National Mountain Bike Series Round Five Preview |
Deer Valley National, presented by Subaru-Gary Fisher |
Deer Valley Resort, Park City, Utah, June 15-17, 2007 |
PARK CITY, Utah, (June 13) -- The prestigious National Mountain Bike Series (NMBS) makes its first alpine stop June 15-17, when Deer Valley Resort hosts round number five, presented by Subaru/Gary Fisher. Known the world over, a multitude of top international racers continue to travel to US soil to prove themselves against the best, at some of the finest mountain biking venues.
The Park City/Deer Valley venue is known to mountain bikers across the world as one of the classics of off-road cycle sports, and has been tried and tested over the years. "It will present a good test of mid-season fitness, we'll start to see who has started too fast and who has been saving themselves for the longer haul" said series director Jeff Frost, of Blue Wolf Events.
Going into this round, the series standings are hotly contested across the disciplines. Not every round of the series has yielded series points in each discipline. This is reflected below.
KENDA Cross Country Pro Men (round 4)
The powerful Canadian, Geoff Kabush (Team Maxxis) of Victoria, BC, has a maximum 546 points and leads 2005 US national champion Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher), of Boulder, Colo., with 499. 2006 US national champion Ryan Trebon (Kona), of Corvallis, Wash., lies third with 458.
KENDA Cross Country Pro Women (round 4)
Reigning women's national champion Georgia Gould (Luna) of Missoula, Mont., powers into her breakout season, also with a perfect score of 546 points from three races. Gould's experienced team-mate, Shonny Van Landingham, from Durango, Colo., lies second in the series with 482 points, while ex-pat Czech Katerina Nash completes a Luna Women's MTB team domination of the top three spots with 419 points.
The 8.5-mile cross country course at Deer Valley Resort is a length that harks back to the early days of mountain bike racing, when each lap of the course was like an adventure unto itself. Four laps for the pros adds up to 34 miles of hard, high altitude competition, and we could well see new riders top the podium at this round. Amateurs will have an easier time of it than the pros, with Experts competing over three laps, while Sport riders will finish two laps.
KENDA Short Track Pro Men (round 4)
Ryan Trebon, one of the USA's top cyclo-cross racers, leads the spectator-friendly Short Track series with 496 points, a relatively narrow lead over Jeremy Horgan Kobelski, on 481. Geoff Kabush remains a threat to both with 462 points.
KENDA Short Track Pro Women (round 4)
Georgia Gould, showing speed to match her endurance, leads the Short Track series, with 536 points from three events, ahead of her team-mate Katerina Nash on 517. Willow Koerber (Subaru-Gary Fisher) of Whistler, BC, is third with 451 points.
FOX Racing Shox Downhill Pro Men(round 3)
Australians Jared Rando (Giant/Michelin) and Amiel Cavalier (Giant), with 351 and 319 points respectively, continue what is becoming a tradition of dominance on US soil. However, 2006 US national champion, David Klassenvanoorschot (ODI/South Ridge), of Riverside, Calif., has 306 points, and thus remains a threat to both Aussies.
FOX Racing Shox Downhill Pro Women (round 3)
The relative newcomer to the pro women's scene, Lisa Myklak (Leelikesbikes.com), of Boulder, Colo., leads after two rounds, with 363 points, ahead of Melissa Buhl (KHS), of Chandler, Ariz., on 347, and on 337 points follows Joanna Petterson (Brodie), of South Africa.
FOX Racing Shox 4X/Dual Slalom Pro Men (round3)
The international flavor is continued in the 4X/Dual Slalom series, with US riders leading the charge. At 25 years old, Chris Powell (Avent/Bombshell), is a relative youngster, but he is good enough to lead the series from national and world champion Eric Carter (Mongoose/SRAM/KENDA), albeit with 345 points to 344. Britain's Dale Holmes (KHS), formerly one of the world's top BMX riders, is placed third with 310 points.
FOX Racing Shox 4X/Dual Slalom Pro Women (round3)
The 2002 and 2005 national champion Melissa Buhl leads Joanna Petterson with 354 points to 318. Petterson's team-mate, Jackie Harmony (Brodie/Bike & Bean), of Tucson, Ariz., is third with 292 points.
Apart from exciting race action, former world champion Alison Dunlap will hold her acclaimed mountain biking clinic at the venue http://www.alisondunlap.com/, and the hugely successful SHIMANO Youth Series will provide a safe and fun mountain bike experience for younger children.
About The National Mountain Bike Series
The National Mountain Bike Series (NMBS) is the premier mountain bike racing series in the United States, and is sanctioned by the national governing body of cycling sports, USA Cycling. For more information and to see the complete 2007 NMBS calendar, visit www.mtbnationals.com. For all other inquiries, please email info@mtbnationals.com.
Media Contact: Paul Skilbeck. Tel. 415-346-8422/pskilbeck@o2sm.com
EVENT SCHEDULE
Deer Valley National presented by Subaru-Gary Fisher
June 13-June 17, 2007
Park City, Utah
Wednesday June 13
4PM - 7PM Registration and Packet pick-up
Thursday June 14
10AM - 5PM Registration and Packet pick-up
12 Noon - 2PM Pro/Semi-pro Downhill practice
2:30PM - 4:30PM Expert Downhill practice
3:00PM - 5:00PM Expert men 50+ / Expert Women 40+ / Sport/ Beginner Downhill practice
Friday June 15
7:00AM - 6:00PM Registration and Packet pick-up
8:00AM - 9:30AM Super D practice
9:00AM - 11:30AM Non-Pro Dual Slalom practice
10:00AM Registration closes for Semi-pro Cross Country/ All Dual Slalom / Super D
10:00AM - 1:00PM Pro / Semi-Pro Downhill practice
11:30AM Non-Pro Dual Slalom qualifier
12 Noon Semi-Pro / Junior Expert Men KENDA Cross Country Race
1:30PM - 4:00PM Expert Downhill practice (except 50+ men, 40+ women)
2:00PM - 5:00PM Sport / Beginner / Expert men 50+ / Expert women 40+ Downhill practice
2:00PM - 3:30PM Pro / Semi-Pro Dual Slalom practice
3:30PM Pro / Semi-Pro Dual Slalom qualifier
4:30PM - 5:30PM Super D practice
5:00PM Non-Pro Dual Slalom practice
6:00PM Non-Pro FOX Racing Shox Dual Slalom Finals
6:00PM Super D Finals
6:00PM Registration closes for:
All Downhill Races / Pro Cross Country / Sport & Beginner Cross Country
Saturday June 16
7:00AM - 2:00PM Registration and Packet pick-up
7:30AM - 10:30AM Expert Downhill practice
8:00AM Sport / Beginner KENDA Cross Country Race
11:00AM Expert Downhill Race
11:00AM Pro Women KENDA Cross Country Race
11:30 - 2:00PM Sport / Beginner / Expert Men 50+ / Expert Women 40+ Downhill practice
2:30PM Sport / Beginner / Expert Men 50+ / Expert Women 40+ Fox Racing Shox Downhill final
2:00PM Pro Men KENDA Cross Country Race
4:30PM - 5:30PM Pro / Semi-Pro Dual Slalom practice
5:30PM Pro / Semi-Pro Fox Racing Shox Dual Slalom final
Sunday June 17
7:00AM - 8:00AM Registration and Packet pick-up
7:30AM - 8:45AM Pro / Semi-Pro downhill practice
8:00AM Expert KENDA Cross Country race
9:15AM Pro Downhill qualifier
10:45AM Semi-Pro Fox Racing Shox Downhill final
11:30AM Junior Expert Men KENDA Short Track
12:15PM Pro Women Fox Racing Shox Downhill final
1:00PM Pro Men Fox Racing Shox Downhill final
1:30PM Short Track practice
2:00PM Shimano Youth Series Kids race
2:30PM Semi-Pro KENDA Short Track
3:15PM Pro Women KENDA Short Track
4:00PM Pro Men KENDA Short Track
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