May 16, 2004 – It was a successful homecoming for Glen Mitchell on Saturday at Infineon Raceway as the Santa Rosa resident captured the Supercuts Road Circuit race at the California Outdoor Sports Championships. The event is presented by Infineon Technologies.
Mitchell crossed the finish line of the three-hour race just ahead of Sierra Nevada Cycling teammate Ben Jacques-Maynes, from Santa Cruz. This marked the first national cycling event in the 36-year history of Infineon Raceway as riders traversed the demanding 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course under windy conditions.
“It's a great circuit, ” Mitchell said. “It has a little bit of everything: winding hills, technical turns and a nice surface. It is a very demanding course.”
Mitchell and Jacques-Maynes were engaged in a three-way battle for first place with Zach Walker (Ofoto/Lombardi Sports), but managed to break away with three laps remaining cresting the Turn Two hill. From there, it was a two-man race to the finish, with Mitchell claiming the victory.
Mitchell, a native of New Zealand, is a two-time Olympian and hopes to make it for a third straight time this summer in Greece. He hopes his victory on Saturday impresses the New Zealand selection committee.
Lisa Norris (Webcor), meanwhile, led wire-to-wire in the two-hour Supercuts Road Circuit Race for women. It was the first professional victory for Norris, 40, who outdistanced the 21-rider field from the outset and never looked back, receiving plenty of support from six other Webcor riders. She won the race by an impressive 2 minutes, 17 seconds.
Campbell 's Jill McLaughlin (Palo Alto Bicycles) placed second, with Clovis' Felicia Greer (Webcor) taking third.
Top-seed Jill Kintner (Yeti/Red Bull), a San Jose native, took first place in the Infineon Technologies Mountain Cross competition, which also served as Round 2 of the NORBA National Mountain Bike Series.
Kintner defeated second-place Tara Llanes (Giant Pearl/Izumi), third-place Sabrina Jonnier (Intense) and fourth-place Katrina Miller (Jamis Bicycles) in the finals. Kintner is a two-time BMX world champion and she placed third in mountain cross at the world championships in Switzerland in 2003.
“The day went according to plan,” Kintner said. “It's all about the hole-shot and I got the hole-shot and went from there. We finished how we qualified so it was pretty good.”
On the men's side, Wade Bootes (Trek/Volkswagen) won the Infineon Technologies Mountain Cross competition in a spirited final round over second-place Brian Schmith (Mongoose/Hyundai), third-place Eric Carter (Mongoose/Hyundai) and fourth-place Michael Robinson (Intense). Alison Dunlap (Luna Women) was victorious in the Infineon Technologies Mountain Bike Cross Country for women over the 9-mile course, while Jeremy Horgan-Kobels (Ralph Lauren) won the men's race, also over the 9-mile course. The cross country races were also sanctioned by the NORBA National Mountain Bike Series.
Action continues on Sunday at the California Outdoor Sports Championships with racing in the following professional categories for both men and women: Infineon Technologies Dual Slalom (11 a.m.); Supercuts Road Criterium (1 p.m.); and Infineon Technologies Mountain Bike Short Track (3 p.m.). Gates open at 8 a.m. and cost is $10 per vehicle.