August 14/99 5:01 am - Shandro Wins!

Posted by Editor on 08/14/99
 

Andrew Shandro is Back

Andrew Shandro (K2), has returned to the winners circle after a 2 year absence, to take his fourth men's downhill national title (he also won Å’94-'96). Eric Cseff, the winner for the past two years, was bumped into the silver medal position, while Chad Onyschuk (Ford-Devinci) made his first podium appearance in third place.

Just like the women's champion, Daamiann Skelton (Rocky Mountain), Shandro initially said "I think I went too conservative, and lost some time in the technical sections." Both he and Cseff agreed "the course was in perfect condition. It dried out really well, and was fast." "I had a couple of bobbles, but a really clean run" said Cseff. "Definitely the best nationals course for a few years.", said Cseff. Shandro was assessed a time penalty for a rolling start, but still took the win.

The crowd of spectators was impressive, easily topping a couple of thousand in the woods. The roar of appreciation after a rider cleaned a really technical section could be heard all the way to the finish line (the yells when Dave Watson (Rocky Mountain) endo'd into the bushes were even louder...).

The only real glitch was really poor results communications. Riders were corralled after their runs into a holding pen so that dope control could make sure that the winner didn't disappear. Nobody had their times until well after the last rider, and rumours and speculation were rife. An unfortunate downer to an otherwise excellent day of racing.

(Note: we still have no official results nearly 30 minutes after the last man finished...)after