September 26, 2004 – The pro mountain cross podiums had a different look
tonight, as Tara Llanes (Los Alamitos, Calif.) and Brian Lopes (Trabuco
Canyon, Calif.) bested 2004 NORBA Series Mountain Cross winner Jill Kintner
(Murrieta, Calif.) and 2004 World 4-Cross Champion Eric Carter (Temecula,
Calif.) for the stars and stripes jerseys.

Eight women battled it out over the brand new course with lots of berms and
sharp banked turns. In the semi finals, Kintner and Leanna Gerrard (Sumner,
Wash.) bested Lisa Myklak (Boulder, Colo.) and Kathy Pruitt (Lake Almanor,
Calif.). Melissa Buhl (Chandler, Ariz.) and Llanes moved on to the finals
ahead of Lisa Sher and April Lawyer.

In the finals, Llanes made her move about half way down the course and
passed the top seeded Kintner to take her first NORBA win of the season.
Llanes won the mountain cross at Sea Otter this year, but was second to
Kintner at nearly every NORBA race in 2004.

In the men’s semi finals, Chris Powell (La Jolla, Calif.) and Eric Carter
took Brian Schmith (Lancaster, Calif.) and Rich Houseman (Pasadena, Calif.)
out of contention, while Lopes and Mike King bested Juan Ashworth
(Cartersville, Ga.) and Gerritt Beytagh (Asheville, N.C.)

The finals saw Lopes and Carter go shoulder to shoulder all the way down the
course, until Lopes passed the current World Champion on a turn and held
onto the lead all the way to the finish.

Women’s Mountain Cross Results

1. Tara Llanes
2. Jill Kintner
3. Melissa Buhl
4. Leanna Gerrard

Men’s Mountain Cross Results

1. Brian Lopes
2. Eric Carter
3. Chris Powell
4. Mike King

Earlier in the day, crowds gathered to watch the famous kamikaze downhill,
in which riders left the top in 30 second intervals and tore down the fire
road reaching speeds of 50-55 miles per hour. Highlighting the field was the
legendary John Tomac (Cortez, Colo.) who posted the fastest time of 4:59.10
to win the gold. The legend told the announcers after his race, “After
practicing yesterday, I feel like I never left.” He went on to say that 15
years of practice doesn’t hurt.

Pro/Semi Pro Kamikaze Results

1. John Tomac
2. Colin Bailey
3. Lou Deangeles
4. Kirt Voreis
5. Darrell Young

Later in the afternoon, over one hundred riders including many notable
cross-country racers contested the Super D event. The podium was exciting,
with an interesting mix of talent. Taking the men’s stars and stripes jersey
in the Super D was yesterday’s silver medalist in the pro cross-country –
Adam Craig (Corinth, Maine). Ariel Lindsley (Boulder, Colo.) earned second
place while the U23 National Team’s Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont.) took
third. Mark Wier (Snovato, Calif.) and Spencer Paxon (Trout Lake, Wash.)
were fourth and fifth respectively.

In the women’s event – it was a familiar face to top the podium and chug the
bottle of champagne. Marla Streb (Los Osos, Calif.) took top honors, while
her teammate Alison Dunlap (Colorado Springs, Colo.) posted the second
fastest time even though she had a flat tire about half way down the course.
Dara Marks-Marino, who finished second to Dunlap in yesterday’s
cross-country, added to her success with today’s Super D bronze medal, while
Tonya Laffey (Longmont, Colo.) and Melissa Miller (Avery, Calif.) secured
the final spots on the podium.