June 25/01 9:14 am - NORBA DH

Posted by Editor on 06/25/01
 

NORBA National at Snowshoe West Virginia
Downhill - Shandro on the Podium

Courtesy Paul Skilbeck, NORBA Media

Snowshoe (W.Va.) 24 June, 2001 - Missy Giove and Steve Peat went fastest on a difficult course in difficult conditions to win the pro women's and men's downhill events on the final day of competition at round two of the Chevy Trucks NORBA National Championship Mountain Bike Series at Snowshoe Mountain Resort, West Virginia. After having competed at two world cup events in Europe in the past three weeks, the international athletes were complimentary about this new downhill venue. Steve Peat, Great Britain (GT), the current world cup leader commented that the technical difficulty was considerably greater here than at either of the two world cup courses on which he has competed so far this year - in Slovenia and France. French rider Mickael Deldycke (Schwinn) remarked that the course reminded him of those in his homeland. In the women's race, Leigh Donovan, Capistrano Beach, Calif. (Schwinn), sat in the race leader's hot seat until Missy Giove, Durango, Colo. (Global Racing), came down with a time of 5:53.70, only 0.43 of a second faster than Donovan. Marla Streb, San Geronimo, Calif. (Foes/Azonic), who had been fastest in practice, entered the finish area in dramatic fashion with a crash into the barriers and a fourth-place finishing time. April Lawyer, Big Bear Lake, Calif. (Maxxis Tires) took third - the best result of her career to date. Giove's win puts her into the series lead ahead of Streb, with Lawyer in third position. In the men's race Deldycke occupied the hot seat with a time of 4:59.3 until Nathan Rankin (Foes Azonic) pushed the bar down to 4:50.72. The 22 year-old New Zealander predicted that Peat would go at least five seconds faster, and he was right. Peat, the fastest rider in practice, eclipsed Rankin's time with a run that took just 4:42.95. Chris Kovarik, Australia (Intense/Foes), after finishing fifth today now leads the series. Top USA rider is Colin Bailey, fifth overall.


QUOTES - Women 1st place - Missy Giove, Durango, Colo. (Global Racing) "I wanted to win - I needed to win. I needed to win a race: that's what they pay me for!" "It's a hard race to win. It hurt, but I just didn't quit, I dug deeper. I like it hard, but not unpredictable like it was today."
"This is a great course - totally great. I love this course, but it was a mentally difficult day."
"I love the people here, they are so helpful. And they know me and say hello! Next year I'll tell the whole team to come to this race."

2nd place - Leigh Donovan, Capistrano Beach, Calif. (Schwinn) "It's survival out there, but much better in the final run than in the timed practice."
"It's a really good course. In dry conditions it's great, but today the mud separated out a handful of riders from the rest of the field."

3rd place - April Lawyer, Big Bear Lake, Calif. (Maxxis Tires) "I don't know what to think! I'm shocked! I know that after taking 6th at Mammoth Mountain in the series final last year, when I crashed, that made me think I can get podium results. I am a competitive snowboarder, but last winter I went to New Zealand and raced their national series, which was my first winter away from snowboarding. That helped my mountain biking a lot."
"I got nervous this morning when I saw how goopy the course was. I had to dig deep to find the strength to ride it. There were sections where I said to myself to get up and pedal, but I didn't have anything to give."


Women
1. Missy Giove, Durango, Colo (Global Racing) 5:53.70
2. Leigh Donovan, Capistrano Beach, Calif. (Schwinn), 5:54.12
3. April Lawyer, Big Bear Lake, Calif. (Maxxis Tires), 5:59.11;
4. Marla Streb, San Geronimo, Calif. (Foes/Azonic), 6:02.06
5. Danni Connolly, Novato, Calif. (Karpiel), 6:26.87
6. Elke Brutsaert, Durango, Colo. (Schwinn), 6:27.39
7. Sheryl McLeod, New Zealand, 7:08.29
8. Aleisha Cline, Heffley Creek, BC (Chumba Wumba), 7:09.05
9. Kathy Pruitt, Lake Almanor, Calif. (Dirtworks), 7:11.26
10. Tara Llanes, Brea, Calif. (Yeti/Pearl Izumi), 7:47.48

Series overall
1. Missy Giove, 386 points
2. Marla Streb, 364 points
3. April Lawyer, 330 points
4. Leigh Donovan, 326 points
5. Tara Llanes, 306

Men
1. Steve Peat, Great Britain (GT) 4:42.95
2. Nathan Rankin, New Zealand (FoesAzonic), 4:50.72
3. Jared Rando, Australia (Foes Azonic), 4:52.71
4. Andrew Shandro, North Vancouver, BC (Ford Devinci), 4:57.04
5. Chris Kovarik, Australia (Intense/Foes), 4:58.00
6. John Kirkcaldie, New Zealand (Maxxis Tires), 4:58.9
7. Mickael Deldycke, France (Schwinn), 4:59.30
8. Colin Bailey, Santa Barbara, Calif. (Maxxis Tires), 4:59.62
9. Todd Leduc, Chatsworth, Calif. (Foes/Azonic), 4:59.89
10. Shaums March, Santa Barbara, Calif. (Chumba Wumba), 5:00.33

14. Chad Onyschuk, Vancouver, BC (Ford Devinci) 5:06.87
15. Dave Watson, , Vancouver, BC (Dirtworks) 5:08.02
40. Ted Tempany, Whistler BC (Kona) 5:36.73


Series overall
1. Chris Kovarik, 330 points
2. Nathan Rankin, 310
3. Nathan Rennie, New Zealand (Yeti/Pearl Izumi), 302
4. Jared Rando, 302
5. Colin Bailey, 284
6. Andrew Shandro 280

Course & Conditions
Length: 2.25 miles
Drop: 1400 feet
Track surface and conditions: very steep in sections, many exposed tree roots and rocks