April 1, 2007 (Fountain Hills, Arizona) – Geoff Kabush (Can) Maxxis won the Short Track last night in downtown Fountain Hills while TT winner, Georgia Gould (USA, Luna Women’s MTB Team) took the women’s event. Canada’s Alison Sydor (Rocky Mountain/Haywood) who got off to a good start took second behind Gould.

Both men and women did 20 minutes followed by three laps on the Short Track 1.5km route, a 50% paved and 50% off-road loop. It started on pavement and then fed onto a rocky piece of flat, undeveloped land which provided three “˜bumps’ and a couple hairpin turns, which quickly separated the field. Races took place late in the evening, which meant a dark warm up for the pro riders.

Both the men and women put on a great high-speed show for eager race fans under the lights of downtown Fountain Hills.

Very early in the pro women’s race a select group, including Gould, Sydor, Katrina Nash (Cze) Luna Women’s MTB Team and Kathy Sherwin (USA) Revolution/Titus separated themselves from the rest of the field. Willow Koerber (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher, Heather Irmiger (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher, Shonny Vanlandingham (USA) Luna Women’s MTB Team and Sue Haywood (USA) Trek/VW formed a chase group with another group a few seconds back. The field continued to splinter throughout the entire race.

With five laps to go, Sherwin fell off the lead pace, dangling between the lead and chasers for the remainder of the race. At four laps to go Gould attacked and soloed in for a comfortable win. Second place was hotly contested between Sydor and Nash, with Sydor doing the lion’s share of the work. Sydor unleashed one of her famous accelerations and took it in a photo finish. Wendy Simms (Can) Kona-Les Gets came back from a rough start to finish in the top 10. Canadians Melanie McQuaid (Can), Mical Dyck (Can) Trek and Catharine Pendrel (Can) Norco cracked the top 20.

Kabush Wins Men’s Race

In the Men’s race it was Adam Craig (USA) Giant who applied early pressure. Kabush, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher, Ryan Trebon (USA) Kona-Les Gets, Sam Schultz (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher, Todd Wells (USA) G.T./Hyundai and Jeremiah Bishop (USA) Trek/VW were again near the front, with Canada’s Kris Sneddon (Can) Kona-Les Gets and Mat Toulouse (Can) Maxxis riding in or near top 10 the entire race.

With a few laps to go, it was Kabush and Wells taking turns at the front. Craig had taken a spill earlier and dropped back a number of positions. Kabush had the lead through the last hairpin and used his extensive racing know-how to form a gap and stay at the front to take the win.

XC Preview

The Pro women will have the XC course to themselves on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. local time. “It is a fun, twisty 16.05 km loop with no significant climbing, just a lot of pedaling through undulating terrain,” said Catharine Pendrel (CAN, Norco). Heat and cactus thorns could be determining factors for many riders. Gould, fresh off Pan Am Championship, TT and Short Track wins, will be a favourite as will fellow American, Mary McConneloug (USA, Seven). However, many women from north of the border will be giving their neighbours a run for their money, including Alison Sydor (CAN, Rocky Mountain/Haywood), Mical Dyck (CAN, Trek), Pendrel, Melanie McQuaid, Wendy Simms (CAN, Kona-Les Gets) and Trish Sinclair (CAN, Scott USA).

The Pro Men start Sunday at 3:30 p.m. local time with Kabush, Mathieu Toulouse (Maxxis), Matt Hadley (CAN, Rocky Mountain/Haywood) Kris Sneddon (CAN, Kona-Les Gets), Seamus McGrath (CAN, Rocky Mountain/Haywood) and Max Plaxton (CAN, Rocky Mountain/Haywood) among some of the Canucks going up against the U.S.’s speedies like Adam Craig (USA, Giant) and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher.

Sunday is supposed to be the hottest day of the week and the high level of competition will make things even hotter.

Short Track Results (brief)

Men

1. Geoff Kabush (Can) Maxxis
2. Todd Wells (USA) GT/Hyundai
3. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru/Gary Fisher
4. Sam Schultz (USA) Subaru/Gary Fisher
5. Ross Schnell (USA) Trek/VW

Women

1. Georgia Gould (USA) Luna Women’s MTB Team
2. Alison Sydor (Can) Rocky Mountain/Haywood
3. Katerina Nash (USA) Luna Women’s MTB Team
4. Kathy Sherwin (USA)
5. Heather Irmiger (USA) Subaru/Gary Fisher