It was bound to happen sooner or later, and on Sunday in Big Bear Lake, California, it finally did. After combining for 20 straight wins on the NORBA national championship series circuit, neither Roland Green or Ryder Hesjedal had the guns to stay with Jose Adrian Bonilla, as the Costa Rican grabbed the first NCS win of his career with a victory in the short track. In the women’s race it was another first-timer, Trek-Volkswagen’s Sue Haywood, who beat back the challenge of fellow American Alison Dunlap.

Bonilla’s win came courtesy of a perfectly timed attack with 2 laps to go in the 20-minutes, plus three laps race that saw the 25-year-old break away from a lead group of six that also included Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (RLX Ralph Lauren), Todd Wells (Hyundai-Mongoose), Chris Sheppard and Seamus McGrath (both Haro-Lee Dungarees, and unheralded Jeff Hall (Salsa Cycles). From there Bonilla put his head down and hammered, with only Horgan-Kobelski able to stay close. The two riders came through the start/finish nearly side by side with one lap to go, but when Horgan-Kobelski’s front wheel slid out midway through that final lap, Bonilla was able to cruise home for the win.

“When I first started racing short track I was always way at the back,” said Bonilla of his early days on America’s pro mountain-bike circuit. “Each year I got closer and closer to the front, and now finally I win.”

Bonilla was understandably gassed after his win.

Indeed, prior to Sunday, Bonilla’s best effort had been a second-place short track finish a year ago on these same Snow Summit Resort slopes. Now the un-sponsored Costa Rican national team member has the first NORBA win ever for man from a Latin American country.

“I have been racing for 10 years, so I’ve worked very hard for this,” he said. “This is a very special day for me.”

As for Horgan-Kobelski, he could only lament at what could have been. “I really thought I was going to be able to come by him at the top of the small climb,” he said. “But I tried a really aggressive line on the inside and just washed it out.”

It was still an impressive effort for the American who hung on for second, with Wells, McGrath and Hall completing the top five.

Meanwhile, Green and Hesjedal, players at the front in the early going, both faded to wind up 11th and 12th respectively.

“I just didn’t have it today,” said Hesjedal (Subaru-Gary Fisher), who could still take solace in his cross-country win the day before. “It got to the point where I knew I didn’t have it and I didn’t want to push it too hard.”

Hesjedal is still recovering from a calf injury that ended an early-season road-racing trip to Europe three weeks early.

Green too was battling injury, himself a victim of a nasty crash on the final day of the Tour de Georgia. Besides taking more than a dozen stitches to his face, the Trek-Volkswagen rider partially tore his left biceps.

“I’m bummed that its over, but I’ll bet you don’t see a streak like that for a long time,” said Green, following a weekend that saw him DNF in the cross-country and finish far off the podium in the short track.

In the women’s race, it looked early on like Luna’s Alison Dunlap was set up perfectly to add a short track victory to her cross-country win from a day earlier. Dunlap, the overall short track champ a year ago, had a comfortable place in the lead pack, while teammate Katerina Hanusova was off the front setting a torrid pace. But after a lengthy effort, Haywood reeled in Hanusova with two laps to go, and the West Virginian launched an immediate counter that only Dunlap was able to respond to.

Haywood’s move was a winner, though. As the pair came through the start/finish with a lap to go, Haywood had a comfortable nine-second gap over Dunlap. That made the finish a mere formality, with Haywood able to cruise across the line, a huge smile striped across her face.

“Finally,” exclaimed Haywood about her first major win in the pro ranks. “[The Luna] team tactics were really good, but I just wanted this so bad.”

Hanusova's face shows the pain of the day.

Dunlap held on for second, with Seven Cycles’ Mary McConneloug, Hanusova and Jimena Florit (RLX Ralph Lauren) completing the top five.

Florit had mixed feeling about her day, happy to be on the podium but upset about the beginning of the race when she got tangled up with Subaru-Gary Fisher’s Mary Grigson, forcing her to claw her way back to the front.

“Alison Dunlap was on one side and Mary tried to come by me on the other side, but there was no room,” explained an exasperated Florit. “She put me right into the fence. It makes me really angry that people have to ride like that. It’s one thing to be aggressive but racing stupid is not the way to win a race.”

The pace of the women’s race was blistering throughout, and with the Big Bear course on the short side, 22 of the 49 starters were pulled.

The NORBA series now gives way to the World Cup, with most of the top cross-country racers packing up for the trip to Germany where they’ll contest round No. 1 at St. Wendel next weekend. The NORBA series reconvenes June 12-15 at Snowshoe, West Virginia.

For more check out the live coverage from the day. Just follow this link to bring up our Live Update window.