Gravity racing took center stage at the NORBA national championships Saturday, held at Mammoth Mountain Resort, California, with veterans Brian Lopes (Hyundai-GT-Oakley) and Tara Llanes (Giant-Pearl Izumi) claiming stars-and-stripes jerseys in the mountain cross event.

The national titles brought a touch of redemption to each of the winners, who both spent much of their 2003 race seasons sidelined with injuries.

In the men’s final, Lopes, the top qualifier, beat out recently crowned world Four Cross champion Eric Carter (Mongoose-Hyundai) with Chris Powell (Specialized) finishing third. The fourth rider in the final, Mike King (Haro-adidas) went down in an early crash and was not a factor in the finals.

Lopes leads the men's mountain cross

Photo: Neal Rogers

Llanes took her national title in a closely-contested battle against Jill Kintner (Yeti), with Melissa Buhl (KHS) and Leana Gerrard (Cannondale) rounding out the top four.

Returning for the first time since the mid-1990s was the high-speed Kamikaze Downhill, won by 1994 and 1997 NORBA national downhill champion veteran John Tomac (Kenda-Tomac), who reportedly hit speeds of 59mph.

“I haven’t raced in four years,” said Tomac. “I didn’t expect to win today, but I had a perfect ride, and just found my line the whole way down.”

It was banner day for the Giant-Pearl Izumi team, as Adam Craig, second in Saturday’s cross-country event, won the men’s rolling 6.8-mile Super D competition by almost one minute, while Giant teammate Carl Decker won the morning’s 22-mile national single-speed championship by a margin of over four minutes ahead of Marc Gullickson (Redline).

Luna’s Marla Streb took the women’s Super D race, beating teammate Alison Dunlap by just 20 seconds. At the awards podium, Streb put an end to speculation that she would retire at the end of the season, saying she would return with Luna in 2005 in a different capacity.

“I’ll be back, to race some cross-country events, maybe a few marathon events,” Streb said. “Now that I’ve won the national Super D championship, I’ll probably have to come back to race in the [stars and stripes] jersey.”

Kona-Clarks-Les Gets rider Barry Wicks raced twice Saturday, taking third in the national single-speed championship and 10th in the Super D. Wicks also finished 29th in Friday’s cross-country race, and will race the short track cross-country event Sunday.

Men’s National Mountain Cross Championship
1. Brian Lopes, Hyundai-GT-Oakley
2. Eric Carter, Mongoose-Hyundai
3. Chris Powell, Specialized
4. Mike King, Haro-adidas

Women’s National Mountain Cross Championship
1. Tara Llanes, Giant-Pearl Izumi
2. Jill Kintner, Yeti
3. Melissa Buhl, KHS
4. Leana Gerrard, Cannondale

Men’s Kamikaze Downhill
1. John Tomac, Kenda-Tomac, 4:59
2. Colin Bailey, Maxxis, 5:05
3. Lou Deangeles, Azonic, 5:13
4. Kirt Voreis, Santa Cruz Syndicate, 5:14
5. Darrell Young, Arrow Racing, 5:19

Men’s National Single Speed Championship
1. Carl Decker, Giant-Pearl Izumi, 1:44:11
2. Marc Gullickson, Redline, 1:48:27
3. Barry Wicks, Kona-Clarks-Les Gets, 1:51:33
4. Glenn Fant, WTB, 1:54:51
5. Yuri Hauswald, Soulcraft, 1:58:25

Men’s National Super D Championship
1. Adam Craig, Giant-Pearl Izumi, 22:48
2. Ariel Lindsley, Maverick-Klein, 23:29
3. Sam Schultz, U23 National Team, 24:13
4. Mark Weir, WTB-Santa Cruz, 24:21
5. Spencer Paxson, Disco Velo, 25:14

Women’s National Super D Championship
1. Marla Streb, Luna, 27:39
2. Alison Dunlap, Luna, 27:50
3. Dara Marks-Marino, 28:08
4. Tonya Laffey, mtbchick.com, 29:32
5. Melissa Miller, 31:46