There were two very different impressive displays of power shown atthe NORBA National short track cross-country event on Sunday in Durango,Colorado: one involving the dominating performance of the Luna women’ssquad, which broke away on the first lap and stayed clear to the finish,and the other surrounding a solo effort by series leader Geoff Kabush (Maxxis),proving again, after winning Saturday’s cross-country event, that he wasthe strongest man of the weekend.

Luna, Luna, Luna
Heading into the event, held under hot sunny skies at the Durango MountainResort, Luna’s Alison Dunlap led recently crowned cross-country serieschampion Shonny Vanlandingham by an insurmountable 87 points, while Kabushled compatriot Chris Sheppard (Haro-adidas) by an even larger 103 pointmargin. With both Kabush and Dunlap putting in strong performances at Saturday’s cross-country event, seemingly the only factor that might keep either from securing the series overall was a mechanical.

The women’s 20-minute event was run first, held over a dry and dusty1.5-mile course with one steep, loose power climb and plenty of gravelto keep riders on their toes. From the gun it was the trio of Vanlandingham,Dunlap, and Hanusova – first, second and fifth at the cross-country - poweringto the front unchallenged.

If there were potential challengers, they never appeared as the women’sfield seemingly yielded to the Luna’s squad’s supremacy, with the day’sonly real race the battle for fourth place. After several failed attemptsto bridge the gap, Subaru-Gary Fisher’s Chrissy Redden would take thatspot, finishing 35 seconds behind Hanusova, whom the Luna team had decidedwould take the win. Last year’s series winner, Sue Haywood (Trek-VW), tookfifth on the day.

“We just wanted to keep a high pace,” said Hanusova. “We had the wholeteam up there working, pulling away from people, and it worked. Thingshappen in a race, and that was exactly what we were hoping for, and itworked out. We had plans that we wanted to get all three girls on the overallpodium, so it made sense. I’ve worked hard for my teammates over the seasonto try and get to the Olympics, and so it was a little payback today.”

With the win, Hanusova moved up from fourth to third on the overallstandings, surpassing Redden’s teammate Kerry Barnholt. Vanlandingham tooksecond overall behind Dunlap, with Willow Koerber (RLX Ralph Lauren) fifth.

On the freaking gas
In the men’s race it was Kabush from the gun, outclassing the entirefield from the first lap. Though his winning margin over Giant-Pearl Izumi’sAdam Craig, second in the cross-country event Saturday, was 22 seconds,the numbers don’t tell the story as Kabush backed off the pace in the finallap to soak in his third consecutive NORBA STXC win.

"I wanted to keep out of trouble so I went the first lap and was goingto see if anyone was coming up to me,” Kabush said. “I was keeping my gap,so after three or four laps I decided I might as well keep going, becauseI know at this altitude it’s hard to close gaps. I was able to ride myrhythm again today, which is the best way to do it at 9000 feet.”Behind Kabush, the race for second place was an exciting battle betweenCraig, Ryan Trebon (Kona-Clarks-Les Gets), Chris Sheppard (Haro-adidas)and Travis Brown (Trek-VW). Trebon was the frontrunner early on, distancinghimself from the rest of the chasers, but in the closing laps the powerfulCraig, mashing a 40x16 single-speed gear, passed the tall Kona rider onthe steep climb.“Geoff was just on the freaking gas, man,” said Trebon, who eventuallyfinished fourth behind Brown. “I could see him getting a bigger gap everylap. I was just trying to hold on to second, but Adam just came flyingby on the climb. I think he was just trying to keep his momentum up, andI was just trying to finish the day.”When asked if he felt he’d taken the right tack on the day – tryingto chase down a stronger Kabush, rather than conserve energy and protectsecond place on the day – Trebon said he had no regrets.“You try and go with the move if you can,” he noted. “Either you sitback and fight over second or you try and win the race. You don’tcome out to the races to finish second, you come out to win.”Sam Schultz of the U23 National Team finished fifth for his best resultof the season, landing him in tenth overall for the series.With his third-place finish, Brown took second overall in the STXC series,with Sheppard third and Aussie Trent Lowe fourth. It was an impressivefinish for the 19-year-old Lowe, who missed two of the eight races in theseries, as did Kabush.In other racing, Kabush’s Maxxis teammate Cesar Grajales won the morning’smarathon cross-country event, beating Dave Weins (RLX-Ralph Lauren) byover four minutes.Results:
Women’s STXC
1. Katerina Hanusova, Luna
2. Shonny Vanlandingham, Luna
3. Alison Dunlap, Luna
4. Chrissy Redden, Subaru-Gary Fisher
5. Sue Haywood, Trek-VW
6. Kerry Barnholt, Subaru-Gary Fisher
7. Willow Koerber, RLX Ralph Lauren
8. Dara Marks-Marino, Ford Cycling
9. Jennifer Smith, West Virginia-Bon Jovi
10. Lisa Matlock, Ford CyclingOverall
1. Alison Dunlap, Luna, 1063 points
2. Shonny Vanlandingham, Luna, 985
3. Katerina Hanusova, Luna, 982
4. Kerry Barnholt, Subaru-Gary Fisher, 948
5. Willow Koerber, RLX Ralph Lauren, 859
6. Dara Marks-Marino, Ford Cycling, 846
7. Jimena Florit, RLX Ralph Lauren, 797
8. Gretchen Reeves, Rocky Mountain-Business Objects, 731
9. Chrissy Redden, Subaru-Gary Fisher, 717
10. Jennifer Smith, West Virginia-Bon Jovi, 696

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Men’s STXC
1. Geoff Kabush, Maxxis
2. Adam Craig, Giant-Pearl Izumi
3. Travis Brown, Trek-VW
4. Ryan Trebon, Kona-Clarks-Les Gets
5. Sam Schultz, U23 National Team
6. Peter Wedge, Kona-Clarks-Les Gets
7. Chris Sheppard, Haro-adidas
8. Jeremiah Bishop, Trek-VW
9. John Devine, U23 National Team
10. Ariel Lindsley, Maverick-KleinOverall
1. Geoff Kabush, Maxxis, 1063 points
2. Travis Brown, Trek-VW, 927
3. Chris Sheppard, Haro-adidas, 915
4. Trent Lowe, Yeti, 827
5. Ryan Trebon, Kona-Clarks-Les Gets, 818
6. Tristan Schouten, PCW Cycling, 716
7. Frank Mapel, Specialized, 704
8. Andreas Hestler, Rocky Mountain-Business Objects, 703
9. Paul Rowney, Yeti, 690
10. Sam Schultz, U23 National Team, 683