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Green, Florit win West Virginia cross country
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Roland Green (Trek-VW) continued his dominance of the NORBA circuit on Friday, taking his second consecutive victory at Snowshoe, West Virginia, and netting his sixth straight NORBA cross-country title. In the women’s race, Jimena Florit (RLX-Polo Sport) built on a commanding early lead to score her second cross-country race of the series.
The men’s race began with a familiar look, as Green streaked out to a holeshot trailed by countryman and training partner Ryder Hesjedal (Subaru-Gary Fisher) and a third dangerous Canadian, Geoff Kabush (Kona). Hesjedal briefly took a solo lead towards the bottom of the second lap, while Volvo-Cannondale’s Kashi Leuchs worked through the field to chase with Green some 10 seconds behind, followed by Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski.
By the top of the fire road climb leading through the start-finish area, Green and Leuchs had reconnected with Hesjedal. Horgan-Kobelski continued to chase behind, trailing just 40 seconds behind the lead trio with two laps of the five-mile course remaining.
While Green took the lead through the start area at the top of the course, Leuchs, riding a full suspension rig to Green’s hardtail, took the lead through the steep and rooted Jug Handle descent that followed. As Green fell back past Hesjedal as well, something was obviously wrong. Green’s dominance looked to be as much in jeopardy as it ever had when his seatpost began to slip lower and lower into his frame. Green dismounted, tightened things up a bit, and after a 10-second delay rejoined the leading pair at the front.
As Hesjedal began to fade slightly, Leuchs began to seriously challenge Green, opening enormous gaps on the technical downhill sections, fuelled by a love of tough terrain, bounce on both ends, and a fat dual slalom tire on the front end. Whatever the damage done by Leuchs on the descents, however, Green made up on the course’s ample 1000 vertical feet of climbing. Passing through the start of the fourth lap, Green had opened a 30-second gap on Leuchs, who then closed down all but three seconds on the ensuing descent.
As the gaps see-sawed back and forth by downhill and uphill, Green’s pure power began to win out over Leuchs’ spirited singletrack riding. By the start of the final lap, the world champion had pounded out a 2:38 gap over Leuchs, who would hold on to a hard fought second place.
While Green has clearly been successful on the international circuit, and Leuchs had previously joined the upper echelons with a NORBA national victory, the true surprise came in the third podium spot. After steadily chasing the top three all day, Horgan-Kobelski’s efforts came good as he moved around Hesjedal on the hot fire road uphill to begin the final lap. From there, the new American hope expanded his lead over Hesjedal to 34 seconds by the finish. Hesjedal held on for fourth, followed by Seamus McGrath (Haro-Lee Dungarees) in fifth.
In the women’s race, Jimena Florit was having none of the lead swapping that dominated the men’s race. With the sprint from the line and the first technical descent behind, a select group had formed at the front, including 2001 Snowshoe runner-up Chrissy Redden, Florit, and last weeks dominating winner Alison Dunlap (Luna Chix). Florit jumped around Redden as soon as the trail pitched up, and set about the process of chipping time away from her rivals on each successive lap. All eyes focused on Dunlap, the reigning world champion and last year’s overpowering victor at Alpine Valley, waiting for the move that would bring Florit back. It never materialized.
By the second lap, Florit’s lead was 2:20 over second position Dunlap, 3:05 a lap later, and finally 3:10 at the finish.
“Jimena was in a different league today,” said Dunlap, “she just killed us.”
Behind the lead pair, Mary Grigson (Subaru-Gary Fisher) battled back from a painful early crash that led her to briefly believe she had fractured her ribs. Grigson, who won Snowshoe in 2001 during a winning streak that rivaled that of the retired Juli Furtado, rode the remainder of the race with a side stitch to take her third consecutive NORBA third, just ahead of teammate and early aggressor Redden. SoBe-Cannondale’s Shonny Vanlandingham rounded out the top five for the women’s podium.
Competition resumes Saturday at 3:00 with the women’s and men’s short track and mountain cross finals, followed by the downhill on Sunday.
