A pair of past national champions, Alison Dunlap (Luna) and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (RLX Ralph Lauren), again proved themselves as the strongest American cross-country racers with convincing wins at the new, one-day “winner-take-all” NORBA national championships at Mammoth Mountain Resort, California.

Both winners found themselves threatened by just one main challenger over the winding 11.8-mile loop, held at 10,000 feet elevation: for Horgan-Kobelski, the competition over the men’s three-lap course came from Giant’s Adam Craig, while Dunlap was forced to push the pace over the women’s two-lap route by Ford Cycling’s Dara Marks-Marino.

Both Horgan-Kobelski and Dunlap put in their race-winning attacks on a steep climb over the backside of the course, opening gaps that would not be closed down. While Dunlap sustained a comfortable 24-second lead over Marks-Marino on the way to her third national cross-country title, Horgan-Kobelski stretched an unbelievable 3:23 lead over Craig, who finished 41 seconds ahead of Giant teammate Carl Decker.

Horgan-Kobelski, Craig and Ryan Trebon (Kona-Clarks-Les Gets) opened a gap on the rest of the field almost from the gun. After making the climb up a section of the Kamikaze downhill, the three leaders held a 15-seconds advantage over the a chase group containing Todd Wells (GT-Hyundai), Anthony Colby (Trek 505/Honey Stinger), Neil Shirley (Seasilver) and Decker.

As the field made its way into the start/finish area at the end of the first lap, Trebon had been dropped as Horgan-Kobelski and Craig were increasing their lead to one minute over a trailing Decker. Trebon and Wells worked together in fourth and fifth, 15 seconds behind Decker, with Colby dangling in sixth place.

Coming into the start/finish area after the second lap, Horgan-Kobelski had opened a gap of 35 seconds over Craig, who appeared resigned to protecting his second place.

“Right about the time Jeremy attacked, I cracked,” Craig said. “After that, I was just trying to make sure Carl didn’t catch me.”

By the end of lap 3, JHK’s lead had stretched to an impressive 3:23, disproving those who assumed the Olympian’s long season chasing UCI points in order to make the trip to Athens had taken its toll. Eric Jones (Biogen) put in an impressive ride to finish fourth, while Shirley took the final podium spot.

“This means a lot to me, to come back to the States and win after missing out on so much domestic racing,” said Horgan-Kobelski, the two-time defending XC national champion after placing as top American in the 2003 NORBA National Series. “I think the one-day format is great, it adds a lot of excitement.”

For Dunlap, the national title was her third cross-country championship after winning the series outright in 1999 and finishing second in the series to Jimena Florit in 2002.

Willow Koerber (RLX Ralph Lauren) opened the race with an early lead, while Sue Haywood (Trek-VW), Marks-Marino, Heather Irminger (Tokyo Joe’s) and Dunlap completed the first chase group. But as the women approached the start/finish area following the first lap, Marks-Marino and Dunlap were off the front, with Haywood and Koerber trailing 10 seconds back, followed by a solo Irminger. Kim Anderson (T-Mobile) and Gretchen Reeves (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects) followed in sixth and seventh.

“Willow started out hard,” Dunlap said, “but she paid for it. I kept thinking, ‘There’s no way she can hold this pace at altitude.’”

Marks-Marino led Dunlap on lap 2 until the final steep climb, where Dunlap opened up the pace and never looked back. Haywood finished third behind Marks-Marino, with Irminger fourth and Koerber fifth.

"Usually Dara likes to lead when we’re together, and she wasn’t coming around me," Dunlap said, "So I thought maybe she’s not feeling as good. At the steep granny-gear climb past the neutral feed I really gassed it and she came off, and I just kept it going until the finish."

Dunlap added that though she will not race cyclo-cross this year, she will return to wear the stars-and-stripes on the mountain bike circuit in 2005.

U23 national team member Alan Obye of Colorado Springs won the espoirs national cross-country championship, beating Alex Hagman (Fort Frame) by a margin of 1:34. Sixteen seconds back of Hagman was Andy Schultz (MSU Cycling).

Hagman was caught up in a crash on the first lap, opening a gap for Obye, who was forced to ride most of the 27-mile course alone.

"I got to the bottom of the first descent and couldn't see anybody," Obye said. "I was a little nervous on the first lap because it seemed early in the race to have a gap that big.”

In the women’s race, Caitlyn Tuel (Trek East Coast Regional) was the sole espoir competitor, taking the stars-and-stripes jersey.

Planned for Saturday is the Kamikaze downhill, as well as the observed trials national championships, the Super D and the pro Mountain Cross finals.

Men's Cross-Country Results

1. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, RLX Ralph Lauren, 27 miles in 1:54:01
2. Adam Craig, Giant-Pearl Izumi, 1:57:24
3. Carl Decker, Giant-Pearl Izumi, 1:58:05
4. Eric Jones, Biogen, 1:59:30
5. Neil Shirley, Seasilver, 1:59:55

Women's Cross-Country Results

1. Alison Dunlap, Luna, 23 miles in 1:31:51
2. Dara Marks-Marino, Ford Cycling, 1:32:15
3. Sue Haywood, Trek-VW, 1:32:29
4. Heather Irminger, Tokyo Joe’s, 1:32:59
5. Willow Koerber, RLX Ralph Lauren, 1:33:40

Men's U23 Cross-Country Results

1. Alan Obye, U.S. U23 National Team, 27 miles in 2:03:11
2. Alex Hagman, Fort Frame, at 1:34
3. Andy Schultz, MSU Cycling, at 1:50
4. Nick Waite, U.S. U23 National Team, at 2:47
5. Brent Bookwalter, Balance Bar-Devo, at 2:57