6-10-07 // Online Exclusive: World Cup XC in Champery

Willow Koerber on a roll for fifth place. Colin Meagher

So it was a brutal battle in the heat at Champrey for the ladies—a nearly 3 km loop, one punishing climb with a vertical elevation gain of a bit over 300 feet per lap, to be immediately followed by a technical dance through the root infested woods… Repeat six times…. There was no challenge for first place—Margarita Fullana just hit the accelerator from the gun and it was a fight for second place between Sabine Spitz, Marie Helene Premont and Irina Kaletyeva, followed by Mary McConnelog and Willow Koerber….

Sabine took a digger somewhere in the woods, Mary faded a bit, and Willow moved up. A blow-by-blow account would be dull, and besides, I was staked out in the woods taking photos, so all I got to witness was position changes. And after 6 laps, your eyes tend to glaze a bit…

Margarita Fullana first, Irena Kaletyeva second, Marie Helene Premont third, Sabine Spitz fourth, and Willow Koerber in fifth—go Willow!

Now onto the men…

The men’s race covered the same course, except they did eight laps. On the first climb, everyone looked good. A tight group with all the usual suspects including: Raol Paulissen, Christoph Sauser, Ralf Naef, Julien Absalon, and the eternal Thomas Frishknecht. Basically some amazingly talented Euro talent that only die-hard XC race fans care about. And Frishy—man, I can’t believe that guy’s still out there giving it! Somewhere in the middle of the pack were the US racers: Adam Craig, JHK, Jeremiah Bishop, Mike Broderick, and Todd Wells.

On the second climb, everyone looked good—a bit more spread out, to be sure, but still going strong. Adam Craig, surprisingly enough, had moved up. A lot. In the top 30 or so after starting 63rd.

Lap three separated the men from the boys. The usual suspects were swapping leads quicker than Liz Taylor swapped out husbands. Nino Schurter in the lead, then Sauser, then Paulissen. Everytime the leaders cruised by, it was someone new. The pack fill had disintegrated into a mish mash of riders doomed to finishing time minutes behind the leaders. And that was if they didn’t get lapped and subsequently pulled.

Laps 4 through 7: Carnage ensued. The weak failed and got pulled or dropped out... Absalon and Sauser start duking it out for real. Craig continues to move up. Jeremiah Bishop holds steady somewhere out in the middle of it, JHK gave up a few places. The rest of the boys are having a rough day—they’re off the back a bit...

Frishy...still going strong at age 90. Colin Meagher

Adam Craig, with a lock on 10th place. Colin Meagher