In a fitting bit of things coming full circle, Adam Craig (Giant), winner of the rain-soaked opening race of the 2005 NORBA cross-country series way back in March, closed out the series with a similarly damp victory in the Mt. Snow pro men’s short track, the final event of the season-long competition. And just as he did back in Texas almost seven months ago, Craig raced most of the day in Vermont with Geoff Kabush (Maxxis), the year’s most prolific winner on the cross-country circuit.

Craig and Kabush made the decisive break in the short track, getting away on the fourth lap with Carl Decker (Giant) and Todd Wells (GT-Hyundai). Wells dropped out after breaking his chain, and Decker fell off the back after a particularly hard pull by his teammate. That left Craig and Kabush together for the final half-dozen laps, each testing the other’s legs while saving up for one final effort on the last lap.

Kabush tried to sprint away from Craig on one of the course’s flat sections, but Craig stood fast and opened a small, but ultimately decisive gap, in the final two turns. Craig sprinted in to win his first NORBA short track by a little over a bike length. Kabush’s second place gave him the short-track series title to go with his overall cross-country crown.

“I figured it was about time for me to win one of these,” said Craig. “And it might as well be here at Mt. Snow where I’ve always enjoyed racing and I seem to do well.”

As for Kabush, who won four short tracks during the season and was out for the overall, he said: “I wanted to get out to a clean start to make sure I won the series. I would have had to finish like 35th to lose the series, but I didn’t want to take any chances.”

When it came to getting a series overall, Katerina Hanusova (Luna) had an insurmountable lead coming into Mt. Snow. That knowledge, combined with her team’s overall strength, played a big part in animating the pro women’s short track.

Vanlandingham makes the most of Hanusova's leadout

Photo: Chris Milliman

All three Luna riders – Hanusova, Shonny Vanlandingham, and Alison Dunlap – made the critical split. Kerry Barnholt and Willow Koerber (both Gary Fisher) joined them to make a five-rider break that ripped the dwindling field to bits. With each Luna rider making an attack the pace stayed high, shedding Dunlap and Koerber with five laps to go. Barnholt kept her foot on the pedal, pulling Hanusova and Vanlandingham around the course in an effort to minimize a Luna one-two attack.

It was a smart strategy, but Barnholt ended up with what seemed like a fait accompli all along: third place after a last-lap onslaught by Vanlandingham and Hanusova. Hanusova led out her teammate, and Vanlandingham’s win moved her up into second on the overall series slate.

“Kerry was going really hard, but Katerina and I could just sit in,” said Vanlandingham. “She and I talked about it during the race and decided it would gain our team the most if I won, so we geared things towards that happening and it worked out perfectly.”

A change of (DH) course

As morning rains failed to ease up and grew heavier, officials were forced to re-route the downhill course, even though almost all the pros had already done their qualifying runs on the original layout.

The steady drenching rains made the fabled Yard Sale section – a technical boulder garden with mud - horribly treacherous, sending at least two pros to the hospital in qualifying and necessitating its exclusion from the afternoon finals.

The last-minute change in course conditions, from dry and dusty to slick and muddy, played right into the hands of rising Chilean star Bernadita Pizarro. The 20-year-old from Santiago handled the wet conditions well, or at least better than her nearest rival, Kathy Pruitt (Luna), whose second place locked up the series overall.

Tall knobbies made the difference for Riffle

Photo: Chris Milliman

“I love riding in difficult conditions,” admitted Pizarro. “So when it started to rain I knew I had a better chance of beating Kathy. Mud and slippery conditions suit my style, and it worked out well.”

In theory, Duncan Riffle (Yeti) wasn’t suited at all to the mud. The 18-year-old lives and rides in the notoriously arid Southern Californian mountains, not exactly the best preparation for East Coast slime. But Riffle made the crucial decision to switch to his spiky mud tires before the final, affording him the extra traction and speed that other riders lacked in the deteriorating conditions.

“To tell you the truth, I was pretty worried when I woke up and saw it was raining,” said Riffle. “But getting the tall knobbies on was key. This is a big win.”

Riffle’s teammate, Jared Graves, clinched the series title by finishing third.

NORBA National Championship Series
Mt. Snow, VT. August 28
Short track
Pro women
1. Shonny Vanlandingham, Luna, 27:30.4
2. Katerina Hanusova, Luna, 27:31.5
3. Kerry Barnholt, Subaru-Gary Fisher, 27:34.9
4. Alison Dunlap, Luna, 27:53.0
5. Willow Koerber, Subaru-Gary Fisher, 27:55.4
6. Georgia Gould, Tamarack, 28:06.3
7. Sue Haywood, Trek-VW, 28:33.2
8. Dara Marks-Marino, Ford-Specialized, 28:44.8
9. Kathy Sherwin, Biogen, -1 lap
10. Kelli Emmett, Ford-Specialized, -1 lap

Pro men
1. Adam Craig, Giant
2. Geoff Kabush, Team Maxxis
3. Carl Decker, Giant
4. Trent Lowe, Subaru Gary Fisher
5. Peter Wedge, Kona-Les Gets

Downhill
Pro women
1. Bernadita Pizarro, Cannondale, 5:10.69
2. Kathy Pruitt, Luna, 5:14.99
3. Dawn Bourque, Rhino, 5:31:92
4. April Lawyer, Team Maxxis-Intense, 3:35.92
5. Joanna Peterson, Morewood, 5:53.17
6. Alexis Wruble, JRA –EMS, 6:03.99
7. Melissa Miller, SWD Racing, 6:18.25
8. Caroline Milot, Laferte, 6:21.15
9. Karen Eagan, JRA-EMS, 6:33.08
10. Kote Driscoll, Scott-SIC, 6:35.20

Pro men
1. Duncan Riffle, Yeti, 4:28.50
2. Cody Warren, Haro, 4:30.04
3. Jared Graves, Yeti, 4:31.28
4. Andrew Neethling, Honda Turner, 4:34.92
5. Joel Panozzo, WTB-Fox, 4:35.31
6. John Kirkcaldie, Team Maxxis, 4:39.06
7. Chris Van Dine, Go-Ride.com, 4:39.06
8. Jared Rando, Giant-Michelin, 4:40.97
9. Geritt Beytagh, Morewood, 4:41.50
10. Henry O’Donnell, Santa Cruz Syndicate, 4:45.82