Tomac) @8.95;
10. Sean McCarroll, Australia, (Global) @ 9.46.

Dual

Muxlow Scores Upset Win; Carter Repeats

Australia's Tai-Lee Muxlow (Dirt Works) scored a breakout victory in the women's pro dual slalom, knocking off her role models en route to the finals against Sabrina Jonnier (Intense). Eric Carter (Mongoose/Hyundai) repeated as dual slalom winner and moved into the series lead by beating Brian Lopes (Fox/GT) in the finals.

The dual course was constructed in the middle of the snowboard half-pipe foundations, giving the course a steep incline as well as some steeply banked berms.

Announcer Larry Longo praised the course designers for a high-speed course, carved into a deep half-pipe, that sparked great acrobatics. "You could roll a ball out of the gate and it would get all the way to the bottom," he said. "The course had a great flow to it."

WOMEN
Muxlow went airborne under the arch and delivered her patented head nod to punctuate her victory over France's Jonnier, and then rolled right into the arms of her mentor, Leigh Donovan (Schwinn). Having won three-straight Chevy Trucks NORBA National dual slaloms, Donovan was rocked by Jonnier in both runs of the semi-finals. With the fourth fastest qualifying time, Jonnier defeated Kathy Pruitt, Missy Giove (Global) and Donovan en route to the finals against the upstart Muxlow. Taking Donovan in both rides, she appeared unbeatable.

But Muxlow had gained enormous confidence on this roller coaster course. With just the seventh fastest qualifying time, she outraced Katja Repo (GT), the number two seed Katrina Miller (Jamis), and then the number three seed Tara Llanes (Yeti/Pearl Izumi) en route to the finals. "I had a pretty hard heat against Tara Llanes," said Muxlow.
"And after that, you know, you say, 'Hey, I can do this.'"

Muxlow bobbled a landing on the first run, recovered, but finished .404-seconds behind. In their second run, Muxlow delivered her best run of a good night. She roared away and took the victory with a slender margin. "It puts a big boost into (my confidence)," Muxlow said afterwards. "I was on at Big Bear but I had a big crash. I'm coming back from it."

MEN
The pro men's dual slalom saw the return of Mick Hannah (Global), the 17-year-old Australian who shocked all at the series opener winning both the downhill and dual slalom. The seasoned pros of this sport amplified their performances for both Team Global racers, Hannah and Greg Minnaar.

Eric Carter, with the third fastest qualifying time, had tough draws throughout the competition. He opened against Michael Ronning (Intense) then defeated Fabien Barel (GT) before facing Hannah in the quarter-finals.

For all his troubles, Carter got to face World Champion Wade Bootes (Trek/Volkswagen) in the semi-finals. Bootes took the first run with a gap of .123 seconds. Carter came back in the second run with enough of a gap to knock off Bootes. The world champion would have to settle for a consolation victory over Minnaar.

At the top of the brackets rode Brian Lopes, who had posted the fastest qualifying time. He defeated Aaron Peters (SunRace/Santa Cruz), Rich Houseman (Tomac), and Mikael Deldycke (Schwinn) en route to the semis, where he faced Minnaar. The Global rider scrubbed out his wheels in the loose pumice at the top of the course. Lopes easily advanced to the finals, where his luck would change.

In the first run, Lopes attacked the top of the course hard and dove into the half pipe. Emerging at the top, however, he lost control and crashed heavily. With the maximum 1.5-second advantage, the rider switched lanes. Carter rode conservatively but took Lopes all the way to the line to secure his second straight NORBA victory and a share of the lead with Lopes.

"That last run was probably the most relaxed, smoothest run of the night," said Carter. "I have a new, new equipment ... We're all coming together."

RACE NOTES
Shaums March (Chumba Wumba) took the night off but still held the stage. During the finals, he and several friends and family gathered in the infield of the race. And there he got married to Aleisha Kline (Chumba Wumba).

Women's Dual Slalom

1. Tai-Lee Muxlow (Dirtworks USA)
2. Sabrina Jonnier (RSP Import Intense)
3. Leigh Donovan (Schwinn)
4. Tara Llanes (Yeti/Pearl Izumi)

Men's Dual Slalom

1. Eric Carter (Mongoose)
2. Brian Lopes (Fox/GT)
3. Wade Bootes (Trek-Volkswagen)
4. Greg Minnaar (Global Racing Team)