OCR Text |
Show ocstntelie: ary “ September 1996 NORBA N ational Mountain Bike Championships: Deer Valley, Utah, Aug.22-25, 1996 Deer Valley Aug. 22-25 made me feel a little silly at my previous efforts to speed down “You can’t Spin Cycle or hammer up Park middle Win Americans, on this course City’s steeper climbs. without S1X However, at least inches I’ve also gone mountain biking every damned day since 1 did spot several of the pro and elite women of Deer ° at Valley sporting suspension travel.” the full-unzip-withWonder’ Bra look. Purely for --Devin Scott Linden, suffering through life with only 4” ventilation, I’m watching the event, and spent sure. time and money I didn’t have The Deer Valley venue turned out to be an excellent site for racers and ‘spectators alike. The crosscountry course, was loose in bike shops upgrading my equipment. As with that cute little kid in the Nike commercial, now I “wanna be like Mike.” Whereas American riders have been. getting soundly thumped this year by the Europeans at this homegrown sport, with a few bright exceptions such as Susan Demattei’s bronze medal in Atlanta, the top riders at Deer Valley were among the world’s _ best. and dusty for want of rain, causing several competitors to race wearing surgical masks. The course featured tough climbs, _ technical sections, and fast, twisty downhills such as Spin Cycle and Super Cycle. Passing twice through the finish area, the course allowed lazy the pro fields, and big egos and reputations were on the line. Also competing were spectators to camp in one spot and still catch a lot of the action. The downhill had seriously hairy technical sections, but also contained long, hot pedaling sections that caused some _ riders eschew their protective “Ninja Turtles” padding. Many lived to regret the decision after falling prey to several hundred riders in the the elite, expert, sport, beginner, course. I've ridden the lower Several former and current world champions filled out fie . Pro. fosters. ~ Ned _ Overend, John Tomac, Leigh Missy Giove, Mathes, Mike King, Donovan, Ruthie and Dave Cullinan headed and junior divisions, perhaps a little more mortal than the pros but no less competitive. The Deer Valley race followed the Olympic mountain biking debut by a month. Expectations were high for the Olympics to launch mountain biking as a big-time spectator sport, but — pitiful coverage by NBC did little to boost popularity. About the best exposure was tighter spots on the section of the downhill twice since the race, didn’t donate and any while I skin like many riders in the downhill, I did have to check my chamois both times. This course wasn’t for the fainthearted. Many of the bike manufacturers got to show off their latest and greatest at the display expo, which was ideally located at the finish titanium cables, brakes, pecunious pedals, flashy togs, Cogswell cogs, and Spaceley sprockets. If the racers didn’t shame you with their fitness, crowd favorite John Vail and other World Cup venues; the high speeds and Tomac: huge elevation of Durango by a mere 16 seconds. Mark Howe placed third, 49 seconds back. _ Tomac, one of the few racers ever at the top of : reserve As disciplines, of the for the other Leigh Donovan and Eric Carter won Batheir respective dual slalom pro races, a sport very similar to slalom the manufacturers certainly gave you bike envy. The biggest innovations this year are in full suspension, with many of the downhill specialty bikes - exactly resembling motocross cycles. “You can’t win on this course without at least six inches of suspension travel,” whined the sixty-fifth place finisher in the pro downhill who had to contend himself with only four inches. Pro teams drop downhill allows only brief glimpses of each rider as they flash past. iskiing, complete ‘with breakaway | jumps. gates The and Observed Trials consists of bike i freestyle, with competitors hopping, | balancing, and iwheelying their way jaround a treacherous 4 group of obstacles such jas logs, trucks, and | gullies. The winner has the fewest “dabs” or touches. of the feet or hands to the ground, while their superbikes for their top riders, no surprise as some of the downhill bikes would retail for over fifteen thousand dollars. “Pm crushing your head!” A TRIALS RIDER AT DEER VALEY Lightweight bikes were also the buzz; Klein took top honors with their sub-ninepound unobtanium cross. country bike. The event featured country fields, finished fourth in. Saturday’s pro downhill. Just edging him both the downhill and cross- out was Shaun Palmer, a — completing the course within a time limit. Kathryn Wallace won the women’s trials while Libor Karas beat = out Hans “No Way” Rey in the men’s. In Thursday’s masochistic hill climb Max Lawson prevailed over Olympian Don Myrah in seventeen minutes of anaerobic bliss. observed trials, and a hillclimb. Sunday’s women’s pro cross-country, a grueling 21-mile test of speed, world snowboarding champion in his first year on the NORBA circuit who is blowing minds with his rookie performance. Palmer’s is a _ two-sport double of Deion Sanders proportion. Eric Carter placed secondbut won the Valley got a chance to show off its new lodge renovation, -which is logistically and aesthetically beautiful. The courses worked so well that a bid for the World endurance, bike National medal, as Australian Championships handling, was won by Ruthie Mathes, of Durango, Colorado. Demattei of infiltrator Scott Sharples took the race —with an exceptionally smooth and fast run. The women’s race was practically a photo every bike aspect racing: downhill, of mountain cross-country, dual _— slalom, and _ Gunnison, Colorado followed in second, a minute back, with Boulder resident Tammy Jacques in third. Teresa Eggertsen of Park City was Utah’s top finisher in 24th place. Colorado women took the top five places and eight of the top ten. Must be something in the water. The pro men’s cross Page 5 finish, with current world champ Leigh Donovan beating Missy Giove, the sport’s favorite rebel, by less than two seconds. Mikki Douglas was third, six - seconds back. The downhill was Overall the event a big success. Deer in the year 2000 was placed. The racing was exciting and competitive. And as an added cultural bonus, Deer Valley undoubtedly saw more> ‘tattoos and body piercings than ever in its history, such is the grunge look popular in mountain bike racing today. And I daresay many locals will take their new humility and inspiration to the trails would have benefited from a with a vengeance for a long Monstervision time to come. screen. at the lel humble pie. Spending a few days watching America’s best mountain bikers race at carbon frames, tubes, gore-tex rocket-sled forks, a a of downhill the entire run, as they use at i up portion’ drooling: finish so spectators could see kl serves was available for perusal and country, one extra lap on the same course, was a tighter race with Travis Brown of Boulder barely beating ty i A it also area. Every mountain biking innovation and knickknack 1 yet hungry-man_ exhibited by Paola “Paparazzi” Pezzo, the women’s gold medalist from Italy, as she gave the world a healthy look at what she wears under her jersey en route to winning the race. Whereas her campaign for the lung foundation may not have made mountain biking a household name among “ Seeing the best in the world perform your favorite sport has two side effects: it pumps up your enthusiasm, |