March 7, 2005 – The 2005 NORBA Series kicked off this past weekend in the small golf resort community of Tapatio Springs, TX, just north of San Antonio. Cold, wet and mud were the buzzwords for the weekend as thunderstorms trounced the region leaving swollen rivers and flash flood warnings for the city.

Friday afternoons Time Trial opened the weekend’s stage race format, seeding the athletes for the starting grids on Saturday and Sunday. Defending NORBA Champ Geoff Kabush and newly signed teammate Mathieu Toulouse represented Team Maxxis on the starting line. Toulouse held a solid pace throughout the roughly eleven minutes of his race, launching himself up the general classification into tenth position overall. K-Bomb Kabush, starting in last place by virtue of his number one plate, rocketed off the starting ramp and decimated the field with a low ten-minute time to take the victory.

Saturday meant more cloudy and dreary skies as the rain clouds held off just enough to finish the twenty minutes plus 3 lap Short Track Cross Country. With both overall results and stage victories as team objectives, Kabush and Toulouse worked a bit of strategy into the event. From the gun, Kabush took the sharp end of the race, easily leading the group up the steep climb and through the technical, twisty singletrack decent. Toulouse sat on any chasers keeping an eye on the other contenders to the title. As the lap count increased and time ticked off the race clock, Kabush pulled away from the field with only Trent Lowe (Subaru-Gary Fisher) able to match his blistering pace. Lowe and Kabush traded leads for another 5 minutes, each rider testing the strengths and weaknesses of the other. With only a half lap remaining, Lowe launched an attack on the climb with Kabush meeting, matching and raising the ante with his own attack. The Team Maxxis rider rolled through the final corner, through the small creek crossing and onto the finishing stretch easily taking his second victory on the weekend. Teammate Toulouse battled through the second chase group working his way through the crowds to finish in a solid seventh place.

And the rain really started! Saturday evening thunderstorms dumped huge amounts of water on the race venue, muddying the singletrack that much more. At the gun, Kabush attacked the field opening a thirty second gap by the top of the single major climb. Unfortunately for Kabush and fortunately for the group, the Maxxis rider missed a crucial turn and lost all the time he had gained. As the pace settled in for the long haul, a small lead group formed with Kabush, Lowe and Adam Craig (Giant) with Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher) and Liam Killeen (Specialized) in hot pursuit. Toulouse found himself in a small chase group just off the pace, riding strongly but conservatively. The grunge and slop took its toll as competitors dropped like flies suffering from punctures, mechanical problems and lack of shifting across the board. Kabush and Craig began to distance themselves from young Trent Lowe, utilizing the advantages of their dual suspension bikes. With a half lap remaining, Kabush rolled off the front and opened a small 20-meter gap to Craig. By the top of the climb Craig and closed the gap and Kabush had lost his lead in the race and found the outer limits of the bonk. Craig captured his first ever NORBA victory with Lowe coming across the line in second spot and Kabush in third. Toulouse battled shifting demons for most of the final lap but was still able to effect a final charge towards the line to finish in fifteenth place.

Race Results — Time Trial
1. Geoff Kabush — Team Maxxis
2. Trent Lowe — Subaru-Gary Fisher
3. Adam Craig — Giant
10. Mathieu Toulouse — Team Maxxis

Short Track
1. Geoff Kabush — Team Maxxis
2. Trent Lowe — Subaru- Gary Fisher
3. Adam Craig — Giant
7. Mathieu Toulouse — Team Maxxis

Cross Country
1. Adam Craig — Giant
2. Trent Lowe — Subaru-Gary Fisher
3. Geoff Kabush — Team Maxxis
15. Mathieu Toulouse — Team Maxxis

General Classification
1. Adam Craig — Giant
2. Trent Lowe — Subaru-Gary Fisher
3. Geoff Kabush — Team Maxxis
11. Mathieu Toulouse — Team Maxxis