Discretion was the better part of valor Sunday, as John Kirkcaldie and Sabrina Jonnier did what they had to do to hold on for overall downhill titles at the NORBA National Championship Series finals in Mount Snow, Vermont.

Kirkcaldie entered the day tied atop the standings with Australian Chris Kovarik, meaning the fastest of the two would likely walk away with the crown. That honor went to Kirkcaldie who finished fourth on the day, while Kovarik ran into mechanical problems and ended up 49th. The chain of events was a near duplication of the 2001 finals when Kovarik also blew his chance at the title after blowing up a wheel.

"This is such a rough course," said Kovarik (Intense), who's actually had mechanical troubles here the last three years. "It was probably a third of the way into my run. I just hit some big rocks with sharp edges."

Waddell breaks down the first NORBA win of his career.

Photo: Jason Sumner

The mishap dropped Kovarik to fifth in the final overall standings, behind Mick Hannah (Haro-Lee Dungarees), Dustin Adams (Giant) and Jared Rando (Foes-Azonic). Eric Carter was the top American, finishing seventh overall to take the U.S. national title.

One spot ahead of Carter (Mongoose-Hyundai) in the final standings was SunRace-Santa Cruz's John Waddell, who was the fastest man down the hill at Mount Snow, giving the young Aussie the first NORBA win of his career. Waddell finished with a time of 4:00.19, 2.35 faster than second-place finisher Hannah. Adams, Kirkcaldie and Rando completed the race day podium.

"I felt really smooth from top to bottom and that was the key on a course like this," the 21-year-old Waddell said. "I was third at the race in Durango and I was third here last year, so I came into this race with a lot of confidence."

Kirkcaldie's day wasn't quite as smooth, but the end result was just what he'd been looking for. The Maxxis rider flatted in the morning qualifier, meaning he'd start the finals much earlier than he was used to. But despite having to go around two slower riders during his run, Kirkcaldie managed to secure his second-straight overall NORBA title.

"Chris is a guy who when he gets down clean he usually wins big," Kirkcaldie said. "But in a series like this consistency pays off and that showed today."

Indeed, during the 2002 NORBA season Kirkcaldie's worst finish was ninth and he was on the podium in the other four races, including his first career NORBA win at Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia.

The women's race played out in much the same fashion, though Jonnier didn’t get -- or need -- as much help from others. The Intense rider finished up a NCS season that included two race wins with a second place at Mount Snow, giving her an 18-point win over Great Britain's Tracey Moseley. American Lisa Sher (Chumba Wumba) was third in the final standings, giving her the U.S. national title. Marla Streb (Luna) and Kathy Pruitt (SunRace-Santa Cruz) completed the overall podium.

"It's pretty amazing to be her right now," said Sher, who spent more of her offseason working on a graphics design degree than training. "I'm honored but I also really feel like I earned it."

As for Sunday's race, it was another first time NORBA winner taking top honors, as Moseley outdid Jonnier by 4.32, finishing with a mark of 4:37.69. Missy Giove (Global Racing), Streb and Tai-Lee Muxlow (Dirtworks) rounded out the top five.

"I crashed over my bars in qualifying, but I guess I got it out of the way," said Moseley, who also won the season opening World Cup downhill in Scotland back in June.

With the NORBA season now in the books, the top riders will turn their attentions to the upcoming world championships in Kaprun, Austria. Racing there gets underway on August 28. Check back to VeloNews.com then for another full weekend of reports, results and photos.