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Florit, Green on top at Snow Summit
For one it was a breakthrough performance. For the other it was just more of the same. But after a long day of racing at NORBA NCS No. 1 at Snow Summit Resort in Big Bear Lake California, Jimena Florit and Roland Green both had impressive cross-country wins to their credit.
Friday’s racing opened with the women taking on three laps of the revamped 7.25-mile circuit, and right from the gun Florit (RLX-Polo Sport) looked to have the strongest legs. The Argentinean national who calls San Diego home pulled away from the pack on the first lap, growing her advantage to 58 seconds by the time she crossed the line to begin the second lap.
Behind her was a strong cast of challengers, led by SoBe-Cannondale’s Shonny Vanlandingham, who sat a solid second. Next through was the pairing of 2001 NORBA overall champ Mary Grigson (Subaru-Gary Fisher) and upstart Lanie Mason (Cane Creek). That pair was 1:28 behind Florit, while current world champion Alison Dunlap (Luna), Susy Pryde (Velo Bella) and Trek-Volkswagen’s Susan Haywood came next, at 2:25.
But as the race wore on Florit began to steadily pull away, growing her gap to 2:36 over Dunlap, who closed lap 2 alongside Grigson and Vanlandingham. Pryde was now alone in fifth, at 3:31.
From there it was just a matter of holding on for Florit, who admitted she rode cautiously during the closing lap. The tactic worked, though, and Florit crossed the finish triumphantly, completing the 21.75-mile race in 1:58:58, 2:42 ahead of Dunlap, who shed Grigson and Vanlandingham on the last lap. It was the first-ever NORBA cross-country win for Florit.
"This is what I’ve wanted every year I’ve been racing," said Florit, who got her first NORBA win a year ago, taking the short track at Deer Valley. "Finally winning last year helped keep my confidence up and this is the payoff."
Grigson, winner of the last two Snow Summit cross-country races, settled for third this time around. Vanlandingham and Pryde completed the podium.
Pryde was the stranger in the bunch. The New Zealander is better known for her exploits on the road (she was fifth overall at Redlands and Solano), but she’s planning a run at the Commonwealth Games cross-country title and needed to get some training in.
"This race was a big unknown for me," she said. "I was just pleased to get around without any mishaps."
In the men’s race it seemed that nothing could derail the continuing run of Trek-Volkswagen’s Green. On the second of four laps, the reigning world, World Cup, NORBA and Sea Otter champion had a problem with his cleat that sent him falling to the ground when his shoe wouldn’t come unclipped on the lead-up to one of the hike-a-bike sections. But the Canadian yanked his foot from his shoe, pulled out a tool and fixed the problem, then pulled back the three minutes he lost to the leaders to win yet another race.
Green finished the 29-mile race in 2:15:00, 1:10 ahead of surprise second-place finisher Ziranda Madrigal (Turbo). The Mexican had been the race’s early leader, but was chased down by Green and eventual third-place finisher Ryder Hesjedal (Subaru-Gary Fisher) during the third lap. Green would then pull away from the pair, leaving Madrigal and Hesjedal to battle for second. That dual wasn’t settled until the finish when the spindly Madrigal nipped the young Canadian at the line.
Geoff Kabush (Kona) and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (RLX-Polo Sport) completed the podium.
"I just tried to stay relaxed and come back at my own pace," said Green of his remarkable recovery.
As for Madrigal, who was visibly gassed after winning the sprint against Hesjedal, it was the best day of his young racing career.
"I was feeling pretty good, so I decided to take a chance," the 24-year-old said of his early move to the front. "In other years that I’ve come here I’ve always started slow, then tried to end fast. But other riders have always gotten so far ahead at the start that it was too late at the end."
At the other end of the results sheet was last year’s Snow Summit and NORBA national championship winner Kirk Molday. The SunRace-Santa Cruz rider crashed early in the race and damaged his rear derauiler, then pulled out a lap later.
Racing at Snow Summit continues Saturday with the short track and dual slalom. The women’s STXC begins the day at 3 p.m. The men are next at 3:30, then comes the slalom at 4:30.
Check back to VeloNews.com all weekend for reports, results and photos.
NORBA Notes
— After the women’s race Dunlap held a press conference to announce her new partnership with USA Cycling. Dubbed the Alison Dunlap Junior Olympic Mountain Bike Series, the world champion is lending her name to the already-existing program hoping to raise its prestige.
"I’d like to inspire kids who mountain bike race to not necessarily win, but to enjoy it and have a good time," she said. "I hope the series (there are 30 races nationwide) will give kids the motivation to dream that maybe one day they can be a world champion or Olympian."
While the main focus of the program will be to introduce young riders to the sport, races will also be used to help identify rising talent. Based on their performances, series participants may be selected for one of NORBA’s six regional junior development camps.
— After retiring from racing during the offseason, Pavel Cherkasov has gotten back in the game. But the former Subaru-Gary Fisher rider isn’t back on the bike; he’s the new manager of the Trek-Volkswagen team.
"I just got the call last week," said Cherkasov. "They wanted someone with experience and who knew the circuit from the inside. For me it’s good to see things from the other side."
