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Lowe, Hanusova win Sea Otter short track; Rennie, Jonnier take dual slalom

Published: Apr. 16, 2005

After an ambitious off-season spent training and racing down under in the Australian summer, Aussie Trent Lowe (Subaru-Gary Fisher) entered the 2005 season expecting early victories. After a slew of podium finishes and near-wins at the two opening NORBA nationals, Lowe finally snagged his first win of the season at Saturday’s Sea Otter Classic short track.

“This is what I’ve been waiting for my whole year. I came over here in really good form and I came so close to Geoff (Kabush) so many times,” he said. “I think this is showing that my form is starting to come back. The work of the summer is starting to pay off.”

Lowe is always considered a threat, especially after last week’s impressive victory atop the Oak Glen climb in stage 1 of the Redlands Bicycle Classic. Still, most thought today’s victory would likely come from either GC leader Bart Brentjens or Kabush, winner of Friday’s time trial. The dry, fast 0.5-mile short-track course seemed tailor-made for power riders Lowe and Kabush, as it featured short, punchy climbs and plenty of single-track.

Before the race, Kabush – second in last year’s Sea Otter GC – had his sights set firmly on dethroning Brentjens.

“It’s pretty bumpy out there and he’s on a hardtail. It’s definitely a full-suspension course today,” he said. “I’m going to sit in and let him do some work at the front for 10 minutes. Then I’m going to throw down.”

Kabush stayed true to his battle plan, and after Barry Wicks (Kona-Les Gets) and Thomas Frischknect (Swisspower) took turns pushing the pace through the first three laps, the Canadian laid down a hard attack on the course’s first climb. Kabush quickly built a 20-second lead over the chasers, who, despite upping their efforts, could not match his pace.

But both Brentjens and Lowe began to drive the pursuit coming into the final lap, and an obviously tired Kabush began to lose ground. Lowe threw in a hard attack on the course’s only flat section, and quickly caught the struggling Kabush midway up the final climb.

“I could see Kabush starting to fade back and I thought I could catch him,” Lowe said. “I didn’t know I’d go straight around him.”

Kabush seemed content to let the Australian slip by, but showed a grimace of disappointment as Brentjens nipped him at the line for second place and a 20-second time bonus.

“I didn’t quite succeed in pulling it off, but it felt good because I didn’t want to just sit around,” Kabush said. “I was hoping they’d be sitting in the wind a little more. At least I tried, you know.”

The women’s race saw short-track specialist Susan Haywood (Trek-VW) lead out a group that included Katerina Hanusova and Alison Dunlap (Luna), GC leader Alison Sydor (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects) and Wendy Simms (Frontrunner), among others, for the first three of seven laps.

While the group managed to shell a number of riders, the pack remained sizable going into the final two laps.

“It was a little scary because no one was going that hard at the beginning,” said Hanusova. “When it is like that you know that everyone is saving their legs for the finish.”

Hanusova, winner of the short track at the Arizona NORBA national on March 18, attacked on the final hill on the last lap, quickly extracting herself and Sydor from the group. Hanusova finished a bike length ahead of Sydor at the line for the win, with Sydor preserving her overall GC lead.

Dual slalom

After three consecutive days of practice runs and races, the slalom course showed signs of wear, including deep ruts and gouges in the corners of the berms.

“It’s pretty worn up there, but the ruts are good and fast,” said Steve Peat (Team Orange).

In the finals of the women’s race, Sabrina Jonnier (Intense), found herself in a serious jam. After winning the first of two trials over Tracey Moseley (Kona-Les Gets), Jonnier misjudged a tight corner near the course’s summit and fell off her bike. But the Frenchwoman quickly jumped back on and continued down the slope, closing the gap on Moseley. At the line, Mosley edged Jonnier - but Jonnier’s time gap from the first run was enough to give her the overall victory.

“From my experience in BMX I know that when you fall down the race isn’t always over,” said Jonnier, who won last year’s Sea Otter slalom. “I wasn’t hurt and my bike still worked, so I just got back on and tried to bring her back.”

The men’s race saw perennial favorites Mike King, Brian Lopes (GT-Oakley), Cedric Gracia (Siemens-Cannondale) and Mick Hannah (Haro) all exit relatively early in the day, with King and Hannah the only ones to make it as far as the quarterfinals. In the final, Australian Nathan Rennie (Santa Cruz Syndicate) staged a slim but convincing victory over Bryn Atkinson (GT).

In his fifth Sea Otter, Rennie, who finished third here last year, said the win was worth the wait.

“I’ve always thought I could win and its about time I won,” he said. “I felt really confident up top in the top corners and kept my speed through the middle section. I’m pretty stoked.”

2004 Sea Otter Classic
Short track
Women
1. Katerina Hanusova (Cz), Luna, 19:14
2. Alison Sydor (Can), Rocky Mountains-Business Objects), at 0:03
3. Susan Haywood (Trek-VW), at 0:05
4. Alison Dunlap, Luna, at 0:11
5. Shonny Vanlandingham, Luna
6. Wendy Simms (Can), Frontrunners, same time
7. Mary McConneloug, Kenda-Seven, at 0:25
8. Kelli Emmett, Ford, s.t.
9. Dara Marks-Marino, Ford, s.t.

Men
1. Trent Lowe (Aus), Subaru-Gary Fisher, 15:50
2. Bart Brentjens (Nl), Giant
3. Geoff Kabush (Can), Maxxis
4. Liam Killeen (GB), Specialized
5. Todd Wells, GT-Hyundai
6. Jean-Christopher Peraud (F), Lapierre, all same time
7. Florian Vogel (Swi), at 0:14
8. Thomas Frischknecht (Swi), Swisspower
9. Ryan Trebon, Kona-Les Gets, all at same time
10. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Subaru-Gary Fisher, at 0:30

Dual slalom
Women
1. Sabrina Jonnier (F), Intense Cycles
2. Tracey Mosley (GB), Kona-Les Gets
3. Jill Kintner, Yeti
4. Kathy Pruitt, Luna

Men
1. Nathan Rennie (Aus), Santa Cruz Syndicate
2. Bryn Atkinson, GT
3. Fabian Barel (F), Kona-Les Gets
4. Rich Houseman, Yeti