Park City, Utah - or "Sin City" as some locals call it - heated up last weekend for plenty of mountain bike action, as round five of the NORBA NCS arrived for one last event of the '99 season before the finals in Mt. Snow. With record high temperatures and three solid days of pro racing, the venue was alive with bikes, music and the sound of knobby tires everywhere.

With only the season finale remaining next month in Mt. Snow, VT, this week's event was critical for last-chance points as the U.S. riders look for important national championships and foreign riders gain exposure from our high-profile American series. What better place than the thin air (7,000') and challenging terrain of Utah?

	Done Laps Best

Dunlap and Leuchs Win Long-format XC
America's best XC racer Alison Dunlap again found her winning form in Friday's long-format cross-country race, followed by a breakout ride by first-time winner Kashi Leuchs of New Zealand. The course is known for being steep and deep - loose dust going straight up the Deer Valley resort followed by a harrowing descent back to the venue. But Dunlap and Leuchs put the 6.5 mile torture test to their advantage, each winning in dominant style.

Dunlap's main competition came from Russian Alla Epifanova, who also tested the American in this - and last - week's short track events. Epifanova stayed within ten seconds of Dunlap for two of the three laps, but finally fell off the pace in the last lap, allowing Dunlap to build and maintain a 20-second lead going into the final descent.

"Leuchs used his powerful climbing and descending to stay ahead of the pack and hold off some top names in the sport. Roland Green finished second behind him, nearly two minutes back..."

Dunlap has now won two NCS XC events this season, and overtook the series lead from Ruthie Matthes, who finished 5th on this course. Dunlap, who also won the opening round of the world cup season, now has a strong chance for the overall title, and will be representing the U.S. in next year's Olympic Games. Matthes had won here the last three years running (the race has only been held here for four years), and she said it was as hot a race as she had ever experienced.

Men's racing was won by Kiwi newcomer Kashi Leuchs, who first came to our attention when he broke out a third place finish in Seven Springs this season, in his second-ever NORBA event. Leuchs has been racing (and winning) in New Zealand and also had a pair of strong World Cup finishes this season in Madrid and Germany, but, he says, that to win on the prestigious NORBA circuit is literally a dream come true. "This is my first big win," he said.

	Kashi Surprised

Leuchs used his powerful climbing and descending to stay ahead of the pack and hold off some top names in the sport. Roland Green finished second behind him, nearly two minutes back - while David Wiens took third. The two top-ranked men this season - Travis Brown and Steve Larsen - finished 6th and 8th, respectively.

The national championship for the men will be a close one at the Mt. Snow finals, as fully four men are within 60 points of each other. Larsen leads with 572 points, Travis Brown holding 528 points. Wiens also has a legitimate shot with 518 points, and Kashi Leuchs (who technically can't be the U.S. champion) has 510 points.

Dunlap and Green Win Short Track XC
With the XC event "keeping it real" on Friday's, the STXC event looks to hook the crowds (and TV) on Saturday by sending riders through a short and fast track for crit-style races. Taking the lead for convincing wins in this new event, Alison Dunlap repeated her XC victory while series leader Roland Green took this third win of the season.

	Seeing Green

Dunlap, who earlier this season pulled off the XC/STXC "double" in Red Wing, did it again in Deer Valley when she powered off the front of a tough course for a solo win. chased down by Ruthie Matthes at the finish, Dunlap kept her chasers at bay using road-style attack-tics, winning convincingly. The women raced for approximately 30 minutes, completing ten laps of a course that featured serious climbing in the hot sun.

Dunlap and Matthes were followed by a trio of riders - Ann Trombley, Rene Marshman and Alla Epifanova. Epifanova had led for two laps, but fell to an eventual 5th place, while Trombley and Marshman were steady performers the entire race. Interesting trivia - four of the top-five women are from Colorado, and Epifanova will be visiting the state for the next three weeks - who knew?

In men's STXC racing, Roland Green took early control of the event to beat out a trio of battling chasers. While Green took an early lead, he was soon unseated by Chris Sheppard who led for a couple laps. As Green regained the front position, Tinker Juarez moved up to the third position for an exciting race up front. Juarez held on for third behind Green and Sheppard, while Carl Swenson and Kashi Leuchs rounded out the podium.

Miller and Lopes Win Dual Slalom
Saturday evening saw the infamous DS race go off in front of a large, if not enthusiastic, crowd. As the sun set on the second day of racing, the side-by-side racers went at it in this final event before Mt. Snow's big show. And, not surprisingly, the sport's two best racers took top honors when Brian Lopes and Katrina Miller won their final events.

	It's Miller Time

Lopes wound up facing his teammate Cédric Gracia in the finals, which was good because his friend dutifully ensured Lopes' victory by sitting up at the end of their two runs. Lopes now has a convincing lead and looks like he's headed for another national championship in his favorite sport. In consolation racing, Rich Houseman beat Ryan White.

Women's racing was again dominated by series-leading Katrina Miller, who beat Tara Llanes in the final round. Miller had beat Cheri Elliott in the semis, so Elliott met up with Leigh Donovan in the consolation round. Elliott won that round, so Donovan sits in second overall, 60 points behind Australian Miller and also looking like she's headed to another U.S. national championship.

Giove and Kovarik Win Downhill
Sunday's big event was all about the tried and true on the women's side, and about the new kids on the men's. The Deer Valley course was dry as a bone, and full of "moon dust," the lightest dust we've seen - that just lingered on the course and hovered above the deep ruts and blown out berms. The track is a long two miles in length, dropping 1,200' from a start way up at 8,400' elevation.

Ladies' racing saw the same top-five women as last week, albeit in a different order. This week it was Missy Giove who hung on for the win, even after a spectacular crash on the course's upper sections. Her shoulder still sore from an accident in Mammoth last week, Giove gave it her all and pulled off a close win.

Cheri Elliott finished 2nd - just .67 seconds off, while Leigh Donovan took 3rd - just .98 seconds back. Tara Llanes was 4th, while a (mysteriously) disappointed Lisa Sher took 5th. All five top women reported that they crashed on course, most of them in the lower tree section. Trivial note: Tai-Lee Muxlow, who is Australian, was the only non-American in the top-ten of the women's race.

Men's racing also saw some Australian (and Kiwi) blood in the top ten, as the quiet one - Chris Kovarik - pulled off another NORBA win against a tough field. Chris has now taken first or second in all of his U.S. races except one, and along with his teammate/countryman Nathan Rennie raised the profile of his small Qranc team.

	Bon Giove

Behind Kovarik in speed, Myles Rockwell finished second in the midst of a stellar season, raising his overall standing to first and giving himself a good chance for a national title in Vermont. Third was Jason Sigfrid, who said he decided to not crash and thus got his best-ever finish. EC - Eric Carter was 4th, the other veteran besides Rockwell to podium.

Otherwise is was the youngsters. Kiwi Nathan Rankin finished 5th and steadily-improving Colin Baily was 6th. Other notable rides include the aforementioned Nathan Rennie, who took 8th place. Behind him was a nice ride from brand-new pro Todd Leduc who only this week upgraded from Semi-Pro and got himself a 9th place - .25 seconds faster than 10th place Kirt Voreis.

And so it went - another successful NORBA event. One race remains in the series, the infamous Mt. Snow naked affair where championships, world team positions, salaries and sponsorship will all be determined. But first, three world cup downhill events will get the descenders tuned up. Speaking of which, it was announced that the television season re-cap will air on September 11, 1999 at 3pm EST on NBC. Be sure to watch, and check back here for all the latest results.

— Ari Cheren, trying hard to remain distraction-free in lovely (and we do mean lovely) Park City, reporting for MountainZone.com