Defending National Mountain Bike Series short-track champions Geoff Kabush and Katerina Nash each grabbed their second short-track victories of 2007 at the Deer Valley NMBS on Sunday.

Nash, ranked 13th in the World Cup cross-country standings, scored a come-from-behind victory against Luna teammate Georgia Gould. Kabush, leader of the 2007 NMBS cross-country standings, stretched a second-lap gap into a winning solo breakaway.

Gould seized the lead on the opening lap of the women’s short track after surging up the course’s one dusty climb with Subaru-Gary Fisher rider Willow Koerber in hot pursuit. Gould has two NMBS short-track victories to her name in 2007, and looked poised to take No. 3. The Fort Collins, Colorado, resident said she has worked on starting quickly to prepare for World Cup races.

“Everyone has a fast start in a World Cup, so short track is good practice for that,” Gould said.

But Nash clawed her way from fourth position into second on the third lap, then set to work chasing down her surging teammate. The Czech rider, a three-time Olympian, closed down Gould’s gap to under five seconds midway through the 20-minute race, and caught Gould on the loose descent.

Gould soldiered on in front, towing Nash with her, and did not contest a mid-race prime for a free weekend of lodging at a local Park City condominium.

The two Lunas looked poised for a final sprint, but Gould somehow lost Nash’s wheel in the final backstretch, leaving Nash to take the easy victory. Behind the two, Luna’s Shonny Vanlandingham rode into third to help the Lunas go 1-2-3.

“Everybody has stepped it up this year on our team,” Nash said. “When you get close to the finish with your teammate, we both want to win and we both went for it.”

Behind Nash, Subaru-Gary Fisher’s duo of Heather Irmiger and Willow Koerber rode past Canadian Wendy Simms (Kona-Les Gets) and Park City local Kathy Sherwin (Titus) to claim the final steps on the podium.

In the men’s race, 2006 Deer Valley champion Kabush came into the 2007 race having dropped the previous two NMBS short tracks to Canadian Max Plaxton and American Ryan Trebon. Kabush surged to the front of the men’s pack with Trek-Volkswagen’s Ross Schnell, Todd Wells (GT), Barry Wicks (Kona-Les Gets), Carl Decker (Giant) and cross-country winner Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher).

Series leader Trebon suffered a bobble at the start and missed the initial selection. The reigning U.S. cross-country champion was a DNF in the previous day’s cross-country race, suffering from a head cold.

The lead group stayed together until Schnell suffered a second-lap crash that knocked him out with a knee injury. The crash opened up a gap for Kabush, who initially waited for help from Wicks.

“I saw Barry coming up toward me so I figured we’d work together,” Kabush said.

Wicks caught Kabush a lap later, but the effort proved to be too much, and the Oregonian blew after two laps with the Canadian and faded back to the chase group. Wells and Decker took turns leading the chase, but midway through the 20-minute effort, it was apparent that no one was going to bring back Kabush. The Canadian easily crossed the line ahead of his competitors, collecting his 14th career short-track victory.

“Well, I had some fast tires on, which helped with the loose stuff on the descent,” Kabush said. “Once I had 10 seconds I knew it was going to hurt, but I just went for it.”

National U-23 rider Sam Jurekovic rode his way into the chase group with three laps to go, and on the final climb Jurekovic made his move. The youngster surged ahead of the slowing Horgan-Kobelski, and crossed the line in second place, with Horgan-Kobelski, Wells and Decker taking the final spots on the podium. Idaho’s Cody Peterson (Scott) put in a strong performance, finishing a career-best sixth.

The second-place finish was Jurekovic’s first trip to a NMBS podium. Jurekovic looked poised to finish in the top five during Saturday’s cross-country; however, Jurekovic suffered a last-lap bonk and eventually finished 12th.

“I thought I was going to have my doors blown off today,” Jurekovic said. “I thought I was going to show up to the starting line, get shot out the back and then get pulled after two laps. I just kept it going, and it felt great.”

Stay tuned to www.velonews.com for news and updates from the Deer Valley NMBS.

2007 Deer Valley NMBS
Short track (unofficial results)
Men
1. Geoff Kabush (Can), Maxxis
2. Sam Jurekovic, U-23 National
3. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Subaru-Gary Fisher
4. Todd Wells, GT
5. Carl Decker, Giant
6. Cody Peterson, Scott
7. Barry Wicks, Kona-Les Gets
8. Ryan Trebon, Kona-Les Gets
9. Jeremiah Bishop, Trek-Volkswagen

Women
1. Katerina Nash (CZ), Luna
2. Georgia Gould, Luna
3. Shonny Vanlandingham, Luna
4. Heather Irmiger, Subaru-Gary Fisher
5. Willow Koerber, Subaru-Gary Fisher
6. Wendy Simms (Can), Kona-Les Gets
7. Kathy Sherwin, Titus
8. Zephanie Blasi, Kenda-X Fusion