Maine native Adam Craig (Giant) used his impressive technical skills to score a decisive victory in Saturday’s 2007 USA Cycling national cross-country championships race, held at Vermont’s Mount Snow resort. The 25-year-old Craig wheelied his bike across the finishing line a whopping four and a half minutes ahead of a cramping Jeremiah Bishop (Trek-Volkswagen), who finished second.

Craig surged to the front early in the four-lap men’s race with Californian Barry Wicks (Kona-Les Gets). But with weeklong rains transforming Mount Snow’s single-track into slippery mud, Craig, a three-time Super D national champ, used his superior descending skills to distance himself from the men’s field on the first descent. By the end of lap one the Giant rider held a one-minute advantage on the chasing Bishop. The Giant rider then navigated the course’s slick, technical descents and winding climbs with a finesse shown by no other rider.

“It was super fun out there,” Craig said. “I just tried to ride things smoothly and not make any big mistakes.

That’s not to say Craig’s performance was flawless — he slipped off his rig on lap three.

“I think I stepped through my frame somehow and then did a behind-the-back grab and kept it upright,” Craig said. “I had some sticky tires and some working legs, so that was good.”

Indeed the slippery course and wet conditions shook up the dynamic of the race, derailing the hopes of a few heavy hitters. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, the four-time national cross-country champion who took two national titles in the thin air of Mammoth, California, rode over eight minutes in arrears. Defending cross-country champion Ryan Trebon flatted in the opening mile, then chased into the top 10 only to abandon after suffering another flat, bending his rear derailleur and breaking his handlebars in a crash.

“Ugh, when can we get back to Mammoth?” Horgan-Kobelski said. “For me this course is really hard — different guys have different strengths. But it’s good for mountain-bike racing in the U.S. to go to different places and give different guys a chance to win.”

Along with Craig, the technically talented Erik Tonkin (Kona-Les Gets), Jeff Hall (Salsa Cycles) and Samuel Koerber all scored career-best finishes in the muck. Massachusetts native Mike Broderick (Seven-Kenda) also used his technical skills to finish a career-best third. Broderick, partner, teammate and mechanic for women’s champ Mary McConneloug, spends most of his season racing and training in Europe.

“More than anything this course had the technical descent and the boggy areas that slowed stuff down,” Broderick said. “It makes so much difference to have a course with a lot of technical climbing and descending.”

The race marked the fourth consecutive edition of USA Cycling’s national mountain-bike championship festival, which will remain at Mount Snow through 2008.

In 2006 the race was held at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, after record snowfall kept the trails at Mammoth Mountain closed through July. That edition featured road-racing tactics in the men’s race — Bishop, Wells, Horgan-Kobelski and Craig organized an unsuccessful chase group in hopes of bringing back the surging Trebon.

“It wasn’t a tactical race like last year,” said Bishop. “[Sonoma] wasn’t real mountain-bike racing. It was nice to see the coin flip, and I’m looking forward to racing here for the next three years.”

Like Craig, Bishop arrived at Mount Snow eager to win his first elite national championship. The Virginia native spent the months leading up to the event constructing a course similar to Mount Snow’s at nearby Massanutten mountain.

“I built a great course based off of GPS data and course times and trail types,” Bishop said. “If you have limited time or resources to train, specificity is the ultimate weapon.”

For Craig, the win came on the heels of his July 13 victory at the 2007 Pan Am Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Craig spent two days traveling from Brazil to Vermont, and before the race admitted his form was not 100 percent.

“I thought I had blown it by racing, but I guess I didn’t,” Craig said. “We’re in Vermont, and this is the best place I can think of to race bikes and be the proper national champion.”

Race notes
Sam Jurekovic (USA U-23 National) derailed reigning champ Sam Schultz (Subaru-Gary Fisher) to take the U23 national cross-country title. Jurekovic, a native of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, caught the surging Schultz on the second of four laps, then held on to take his first-ever national mountain-bike title by three minutes. Colin Cares (USA U-23 National) finished third. Chloe Foresman (Luna), the reigning collegiate champ, caught a surging Caitlyn Tuel (Trek-Volkswagen) to take the U23 women’s cross-country title. Ethan Gilmour (Devo) of Ludlow, Vermont took the junior expert 17-18 men’s race ahead of teammates Greg Carpenter and Chris Peterson. Stephanie White (Velo Bella) took the junior expert women’s crown ahead of Essence Barton (Devo).

2007 USA Cycling national mountain-bike championships
July 22, 2007
Men’s cross-country
1. Adam Craig, Giant, 2:16:31
2. Jeremiah Bishop, Trek-Volkswagen, at 4:26
3. Michael Broderick, Kenda-Seven, at 6:35
4. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Subaru-Gary Fisher, at 8:52
5. Todd Wells, GT, at 9:12
6. Barry Wicks, Kona-Les Gets, at 10:54
7. Bart Gillespie, Mona Vie-Cannondale, at 12:45
8. Erik Tonkin, Kona-Les Gets, at 13:21
9. Jeff Hall, Salsa Cycles, at 13:31
10. Samuel Koerber, at 15:22