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MTB News & Notes: A chat with Willow Koerber; World Cup standings; Fort William tops in '06

Published: Jun. 15, 2007
Koerber is having fun and riding strongly
Koerber is having fun and riding strongly
Photo: Fred Dreier

American cross-country racer Willow Koerber is enjoying her finest World Cup campaign ever. The 29-year-old collected a ninth-place finish at the May 26 event in Offenburg, Germany, and followed that up with an impressive podium performance at the June 9 World Cup in Champéry, Switzerland.

Finishing on the box at a European World Cup is a career accomplishment, and Koerber hopes it’s the first of many. And with the 2008 Olympics looming, Koerber knows that continuing her consistent World Cup performances will earn her a ticket to the Games.

VeloNews caught up with Koerber as she was stranded at Dulles International Airport, en route to the fourth round of the National Mountain Bike Series in Deer Valley, Utah.

VeloNews: Lets hear some highlights from Champéry.

Willow Koerber: Well, I got the hole shot, which was pretty cool, because I got to lead from the start. The start was funny; it curved immediately to the left so everyone was trying to squeeze in on the right. One of the Chinese girls, Ying, was lined up to me and her coach was arguing with the UCI official to get her spot switched with me. She was ninth and I was 11th, and the official was rolling his eyes. I was looking at the situation and could tell her coach wanted her to cut me off, so I just went as hard as I could and was leading the race. At the top of the first hill I was settled into about seventh or eighth spot, but everyone was right there within 20 seconds or so. At the top of the fifth lap I could see Mary [McConneloug] was cramping, and I could see Yvonne Kraft in front of me, and I was climbing a lot better than her, and as I came into the single-track she had to go into the tech zone with a flat. I was riding with [Elizabeth] Osl, and there was one more steep pitch before the last single-track, and I told myself that I hadn’t done all of those hill intervals for nothing, so I just buried myself and looked back and she didn’t respond.

VN: How did you react to your first-ever podium result at a European World Cup?

WK: I got to ride into the finish area relatively comfortable with fifth place, which was exciting. But I definitely got goose bumps on the last climb. I knew I was going to have to do some attacking and it was going to really hurt, but I knew that it could happen for me right there. The best part of the whole thing was standing up on the podium and having it feel like I should be there. It wasn’t like “Oh my God!” I mean, I felt like I should be there. The week before I was feeling really on form, and I think I surprised other people more than I surprised myself.

VN: Are you chalking up your results to a good off-season?

WK: I had a really challenging winter. I tore my ACL on December 23 skiing up at Whistler, so I had that to deal with. It was my last day of skiing before I was headed back to North Carolina for Christmas, total whiteout conditions where you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. I was on the flat catwalk and hit a bump that sent me backwards, and I just heard this awful snap and I knew that something really was not right. I didn’t want to stand up, and when I tried I really couldn’t stand up. That was my Christmas present. So we went down to the clinic at the base and luckily [boyfriend] Richey [Schley] was friends with the ER doctor who snuck me in the side door. He did all of the tests and said the ACL was basically gone. I went and had an additional MRI and the tendon was hanging by a thread, but luckily the tear was right at the femur, which is the best place to tear your ACL because there is a lot of blood flow there.

VN: Why did you opt out of surgery?

WK: What they would do was go in and prick the bone to stimulate blood flow and then let the tissue repair itself. I think it’s the same thing that Bodie Miller had done. But it looked like my body was already doing that, and they told me it would set me back another four weeks. I was confident in what I was already doing so I decided to just go with it. I did a lot of cross training, stuff like swimming and Pilates, and some acupuncture. I really didn’t want to get surgery, but I really wanted to ride my bike. Eventually my ACL reattached and I had a great time training in North Carolina with my dad and brothers. The just kicked my ass and called me a wuss. That was great training for me.

VN: It’s been interesting following American women cross-country racers this year. No one athlete appears to have the upper edge, and each race someone new has a great result.

WK: It’s awesome because we’re not just NORBA racers anymore; there are a bunch of us who are riding at a level to be competitive at the World Cup. We’re very supportive of each other as well, because it’s all about getting the highest country ranking this year. I’m sure we’ll all be more competitive with each other next year. Mary [McConneloug] started it all and she was really inspiring to go over and race the World Cups and have success. But right now I think a lot of us are saying, “Yeah, I think I could do that too.”

VN: It seems that some racers have really been excelling at the domestic races, and then others like yourself have been killing it at World Cup races. Why is this?

WK: Well, for myself when I’m at a World Cup I have more of a sense in my mind that anything can happen. Maybe the courses suit me better — maybe the last two World Cup courses were more technical and required being on the gas the whole time. It’s not like there was a long climb where you could just settle in or a long descent for recovery. World Cup races are usually very physical, which suits me well. There are a lot of factors, I think. Maybe I’m more inspired at a World Cup, where you need to be a fast starter. At a World Cup, you need to have that first lap hurt so bad that you don’t think you can ever do seven laps at that pace. But that’s where the race unfolds, in the first lap. You push the comfort zone a little bit more at a World Cup than at a [NMBS]. I mean, my best NMBS result was third at Fontana, and I was definitely racing hard, but you don’t have to fight as hard for your position. If you’re riding in third place, you can pretty much comfortably ride in third. At a World Cup, you’re never comfortably riding in any spot. You’re always fighting.

VN: Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjaa hasn’t exactly been dominating the World Cup this year. How has the dynamic changed?

WK: When Ren [Chengyuan] won the first World Cup and then Irena [Kalentieva] and Marga [Fullana] took the next two, I think a lot of people were like, “Wow, if she can do it I can do it.” I think it’s great that everyone can have their day this year. It’s better for the sport. I mean, it used to be that you lined up already feeling defeated, which isn’t good for any of the athletes. I like the way it is right now. It’s fun.

Absalon, Kalentieva lead XC World Cup; Yanks tops in four-cross
France’s Julien Absalon (Orbea) and Spain’s Marga Fullana (Spiuk) top the Nissan UCI World Cup cross-country standings after three rounds.

Absalon has a commanding lead with 700 points, followed by Christoph Sauser (Specialized) with 490 and Jose Antonio Hermida (Multivan-Merida) with 480.

The women’s standings are a bit tighter. Fullana has 560 points, trailed by Irina Kalentyeva (Topeak) with 514 and Marie-Héléne Prémont (Rocky Mountain-Haywood) with 490.

Steve Peat (Santa Cruz Syndicate) leads the men’s downhill standings with 335 points, followed by Samuel Hill (Monster-Iron Horse) with 317 and Matti Lehikoinen (G-Cross Honda) with 271. Sabrina Jonnier (Monster-Iron Horse) leads the women with 440 points ahead of Emmeline Ragot (French National) with 370 and Marielle Saner (Bikepark.ch) with 348.

Americans top the four-cross charts. Brian Lopes (GT) leads the men with 450 points. George Atherton (Animal-Commençcal) is second with 370 and Michal Prokop (CZ) third. Lopes’s teammate Jill Kintner is the front-runner in the women’s standings with 400 points. Anneke Beerten (Bikepark.ch) is second with 310 and Rachel Sedoux (Swi) third with 150.

2007 Nissan UCI World Cup cross-country standings after three rounds
Men
1. Julien Absalon (F), Orbea, 700 points
2. Christoph Sauser (Swi), Specialized, 490
3. Jose Antonio Hermida (Sp), Multivan-Merida, 480
4. Cedric Ravanel (F), Lapierre, 420
5. Roel Paulissen (B), Cannondale-Vredestein, 380
6. Kashi Leuchs (NZ), Cannondale-Vredestein, 340
7. Thomas Frischknecht (Swi), Swisspower, 300
8. Nino Schurter (Swi), Swisspower, 290
9. Jean-Christoph Peraud (F), Orbea, 280
10. Lukas Fluckiger (Swi), Swiss National, 268

North Americans
30. Adam Craig (USA), Giant, 121
33. Jeremiah Bishop (USA), Trek-Volkswagen, 106
35. Geoff Kabush (Can), Maxxis, 102
41. Todd Wells (USA), GT, 90
49. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA), Subaru-Gary Fisher, 73
55. Seamus McGrath (Can), Rocky Mountain-Haywood, 59
59. Max Plaxton (Can), Rocky Mountian-Haywood, 54
75. Sam Schultz (USA), Subaru-Gary Fisher, 28
91. Michael Broderick (USA), Seven-Kenda, 8

Women
1. Marga Fullana (Sp), Spiuk, 560 points
2. Irina Kalentyeva (Rus), Topeak, 514
3. Marie-Héléne Prémont (Can), Rocky Mountain-Haywood, 490
4. Ren Chengyuan (Chn), Chinese National, 448
5. Sabine Spitz (G), Ghost International, 440
6. Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjaa (N), Multivan-Merida, 360
7. Tereza Hurikova (CZ), Ceska, 325
8. Willow Koerber (USA), Subaru-Gary Fisher, 308
9. Elisabeth Osl (Aut), Tonis Pro, 276
10. Ying Liu (Chn), Chinese National, 262

Other North Americans
11. Kiara Bisaro (Can), Opus, 251
15. Georgia Gould (USA), Luna, 245
19. Mary McConneloug (USA), Seven-Kenda, 194
23. Susan Haywood (USA), Trek-Volkswagen, 176
26. Heather Irmiger (USA), Subaru-Gary Fisher, 152
27. Sandra Walter (Can), 150
32. Catherine Pendrel (Can), Norco, 132
36. Shonny Vanlandingham (USA), Luna, 123
46. Wendy Simms (Can), Kona-Les Gets, 68
59. Alison Sydor (Can), Rocky Mountain-Haywood, 30
75. Kelli Emmett (USA), Giant, 13
77. Laura Morfin (Mex), 12

Downhill (after two rounds)
Men
1. Steve Peat (GB), Santa Cruz Syndicate, 335
2. Samuel Hill (Aus), Monster-Iron Horse, 317
3. Matti Lehikoinen (Fin), G-Cross Honda, 271
4. Michael Hannah (Aus), Cannondale, 225
5. Marc Beaumont (GB), MbUK Santa Cruz, 210
6. David Lopez Vasquez (Sp), MSC, 200
7. Greg Minnaar (SA), G-Cross Honda, 170
8. Fabien Barel (F), Kona-Les Gets, 155
9. Mikael Pascal (F), Saam-Salomon, 155
10. Marcus Klausmann (G), Ghost, 135

North Americans
43. Duncan Riffle (USA), Honda-Iron Horse, 34

Women
1. Sabrina Jonnier (F), Monster-Iron Horse, 440
2. Emmeline Ragot (F), French National, 370
3. Marielle Saner (Swi), Bikepark.ch, 348
4. Tracy Moseley (GB), Kona-Les Gets, 280
5. Mio Suemsa (Jpn), 252
6. Tracey Hannah (Aus), Orange, 230
7. Celine Gros (F), 228
8. Scarlett Hagen (NZ), 190
9. Fionn Griffiths (GB), Norco, 197
10. Floriane Pugin (F), Chatel Cycle, 163

North Americans
15. Claire Buchar (Can), 103
22. Melissa Buhl (USA), KHS, 62

Four cross
Men
1. Brian Lopes (USA), GT, 450 points
2. George Atherton (GB), Animal-Commençcal, 370
3. Michal Prokop (CZ), 350
4. Jared Graves (Aus), Yeti-Fox, 180
5. Filip Polc (Svk), Gravity Group, 150
6. Joost Wichman (Nl), Gravity Group, 120
7. Romain Saladini (F), 110
8. Jakub Hnidak (Cz), 80
9. Michael Hannah (Aus), Cannondale, 65
10. Nickael Deldycke (F), 60

Women
1. Jill Kintner (USA), GT, 400 points
2. Anneke Beerten (Nl) Bikepark.ch, 310
3. Rachel Sedoux (Swi), 150
4. Mio Suemasa (Jpn), 120
5. Fionn Griffiths (GB), Norco, 100
6. Eva Fernandez (Sp), 100
7. Melissa Buhl (USA), KHS, 80
8. Anica Molcik (Aut), 60
9. Diana Marggraff (Ecu), 50
10. Lucia Oetjenn (Swi), 40

Teams vote Fort William best World Cup venue of 2006
The International Mountain Bike Teams, Technical Support Companies (IMTO) group has named Scotland’s Fort William UCI World Cup as the best mountain bike event of 2006.

The venue also won the award in 2005.

Canada’s Mont-Ste-Anne World Cup earned second-place honors.

''Fort William earned almost double the points in the voting process than its nearest rivals. The event is clearly the most respected on the circuit,” said Martin Whiteley, president of IMTO, which votes on all mountain-bike events throughout the world.

The award, announced June 7, comes as Fort William prepares to host the 2007 UCI Mountain bike World Championships September 3-9.