 |
| LOPES, BUHL EARN TOP 4-CROSS SEEDS AS MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS CONTINUE IN SCOTLAND |
|
|
| Written by USA Cycling | |
| Thursday, 06 September 2007 | |
|
Peterson Leads U.S. in Junior Men's Cross Country Race With 30th-Place Effort Fort William, Scotland - Day three of the 2007 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships featured preliminary rounds of the gravity events and the Junior Men's Cross Country race as Melissa Buhl (Chandler, Ariz./KHS) and Brian Lopes (San Clemente, Calif./GT) qualified second and third respectively as the top Americans in the 4-Cross competition. Buhl qualified second behind Jana Horakova (CZE) in the elite women's division, while teammate and two-time defending world champion Jill Kintner (Seattle, Wash./GT) qualified third. In the elite men's qualifier, Lopes finished just a quarter-second off the pace of top-seeded Romain Saladini (FRA) and 5/100 of a second behind Michael Prokop (CZE) to earn the three seed. In the only endurance event of the day, Team USA's Chris Peterson (Sandy, Utah/Devo) turned in the best performance for the squad, placing 30th in the junior men's Cross Country contest. Tasked with 34 kilometers of racing, the five-man junior U.S. squad experienced a setback as reigning USA Cycling junior national champion and bronze medalist in Tuesday's Team Relay, Ethan Gilmour (Ludlow, Vt./Devo-Okemo), suffered a flat tire along with teammates Gregory Carpenter (Canton, Conn./Giant-Devo) and Tristan Cowie (Dawsonville, Ga./Cycle Youth), effectively removing the trio from contention. After losing significant ground to much of the 89-rider field, Gilmour rolled across the line in 77th place, followed by Cowie in 84th and Carpenter in 85th. The top American performance on Thursday came from Peterson who finished 30th overall after being assigned the 66th position on the start grid. Despite being seeded near the back of the field, Peterson consistently worked his way through the pack, finishing the first of four laps in 40th position before picking off ten more riders. Stephen Ettinger (Cashmere, Wash./Arlberg) finished 67th for Team USA. In a race dominated by Europeans, Thomas Litscher (SUI) earned the world championship with a winning time of 1:37:06. Behind Litscher, Piotr Brzozka (POL) finished 27 seconds off the pace to secure the silver medal while David Fletcher (GBR) captured the bronze medal 40 seconds later. For the U.S. National Team, Peterson finished 6:44 behind the gold medalist while Ettinger was 14:57 back. After losing time because of their flats, Gilmour crossed the line 18:23 off the pace of Litscher while Cowie and Carpenter came in 24:43 and 34:28 back respectively. Also on Thursday, Americans competed in the seeding runs across all four Downhill categories - elite men, elite women, junior men and junior women. In the elite men's category, Luke Strobel (Renton, Wash.) earned the highest seed amongst Americans, placing 19th in the 94-rider field. Strobel clocked a time just 12.35 seconds off the pace of top-seeded Greg Minnaar (RSA). Buhl was also the top American in the elite women's downhill seeding run. She will enter the finals ranked 11th after finishing 29.25 seconds off the pace of top seed Rachel Atherton (GBR). In the junior categories, John Swanguen (San Diego, Calif.) ran 11th, 15.66 seconds slower than top-seeded Ruaridh Cunningham (GBR). The lone U.S. representative in the junior women's downhill - Chrissie Pinney (Concord, Calif.) - qualified ninth, 2:40.10 back from Florain Pugin (FRA). When the 2007 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships continue on Friday, three more world titles will be awarded in the U23 men's Cross Country and the elite men's and women's 4-Cross competitions. Toeing the line for the American U23 Cross Country squad will be Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont./Subaru-Gary Fisher), Sam Jurekovic (Colorado Springs, Colo./USA Cycling National Development Team), Colin Cares (Boulder, Colo./USA Cycling National Development Team), Tad Elliott (Durango, Colo./USA Cycling National Development Team) and Mitchell Peterson (Sandy, Utah/Devo).
Fort William, Scotland Sept. 4-9 Day Three Results:
1. Thomas Litscher (SUI) 1:37.06 2. Piotr Brzozka (POL) +0:27 3. David Fletcher (GBR) +0:40 30. Chris Peterson (Sandy, Utah) +6:44 67. Stephen Ettinger (Cashmere, Wash.) +14:57 77. Ethan Gilmour (Ludlow, Vt.) +18:23 84. Tristan Cowie (Dawsonville, Ga.) +24:43 85. Gregory Carpenter (Canton, Conn.) +34:28
1. Greg Minnaar (RSA) 4:53.32 2. Gee Atherton (GBR) +6.00 3. Julien Camellini (FRA) +3.88 19. Luke Strobel (Renton, Wash.) +12.35 33. Duncan Riffle (Santa Barbara, Calif.) +19.93 42. Cole Bangert (Twin Lakes, Colo.) +25.33 61. Christopher Herndon (Etowah, N.C.) +38.37 65. David Klaasenvanoorschot (Riverside, Calif.) +39.64 74. T.J. Sharp (Boulder, Colo.) +48.36 89. Chris Van Dine (Salt Lake City, Utah) +1:47.06
1. Rachel Atherton (GBR) 5:30.20 2. Tracy Moseley (GBR) +8.49 3. Emmeline Ragot (FRA) +13.22 11. Melissa Buhl (Chandler, Ariz.) +29.25 16. Lisa Myklak (Boulder, Colo.) +39.80 21. Amelia Colosurdo (Seattle, Wash.) +48.98 22. Darian Harvey (Durango, Colo.) +57.67 33. Kathy Pruitt (Lake Almanor, Calif.) +1:30.73
1. Ruaridh Cunningham (GBR) 5:05.12 2. Josh Bryceland (GBR) +1.29 3. Steve Smith (CAN) +4.14 11. John Swanguen (San Diego, Calif.) +15.66 19. Tyler McCaul (Aptos, Calif.) +23.84 25. Logan Binggeli (St. George, Utah) +27.94 29. Tim Price (Great Falls, Va.) +33.25 46. Brad Oien (Fountain Valley, Calif.) 46.18
1. Floraine Pugin (FRA) 5:48:07 2. Myriam Nicole (FRA) +8.83 3. Katy Curd (GBR) +25.97 9. Chrissie Pinney (Concord, Calif.) +2:40.10
1. Romain Saladini (FRA) 42.13 2. Michal Prokop (CZE) +0.02 3. Brian Lopes (San Clemente, Calif.) +0.25 19. Ross Milan (Golden, Colo.) +2.18 28. Jeremiah Work (Austin, Texas) +3.06 38. Thomas Tokarczyk (Durango, Colo.) +6.29
1. Jana Horakova (CZE) 46.95 2. Melissa Buhl (Chandler, Ariz.) +0.93 3. Jill Kintner (Seattle, Wash.) +1.03 12. Neven Steinmetz (Boulder, Colo.) +9.30
18. Jessica Vogt (Boulder, Colo.) +13.24 |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
