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Sea Otter 2006 — Pro Women’s MTB Short Track — Stage #3

April 8, 2006 (Monterey, CA) — After stuffing her front wheel in a mud hole and launching spectacularly over the handlebars on the first lap, Gunn-Rita Dahle (Multivan Merida) changed tack to leave the competition in the dust, or more appropriately, in the mud. A race at any speed becomes technical and with the mud shifting, hiding and covering lines on each lap, the Short Track became a new race on each pass. Dahle made her mistakes early and while the other racers sorted out strategies by trial-and-error, Dahle plowed her way through the muck to win the Short Track.

“I think what worked for me was just going out there and going maximum from the start plus hoping not to hit the worst holes,” said Dahle. “It was very difficult because you pick one good line on one lap and then the next lap you go, “OK, I’ll just do the same line but then there’s a big hole there. The first two or three laps you are just trying to get comfortable on the bike and try not to think too much about all the mistakes you made. I knew it would be going on maximum for 20 minutes. It was a matter of not taking too many risks and it was hard – very hard.”

Results:

1. Gunn-Rita Dahle (Multivan Merida)
2. Katerina Nash (Luna Women’s MTB Team)
3. Mary McConneloug (Seven Cycles/Kenda)
4. Melanie McQuaid (Orbea)
5. Kiara Bisaro (Gearsracing.com)





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