Norba Kick-Off Kicks Down
DH, XC, DS #1
Big Bear Lake, CA: May 14-16, 1999

For the third consecutive year, Snow Summit at Big Bear is kicking off the Norba national championship series. Appropriately, this all-American tour starts in all-American southern California, where flashy colors, full-face helmets, and huge, shiny, big rig team trucks will surround a tent city full of sponsors and vendors.

Mountain Bike Madness


Friendly Competition
The crowds consist of biker families, skinny cross-country endurance freaks and tattoo-covered downhillers, in full-body armor. Last year, we counted 11,000 spectators and over 2,000 competitors all waiting their turn for a piece of the American pedaling pie and this year, Big Bear's 11th turn at hosting this race, nothing less is to be expected.

Last year, we witnessed Tinker Juarez, at 37, take a career turn with Cannondale and catch the title. This year he's looking for another Olympic slot in Sydney, and if you're not cheering on this Californian veteran, there's definitely something wrong with you. Steve Larsen, whose tragic mechanical kept him from the '98 crown, will be looking to leave his mark at this weekend's NORBA opener. The World Cup also blows out from Great Britain this weekend leaving a large field of competitors overseas. The likes of Ruthie Matthes, Alison Sydor and Alison Dunlap will all be speaking the queens English at the World Cup this weekend. Tammy Jacques, always an American firecracker will not be with uas this season due to her premature retirement since her osteo perosis diagnosis. Paola Pezzo has threatened to race NORBA, but we think she was just teasing us.

For the women, my money is on Rene Marshman to podium and my eyes are on last year's winner Golden Brainard.

But we must remember the World Cup downhill doesn't start for another couple weeks so we don't know who might show off their new paint job this weekend. Word on the single track is that Cedric Gracia will be dropping some French style to keep the Americans in their place. Of course, our German brethren Jurgen Beneke will be in dem Haus because he lives in nearby Colorado and is fluent in Californian now.

Downhill Mountain Biking


Tara Takes Flight
I haven't heard about the ladies, but can only hope that we get some fluid Frenchness. If we're really lucky, we'll get World Champion Anne Caroline Chausson up against our Miss-y Giove, but that's usually a battle for the World Cup. This race is about our National Champions Leigh Donovan and Brian Lopes, who took twin titles for sponsor Mongoose last year. Leigh is up against my eternal microbiologist hero Marla Streb and last year's World's third place finisher Cheri Elliot. Additionally, Lopes will clamor Californian comrades Dave Cullinan, Mike King, and rebel-yell Shaun Palmer. Finally, let us not forget America's best — the first rider to ever qualify first for a World Cup race, Mr. Shaums May, and the ex-roadie, ex-cross-country cowboy, "Johnny T" (John Tomac).

The Cross-Country (XC) and Dual Slalom (DS) take place on Saturday and the Downhill takes center stage on Sunday. The usual Downhill crossovers, like squirrelly sprinters Tara Llanes and Katrina Miller, will be doing the Dual and clearing the double jumps for the fans, while the men will pull out their BMX-like bikes just for the ride (hopefully, there will be plenty of mud instead of the snow we saw here last year).

And lastly, for those of you who didn't realize, Snow Summit also holds the proud title of being the only stop on last year's tour in which Palmer actually had groupies. No, not fans, groupies. We'll try and get a picture to illustrate the difference. So stay tuned for America's mountain bike opener, kickin' down in sunny southern Cal.

Hans Prosl, busting out his pectoral implants for MountainZone.com

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