American Brian Lopes (GT) and Dutchwoman Anneke Beerten (Bikepark.ch) took the second round of the 2007 Jeep King of the Mountains competition, held August 18 in San Luis Obispo, California. Each now hold their respective series leads with one race remaining in the three-race series.

Lopes and Beerten both took easy wins with winners of the opening Jeep KOM races — American Jill Kintner and Czech Michal Prokop — missed the competition. Both Kintner (GT) and Prokop (Author) are hoping to make their country’s respective BMX Olympic teams, and participated in an Olympic tune-up event in Beijing during the August 18-19 weekend.

Lopes, currently ranked No. 1 in the UCI and World Cup rankings, faced off against 2006 NMBS champion Rich Houseman (Yeti-Fox) in the men’s finals. Houseman, a first-time competitor to the invite-only Jeep KOM, couldn’t quite match Lopes’ starting speed. Lopes swept Houseman in two heats.

“I’ve had some success with two wins and a second place finish in the past three years [at San Luis Obispo],” Lopes said. “I knew that it was going to be very fast all the way down, and so it was especially important to stay right with the person you were racing against and to go for the jumps and to gain that additional time.”

Beerten earned her win against American Melissa Buhl (KHS), the recently crowned U.S. dual slalom national champion, and the 2007 NMBS downhill and mountain-cross champ. Beerten won the first of two races, but lost the second. However her time differential was good enough to give her the advantage over Buhl. Beerten is now tied for the series lead with Buhl.

“In the finals I knew that after winning the first race it was critical that I stay with Melissa in the second race,” Beerten said.

The Jeep King of the Mountains competition is a unique blend of four-cross and dual-slalom racing. Riders start at opposing arms of a “Y” shaped slalom course, and meet in the middle to race over tabletops, jumps and berms. The next event is scheduled for September 1 in Beaver Creek, Colorado. The winners of the series will receive a 2008 Jeep Liberty and their share of the $100,000 series prize purse.

Each race of the 2007 Mountain Biking World Professional Championships will be televised to a national broadcast audience on CBS Sports. The race from San Luis Obispo will air on CBS Sports on September 23 from 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. EST.

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2007 Jeep King of the Mountains
Round No. 2 The Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
August 18Men
1. Brian Lopes – Laguna Beach, Calif.
2. Rich Houseman – Temecula, Calif.
3. Wade Bootes – Australia
4. Cody Warren – Alpine, Calif.
5. Eric Carter – Temecula, Calif.
6. Chris Del Bosco – Vail, Colo.
7. Dale Holmes – Murrieta, Calif.
8. Travis Collins – San Luis Obispo, Calif.Women
1. Anneke Beerten – The Netherlands
2. Melissa Buhl – Chandler, Ariz.
3. Fionn Griffiths – UK
4. Tara Llanes – Los Alamitos, Calif.
5. Joanna Petterson – Kauai, Hawaii
6. Leana Gerrard – Bellingham, Wash.
7. Neven Steinmetz – Boulder, Colo.