Trebon captures men's short track jersey, Craig wins super-D championship
Mary McConneloug (Chilmark, Mass./Kenda-Seven) and Adam Craig (Bend, Ore./Giant) each brought home their second national titles from the 2007 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships brought to you by X-Fusion on Sunday. McConneloug rode to a victory in the pro women's short track cross country event two days after capturing her third national title in the Olympic-style cross country race, while Craig claimed a stars-and-stripes jersey in the super D competition to complement Saturday's cross country win.
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Day 1: McConneloug takes elite women XC
Day 2: First XC title for Craig
In the 20-minute criterium-style off-road race, McConneloug attacked on the final lap to take the victory by two seconds over runner-up Willow Koerber (Ashville, N.C./Subaru-Gary Fisher) and third-place finisher Rachel Lloyd (Fairfax, Calif./Proman Paradigm). Midway through the race, a seven-woman lead group formed with McConneloug, Koerber, Lloyd, Georgia Gould (Ketchum, Idaho/Luna), Shonny Vanlandingham (Durango, Colo./Luna), and Trek-VW teammates Sue Haywood (Davis, W.Va.) and Lea Davison (Jericho, Vt.). With the group pushing a fast pace, Haywood and Davison were the first to lose contact with the leaders before a late-race surge by Koerber further taxed the front group. With one lap remaining, McConneloug attacked on the course's only climb to create a two-second separation - an advantage she held to the finish.
"I watched the expert men's field race earlier today and it definitely looked like the last time up the hill was the place to make the move," McConneloug explained. "I'm really psyched my fitness came to a peak this weekend."
For McConneloug, one of the most decorated American cross country competitors over the last several years, Sunday's short track championship was her first.
Lloyd finished just a fraction of a second behind Koerber to place third, while Vanlandingham was fourth and Gould fifth.
In the men's short track race, 2006 national cross country champion Ryan Trebon (Ventura, Calif./Kona) added another stars-and-stripes jersey to his closet with a solid victory, pulling away from Craig in the final laps of the 20-minute contest. After suffering mechanical problems in Saturday's cross country race which forced him to withdraw, Trebon entered the short track race with a set of fresh legs while Craig had already raced early Sunday morning, capturing a super D national title. The two were clearly the strongest in the race and opened a late-race gap on the remainder of the field before Trebon rode away from Craig to take the win by a 12-second margin.
"I've been feeling really good lately and had really good fitness, so I was bummed about yesterday," Trebon said. "I think Adam was a little tired after the super D this morning, so I felt like it was my race to lose. At the end of the race he was showing signs of slow legs, so I figured it was the right time to stick it to him. I was really motivated to win and wanted to get a result."
Todd Wells (Durango, Colo./GT Bikes) and Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont./Subaru-Gary Fisher) finished third and fourth respectively, both 22 seconds back, while Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Gary Fisher) rounded out the top five, 27 seconds down.
In the pro men's super D competition, Craig clocked a winning time of 7:57.20 to win the title ahead of Mike West (Boulder, Colo./Maverick) by 14 seconds.
Meanwhile, Lloyd garnered her second podium performance with a victory in the women's super D. Lloyd finished 28 seconds ahead of Marla Streb (Los Osos, Calif./Luna).
In the day's other major pro competition, Kathy Pruitt (Lake Almanor, Calif./Jamis) and Cole Bangert (Twin Lakes, Colo./Morewood) earned national titles in the pro downhill event. After securing the second seed in the qualifying round, Pruitt beat top-seeded Melissa Buhl (Chandler, Ariz./KHS) by two seconds in the finals, while the 36th-seeded Bangert rode a flawless final to beat second-seeded Luke Strobel (Renton, Wash./Maxxis) by just one second.
Results
Pro men short track cross country
1 Ryan Trebon (Ventura, Calif.) 0:23:53.6 >2 Adam Craig (Bend, Ore.) 0:00:12 >3 Todd Wells (Durango, Colo.) 0:00:21 >4 Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont.) 0:00:22.2 >5 Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo.) 0:00:26.8
Pro women short track cross country
1 Mary McConneloug (Chilmark, Mass.) 0:22:22 >2 Willow Koerber (Ashville, N.C.) 0:00:02 >3 Rachel Lloyd (Fairfax, Calif.) 0:00:02 >4 Shonny Vanlandingham (Durango, Colo.) 0:00:03 >5 Georgia Gould (Ketchum, Idaho) 0:00:03
Pro men downhill
1 Cole Bangert (Twin Lakes, Colo.) 0:03:55.9 >2 Luke Strobel (Renton, Wash.) 0:00:01.9 >3 Christopher Herndon (Etowah, N.C.) 0:00:06.6 >4 Tim Sharp (Golden, Colo.) 0:00:07.7 >5 Geritt Beytagh (Fletcher, N.C.) 0:00:08.2
Pro women downhill
1 Kathy Pruitt (Lake Almanor, Calif.) 0:04:37.5 >2 Melissa Buhl (Chandler, Ariz.) 0:00:02.3 >3 Marla Streb (Los Osos, Calif.) 0:00:09.2 >4 Dawn Bourque (Campton, N.H.) 0:00:16.1 >5 Lisa Myklak (Boulder, Colo.) 0:00:20.8
Men super D
1 Adam Craig (Bend. Ore.) 0:07:57.2 >2 Mike West (Boulder, Colo.) 0:00:14.2 >3 Brian Fawley (Robinson, Texas) 0:00:31.8 >4 Samuel Koerber (Ashville, N.C.) 0:00:41.1 >5 Michael Broderick (Chilmark, Mass.) 0:00:43.6
Women super D
1 Rachel Lloyd (Fairfax, Calif.) 0:09:07.0 >2 Marla Streb (Los Osos, Calif.) 0:00:28.2 >3 Kelli Emmett (Colorado Springs, Colo.) 0:00:59.6 >4 Jamie Whitmore (Mount Aukum, Calif.) 0:01:00 >5 Dawn Bourque (Campton, N.H.) 0:01:29.4