May 20, 2004 – The second round of the 2004 NORBA National Mountain Bike Series concluded last weekend as part of the California Outdoor Championships at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Complemented by a full schedule of men’s and women’s USCF road racing and the opening round of the Jeep King of the Mountain series, there was plenty of action on hand for all types of cycling enthusiasts. This NORBA event also served as round one for some of the world’s best gravity riders in both mountain cross and dual slalom competition. And with next week’s heavily featured “Downhill Mania” on the program at the NORBA National in Big Bear Lake, Calif, the gravity community will be served up a second consecutive week of world-class competition.
In Sonoma, 2003 Overall NORBA National Championship Series Mountain Cross Champion Sabrina Jonnier (FRA) took the win in the women’s dual slalom event after setting the fastest time in the qualifying round. A clean and competitive final run against Jill Kintner (San Jose, Calif.) gave Jonnier the win. In the men’s dual slalom final Rich Houseman (Temecula, Calif.) rode to the first-ever win of his career in a NORBA National event, beating veteran Mike King (San Diego, Calif.). Sonoma marked the return of dual slalom racing to the NORBA series after a two year absence.
On Saturday, the featured gravity sport was mountain cross where Kintner and Australian Wade Bootes reigned supreme. The women’s final four consisted of Kintner, Jonnier, Tara Llanes (Corona, Calif.) and Katrina Miller (AUS). Top-seeded Kintner, the bronze medalist at the 2003 World Championships, used a quick start out of the gate to her advantage on a course that offered little opportunity to pass once the gate dropped. Bootes, a former world champion, bested runner-up Brian Schmith (Lancaster, Calif.), Eric Carter (Temecula, Calif.) and Michael Robinson (AUS) in the final.
In addition to the prestige of winning a NORBA National, another perk of victory on Saturday was a ticket to the Jeep King of the Mountain Series opener on Sunday. The Y-shaped course best described as a combination of dual slalom and mountain cross tested gravity riders in their two areas of expertise and in the end it was King who took the final from Bootes in the men’s event and Miller beating Jonnier in the women’s finale.
With the appetite now whet for top-notch gravity racing, the focus now turns to round three of the 2004 NORBA National Mountain Bike Series at Snow Summit Resort in Big Bear Lake, Calif. May 20-23 where a collection of unique and entertaining gravity-based events will undoubtedly be the highlight of the weekend as U.S. Olympic hopeful cross country athletes take a break from the NORBA series to contest the opening round of the UCI World Cup Series in Madrid, Spain. Dual slalom kicks things off on Friday, while the newly added Super D takes place on Saturday before giving way to Downhill Mania on Sunday.
The eagerly anticipated Downhill Mania features head-to-head and elbow-to-elbow downhill racing usually reserved for mountain cross events while the name of the game in the Super D is pure speed as competitors race on a mostly non-technical open downhill course with a few climbs. Super D starts in Le Mans style with riders running to their bikes in a mass start.
And although some of the big names in mountain bike racing will be in Spain, several highly motivated and professional teams and riders will be on hand to contest the cross country events in Big Bear Lake. Like the NORBA opener in Waco earlier this spring, a stage race format will be utilized to determine the overall winner with three stages on the schedule, a time trial, cross country and short track. A marathon race is also scheduled for Saturday morning.