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The Mountain Zone Mountainbiking NAVBAR

XC #6-Mount Snow, VT, USA, June 20-22, 1997
Mountain Zone Coverage of the Grundig/UCI 1997 World Cup
JUST THE FACTS:

Mount Snow, VT, USA

PAST WINNERS:
'96-Rune Hoydahl, Alison Sydor
'95-Rune Hoydahl, Juli Furtado


Course characteristics:

Length: 10.6 km.
Climbing: 462m
Singletrack: 36%
Doubletrack: 64%


Race Photos:

The Winners
Hoydahl Leads
Hoydahl Ends It
Post-Flat Pallhuber
Martinez Holding
Christophe Dupuoey
Cadel Evans
Kirk "Greenylocks" Molday
Tom Larsen
Rassan Roland Green

Audio:
Peter Graves Update
Rune Hoydahl
Cadel Evans
Kirk Molday



Next Race: Cross Country & Down Hill, June 28-29, 1997.
Mount-Saint-Anne, Quebec Canada
Full blown live cybercast from
The Mountain Zone
Race Photos || Results || Audio Update || WOMEN

June 22, 1997: Men's World Cup XC
"I'm back!" -Rune Hoydahl

Three's a charm, and for Rune Hoydahl today a bit of luck and timing came together with a third-straight win here at Mount Snow and a tie for third place overall in the WC standings. Battling shoulder-to-shoulder for more than two hours with Diamondback's Hubert Pallhuber, Hoydahl (Giant) got a lucky break right as Pallhuber got a flat tire on the last lap. This fortunate turn of events was not lost on the race-winner who smiled and commented "that's mountain biking," as he saluted his partner in this hard-fought dual.

In a race replete with surprises, today's WC XC event kept the huge crowd entertained and intrigued as these two powerful riders literally walked away from a pack of the world's most talented professional racers. The course - four and one-half laps of tough climbs and technical singletrack - began with a short parade lap in which Pallhuber took the holeshot and led the field into the first full lap's climb. Within minutes Andres Brenes (Ritchey) assumed a brief lead, but was quickly passed by five riders by the time the field began their descent back to the start/finish. By that time Pallhuber and Hoydahl had built a 30-second gap on pre-race favorites Miguel Martinez and Jerome Chiotti of the powerful Sunn-Nike team.

They never relinquished that lead for the remainder of the race. Increasing their lead by approximately 30 seconds per lap, the DBR and Giant rider silently worked together - Pallhuber leading the climbs with Hoydahl passing on the descents - to leave this world-class pack of riders literally in their dust. "I was surprised at the gap Pallhuber and I built," commented Hoydahl. Leaving not only the Sunn-Nike boys but former WC leader Cadel Evans (Diamondback) fighting for third place was a sight not to be expected in this type of race. "I was surprised the French were not right behind us," echoed Pallhuber who rode his career's best race today.

Hoydahl, who has won this race for the last two years and was Mountain Zone's wildcard pick for the win today, basically thought he'd play Pallhuber into his own strategy. By sucking his wheel up the climbs, letting Pallhuber set the pace and then hopefully blow up during the course of this hot, humid day. Toward the end, when Pallhuber put down the hammer and sprinted away from Hoydahl through the final bell lap, Hoydahl realized it was his strategy that had just blown up. "On that last climb, Pallhuber pulled away and I thought that was it. Luckily for me, he flatted," Hoydahl said.

Lucky indeed, as Pallhuber had found a last store of energy and began pulling away from Hoydahl on the final climb with speed heretofore unseen in a WC final lap. Building a considerable gap by the top of the final climb, the unthinkable happened as his rear tire went flat. "I did a fast change, but the race was over," Pallhuber lamented.

For Hubert Pallhuber, today was the height of frustration. For this talented Italian rider to have led for an entire race knowing exactly what his strategy was and to be that close to his lifetime goal was almost too much for "Hubi." "I would like to win one race... it's always been a dream to win in the World Cup. But maybe I'll do well at Worlds," he said.

His teammate and '97 season sensation Cadel Evans (Diamondback) stayed on track today with a fourth place finish after battling his way up the ladder. Riding nearly the entire race in ninth position, this former points leader looked as though he may have been forced to only break into the top-10 today. But he dug deep and climbed up into fourth place in only one lap. "I was just trying to maintain contact with the leaders when Lennie (Kristensen, Giant) and Kirk (Molday, Marin) attacked and the chase group fell apart. Then Martinez attacked on the final climb, so I made a move," he said. Evans finished behind Martinez but stayed ahead of him in the WC point totals and achieved the top position in the World rankings.

Molday, Canada's soon-to-be American XC star, surprised everyone, including himself, with an outstanding fifth place finish. Moving from 21st place on the first lap to 15th on the second was one thing; to then go from 8th and finally 5th in the finish was quite another. "I was really surprised with how well I did today," the smiling, green-haired pro said after the race. "I've been nursing a sore knee for over a week, and didn't think I was even in shape. Who knows, maybe it helped!" As the "almost first American," Molday demonstrated why he's such a force on U.S. soil, finishing more than three minutes than the first actual American - Tinker Juarez (Volvo Cannondale). Steve Larsen (USA, Schwinn/Toyota) came across a couple minutes later in 18th place — a typical finish for the languishing American World Cup effort.

From here, the WC tour moves up North a couple hours to the city of Quebec and the infamous Mount Sainte Anne venue... sure to be the season's biggest race. With both World Cup XC and DH in the lineup, tune in next week for full results and all the latest news.

--Ari Cheren for the Mountain Zone



Final Results:

1. Rune Hoydahl (Giant) in 2 hours, 15 minutes, 46 seconds.
2. Hubert Pallhuber (Diamondback) at 2 minutes, 4 seconds back
3. Miguel Martinez (Sunn-Nike) @ 3:26
4. Cadel Evans (Diamondback) @ 3:53
5. Kirk Molday (Marin) @ 4:14
6. Lennie Kristensen (Giant) @ 4:30
7. Andres Brenes (Ritchey) @ 4:55
8. Michael Rassmussen (Trek-Volkswagen) @ 6:44
9. Henrik Djernis (American Eagle) @ 6:56
10. Tom Larsen (Norway Nat.) @ 7:21