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Durango DH: Minnaar, Griffiths take overall crowns

By Jason Sumner, VeloNews associate editor
Published: Aug. 17, 2003
Minnaar toasts teammate Seamus McGrath, who won the short track overall.
Minnaar toasts teammate Seamus McGrath, who won the short track overall.

You’ve got to feel for Chris Kovarik. Three times now the Australian has entered the final day of the NORBA NCS series with the overall lead and three times he has finished the day without the overall crown. Instead it was South African Greg Minnaar grabbing the series prize, after the Haro-Lee Dungarees rider finished second to Kovarik’s third at Durango Mountain Resort in southwest Colorado.

That meant the pair finished deadlocked atop the final overall standings, but with Minnaar owning the advantage Sunday, the tiebreaker fell his way.

Kovarik nearly caught the rider in front of him.
Kovarik nearly caught the rider in front of him.

“I had a mistake free run, but it was on a wet course,” said Kovarik, who qualified slow in the morning session, meaning he was among the first riders out of the gate in the final when the course was still slick from noontime rain. “After my run the sun came out and dried things up and that made the track a lot faster.”

Indeed, while Kovarik posted a commendable 3:51.21, Minnaar and eventual winner Steve Peat were both under 3:44.

“My goal was just to beat Chris,” said Minnaar, who entered the day 12 points behind the Intense rider.

Peat was the story of this race, wowing the Durango crowd by crashing just as he came into view of the base area, but still holding on for the win.

“I got pretty lucky with the course conditions,” admitted Peat, who will be the favorite come next month’s world championships in Lugano, Switzerland.

In the chase for the U.S. national crown, Eric Carter held onto his lead, grabbing his second straight stars-and-stripes jersey by finishing 28 points ahead of Rich Houseman, the younger brother of Carter’s wife Laura. Houseman gained a victory of his own, though, finishing fifth at the Durango race, the first time he’s ever made a downhill podium.

“I’m the best American and that’s nothing to be ashamed of,” said Carter, who like in 2002 was seventh in the finals series standings.

Meanwhile, in the women’s race Foes-Azonic rider Fionn Griffiths took the first NORBA victory of her career, which was enough to overcame her 46-point series deficit to American Marla Streb. The solace for Streb was the U.S. national title, the first of her long racing career.

Streb had been faster than Griffiths in the morning qualifier, but come the afternoon final the American wasn’t able to put together a clean run finishing sixth, while Griffiths was nearly perfect and won the race.

Griffiths soaks in the glory.
Griffiths soaks in the glory.

“The course was slick as snot,” lamented Streb (Luna). “There was one point where I came to a complete stop because I got off line and had to move my bike around a tree. It’s disappointing but I still had a really good season.”

Griffiths now has a chance to sweep the two most prestigious downhill crowns, as she’ll enter the World Cup finals sitting a close second to fellow Brit Tracy Moseley.

“I think the fact that I enjoy riding in the mud really helped me today,” the 20-year-old Griffiths said. “It doesn’t faze me that much.”

The conclusion to racing in Durango also brought to an end the series-format for deciding U.S. national champions. Next year the jerseys will be awarded at a one-day national championship that’s slated for August in Deer Valley, Utah.

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