The VISA Velocity course at Mammoth Mountain's NORBA final was a little too difficult at its inception. We heard from a course marshall that one non-pro rider broke his neck, several others were injured, and by Sunday's pro comp, the race director had removed the most serious offender, the tabletop jump. A solid move, as many riders were out to take a risk, with both a series championship, and an individual race title up for grabs. How far would they go in pursuit of the titles?

Women
Missy Giove (USA/Foes-Azonic) made it seem easy. The only female rider to break five minutes, she took home a pot worth $2500 by pushing the limits and clearing Marla Streb (USA/Yeti) by almost 20 seconds.

"I'm going for it! That's the bottom line. I like to go for it, that's my style. I like to get big air for people; I like to whip it; I like to have fun; I like to pin it," said Giove after the race. There's no doubt that Giove is one of the fastest girls out there, and her efforts paid off with the win.

It would have been interesting to see what could have been, had Streb not been dealing with a lingering leg injury from the course at Crystal Mountain, WA. Streb still managed second, 19.45 off Giove's lead time. No word on whether or not she ended up using the bungee cord on her bad foot...

Kiwi Vanessa Quinn (NZL/Giant) took third, beating out perennial podium visitor Lisa Sher (USA/White Bros-Azonic).

Men
Nathan Rennie (AUS/Yeti) had hoped to repeat his ride at Crystal, where he took first. He definitely looked strong and confident, and after yesterday's backflip on the dual course, there was no question about his insanity quotient. After a run which earned him only ninth place, Rennie sat to the side of the finish, looking less than happy. So what went wrong?

"Well, in practice I felt pretty good, you know...had some pretty good lines going. I think I was doing a few lines that a lot of other guys weren't. I think, just up top of the hill, I got a little too nervous, and I ended up crashing on my run, and running off the course another time, but that's racing. It's just a shame this season I've had a few too many crashes than what I would've liked to have had, but that's racing, who cares, next season," said Rennie after the awards ceremony. Look for this rider to come on strong next season. Remember — he's nineteen.

Fabien Barel (FRA/Volvo-Cannondale) took first over Nathan Rankin (USA/Foes-Azonic), and Eric Carter (USA/GT) doubled up on his podium appearances for the weekend with a third in the downhill — and a first in the overall series championships. Michael Ronning (AUS/Intense) was less than a second off of Carter, and took fourth, while Jared Rando (AUS/Pro Jr X Team) suffered the same fate as Ronning, and had to settle for fifth.

— Mikey Wolfson, scared of crashing, for MountainZone.com