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#6-Mount Snow, VT, USA, June 20-22, 1997 Mountain Zone Coverage of the Grundig/UCI 1997 World Cup |
June 22, 1997: Men's World Cup XC "I'm back!" -Rune Hoydahl  Three's a charm, and for Rune Hoydahl today a bit of luck and timing came together with a third-straight win here at Mount Snow and a tie for third place overall in the WC standings. Battling shoulder-to-shoulder for more than two hours with Diamondback's Hubert Pallhuber, Hoydahl (Giant) got a lucky break right as Pallhuber got a flat tire on the last lap. This fortunate turn of events was not lost on the race-winner who smiled and commented "that's mountain biking," as he saluted his partner in this hard-fought dual.
Hoydahl, who has won this race for the last two years and was Mountain Zone's wildcard pick for the win today, basically thought he'd play Pallhuber into his own strategy. By sucking his wheel up the climbs, letting Pallhuber set the pace and then hopefully blow up during the course of this hot, humid day. Toward the end, when Pallhuber put down the hammer and sprinted away from Hoydahl through the final bell lap, Hoydahl realized it was his strategy that had just blown up. "On that last climb, Pallhuber pulled away and I thought that was it. Luckily for me, he flatted," Hoydahl said. Lucky indeed, as Pallhuber had found a last store of energy and began pulling away from Hoydahl on the final climb with speed heretofore unseen in a WC final lap. Building a considerable gap by the top of the final climb, the unthinkable happened as his rear tire went flat. "I did a fast change, but the race was over," Pallhuber lamented. For Hubert Pallhuber, today was the height of frustration. For this talented Italian rider to have led for an entire race knowing exactly what his strategy was and to be that close to his lifetime goal was almost too much for "Hubi." "I would like to win one race... it's always been a dream to win in the World Cup. But maybe I'll do well at Worlds," he said.
His teammate and '97 season sensation Cadel Evans (Diamondback) stayed on track today with a fourth place finish after battling his way up the ladder.
Molday, Canada's soon-to-be American XC star, surprised everyone, including himself, with an outstanding fifth place finish. Moving from 21st place on the first lap to 15th on the second was one thing; to then go from 8th and finally 5th in the finish was quite another. "I was really surprised with how well I did today," the smiling, green-haired pro said after the race. "I've been nursing a sore knee for over a week, and didn't think I was even in shape. Who knows, maybe it helped!" As the "almost first American," Molday demonstrated why he's such a force on U.S. soil, finishing more than three minutes than the first actual American - Tinker Juarez (Volvo Cannondale). Steve Larsen (USA, Schwinn/Toyota) came across a couple minutes later in 18th place — a typical finish for the languishing American World Cup effort. From here, the WC tour moves up North a couple hours to the city of Quebec and the infamous Mount Sainte Anne venue... sure to be the season's biggest race. With both World Cup XC and DH in the lineup, tune in next week for full results and all the latest news. --Ari Cheren for the Mountain Zone Final Results:
1. Rune Hoydahl (Giant) in 2 hours, 15 minutes, 46 seconds. |
