1998 Norba Mountain Biking Mammoth Mt., CA July 18-19, 1998
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Brown and Redden Fight and Win
When Ruthie Matthes and Tammy Jacques went off the front early to instantly gap the field, no one was too surprised, as Jacques wears the gray leader's jersey and Matthes was close behind in the points. What did raise a few eyebrows, however, was the strong ride of Canadian Chrissy Redden who joined the leaders' wheels as the three made a power play on the rest of the 59-woman field.
Ritchey rider Redden, however, had other plans in the works. While Jacques and Matthes literally diced it out and battled for points, Redden sat back and, as she later described, "figured I'd just hang behind them and see if one of them blows." Feeling strong after a late arrival to altitude, Redden tested her legs and assumed the lead. Before long she had put her own 20 seconds on all chasers... never to be relinquished. Riding a steady 35 minutes-per-lap pace, Redden captivated the crowd's attention as she smoothly rode off the front, amassing a minute on Jacques into the final bell lap. While Matthes chased in third 20 seconds back, Rene Marshman (USA, Moots/PowerBar) made her own move and chased close behind in fourth, Tomlinson and Dunlap fighting for fifth.
"I definitely surprised myself. I felt good and rode behind Ruthie and Tammy... they were really attacking each other," said Redden. Then I just tried to maintain a good pace, and I did. And here we are!" Matthes had a different take. "My lungs are fried... I feel like I went out a little hard today; maybe pacing was a factor for me. It was a battle out there." As in the women's race, the men's afternoon affair was also an upset in the making after a fast parade loop saw Klein rider Rishi Grewal leading a large field. The men, riding four laps for 24 miles and 3,200 feet of climbing, went out fast as Travis Brown (USA, Trek Volkswagen) unassumingly rode in third, Chris Sheppard (CAN, Catera/Pure Energy) and Tinker Juarez (USA, Volvo-Cannondale) rounding out this early top-five. It would prove a solid early lead, as one more player made his appearance in the race. Greg Randolph (USA, GT) has been working hard this season, looking for a strong performance. He found it here as he joined the leaders then soon bolted off the front at the start of the second lap and dropped Brown, Juarez and Grewal by 20 seconds. Going into the third lap Randolph maintained a 25 second lead on Brown, with Grewal replaced by Sheppard as Tinker's chase continued. Meanwhile current champion Steve Larsen (USA, Schwinn-Toyota) tried to catch the leaders, fighting the Diamondback duo of Killen and Tcherkassov for a spot on the podium. The fourth and final lap saw Sheppard move into third as Brown continued his own battle for face and place, waiting for Randolph to blow or at least slow. "I felt really good on the last lap. I wasn't actually thinking to go around Greg that soon, but once I went by him I knew that was my move, that was my chance." As Juarez passed Sheppard for third, Tcherkassov passed Larsen for 5th and thus the podium was set. Brown then put his own 25 second stamp on Randolph and sped down the singletrack to the awaiting finish line. One look back to make sure no one's chasing, then cruise the finish with hands firmly in air. "I'm really happy" Brown said. "This race was important to me from a momentum aspect, and I feel strong going into the next races. I train in Boulder, so I'm looking forward to the altitude." Randolph, who rode perhaps his career's best event, stated "I wanted to win this one... maybe next week. I don't think I faltered, I was riding well within myself and knew I'd have a good day. I'm happy for Travis though he was just faster than me today." Ari Cheren, Mountain Zone Correspondent
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