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Cactus Cup Stage Race - SR

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, September 19-21, 2008

Main Page    Results   Overall standings    Previous Stage   Next Stage

Stage 2 - September 20: Super D

Jurekovic and Emmett win Super D

By Dave McElwaine in Las Vegas

Sam Jurekovic (U-23 National Team)
Photo ©: Dave McElwaine
(Click for larger image)

After a mishap at the start that very easily could have cost him the race, Sam Jurekovic (USA U-23 National Team) won the 8.1-mile Cactus Cup Super D in a sprint finish with Sid Taberly (Team Shoair). Tim Allen (Waste Management) finished third, the same as he did last night in the Time Trial. World Champion Christophe Sauser (Specialized) who also got tangled at the start was fourth, 1:24 behind the leaders.

In the women’s race, Kelli Emmett (Giant) made it two wins in two days, beating Maureen Kunz (Lost Coast Brewery) by about one minute.

"The course was a blast. It was super fun," said Emmett after the race. "We had a good tailwind so it felt effortless for a large part of the race. You were going pretty fast. I felt like I was going 20 miles per hour out there."

Emmett added, "I think the climbs actually saved me today. Maureen was descending great… On the first climb I got a gap then there’s a false flat after the drainage ditch where she caught me. So, I just gassed it."

The Cactus Cup Super D course was the longest that riders have ever faced. The Le Mans start was intended to separate riders as passing on most of the course was next to impossible. Racers headed out onto rolling singletrack but quickly faced some tough uphill switchbacks on a section of trail called White Rhino. Several riders were seen running their bikes up this section.

Racers then descended for well over two miles into Cottowood Valley before starting the rolling uphill singletrack that leads into a box canyon called The Hurl. It was somewhere in this rocky section of the course that the men’s leader, Carl Decker (Giant), flatted. He was able to ride in on his rim to finish the race.

Kelli Emmett (Giant)
Photo ©: Dave McElwaine
(Click for larger image)

The course finished up with a long sprint across the desert followed by a steep, rocky descent into the old western town of Blue Diamond.

"At the start of the race I got my pedal caught on Sauser’s saddle so I think we both got into the singletrack in the last quarter of the field" explained Jurekovic. "I pulled a couple of fairly aggressive moves under the bridge and on the climb right after the tunnel."

Jurekovic added "I caught Carl (Decker) and Sid (Taberly) with about one quarter to go and then Carl flatted. I then chased down Sid and caught him at the top of the last climb and held his wheel on the descent. It got a little sketchy. We kind of bumped a little but then I went in for the win."

Christophe Sauser also managed to nearly erase his poor start with his 4th place finish. He will certainly be the favorite in tomorrow’s cross country race.

"I loved the course; so smooth to ride with just one corner after the other. Then at the end it got rougher so you had to change your style" said Sauser. He added "It was hard - most of the time it was really hard pedaling."

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Dave McElwaine /www.trailwatch.net

Images by Jonathan Devich/

Results

Elite men

1 Sam Jurekovic (U23 National Team)                      33.16
2 Sid Taberlay (Team Sho-Air)                             0.01
3 Tim Allen (Waste Management)                            0.56
4 Christoph Sauser (Specialized)                          0.57
5 Rotem Ishai (Kona - Spider C.C.)                        1.24
6 Benjamin Sonntag (Fort Lewis College)                   1.26
7 Andreas Hestler (Rocky Mountain Bicycles)               1.43
8 Adam Snyder (3-D Racing)                                1.52
9 Manuel Prado (Team Sho-Air)                             1.54
10 Tinker Juarez (Monavie Cannondale)                     1.56
11 Andy Schultz (Kenda-Titus-Hayes)                       2.05
12 Alex Grant (Rocky Mountain Bicycles)                   2.05
13 Drew Edsall (Endurance Factor / Scott / Sram)          2.06
14 Sean Donovan (Cytomax/Khs)                             2.17
15 Eric Salstrand                                         2.37
16 Nicholas Stevens (Waltworks/Fuentesdesign)             2.47
17 Cody Peterson (Scott Bicycles)                         3.16
18 Carl Decker (Giant Bicycles)                           4.24
19 Yuki Saito (Waltworks/Fuentesdesig)                    7.09
20 Dave Harrison (Reddrox.Com)                            7.49
21 Blake Zumbrunnenblake (Revolution / Peak Fasteners)    8.11
22 Fabio Dias (Specialized/Elite Bike)                   10.27
DNF Eric Ransom (Tamarack Resort)                             

Elite women

1 Kelli Emmett (Giant Bicycles)                          38.53
2 Maureen Kunz (Lost Coast Brewery)                       1.04

Semi-pro men

1 Rich Weis (Taser/Kenda)                                36.53
2 Brandon Firth (Rocky Mountain)                          1.52
3 Andy Rigel (Velo Bike Shop)                             2.25
4 Matt Ohran (Monavie Cannondale)                         3.13
5 Leonardo Cocholice (Specialized/Elite Bike)             8.51

Expert men

1 Mike Hileman                                           35.30
2 Brandon Cunningham                                      0.13
3 Scott Johnson                                           2.37
4 Bob Mccall                                              3.40
5 Todd Sims                                               4.58
6 Gary Strabala                                           7.09
7 Jared Fischer                                           7.15
8 Mark Jackson                                            7.46
9 Mark Roberts                                            7.46
DNF Scott Leland                                              
DNF Mike Pastore                                              

Sport men

1 Mike Olsen                                             42.23
2 Tim Moody                                               0.02
3 Ron Rudy                                                5.27
4 Thomas Pisillo                                          5.39
5 Brian Larson                                            6.31
6 Rod Lambourne                                           7.28
7 Sherman Garcia                                          8.05
8 Troy Hamilton                                           8.36
9 Reinaldo Anzola                                         8.40
10 Brian Wagner                                           9.09
11 James Carey                                           10.34
12 Brad Nukaya                                           10.35
13 Richard Nieves                                        11.19
14 Dean Maurer                                           12.48
15 Jeff Zebarth                                          14.46
16 Brennen Logue                                         18.03
17 Adam Ballner                                          20.01
18 Orion Fisher                                          39.07
19 Doug Murphy                                           41.22
20 David Gaskes                                          49.05
21 Dakota Fisher                                         49.48
DNF Jose Vega                                                 
DNF Matthew Mitchell                                          
 
Sport women

1 Julie Conner                                           45.37
2 Michele Bliss                                           1.40
3 Heather Fischer                                         7.09
4 Francine Johnson                                        7.46
5 Jeanne Starling                                         9.33
6 Kruleski Jennifer                                      22.04
 
Beginner men

1 Jeffrey Johnson                                        37.52
2 Tony Gonzalez                                           1.05
3 Nando Ateho                                             2.55
4 Shawn Tyrone                                            3.04
5 John Langton                                            4.53
6 Mark Delahoussaymark                                    5.10
7 Scott Guyette                                           5.22
8 Eric Neuhaus                                            5.25
9 Mike Kennedy                                            5.36
10 Robert Stanley                                         5.40
11 Shane Haycock                                          5.46
12 Mark Synder                                            6.14
13 Rainer Grubmueller                                     8.30
14 Harold Uttke                                           9.52
15 Robert Imlay                                          11.36
16 David Herdell                                         11.42
17 Ian Beaman                                            12.42
18 Gary Fike                                             14.33
19 Kason Smith                                           20.47
DNF Jon Horenziak                                             
DNF Gary Fike                                                 
DNF Joe Reid                    

Singlespeed 1

1 Dejay Birtch (Niner Bikes)                             37.34
2 John Mylne (Team Shoair/Niner)                          0.11
3 Hauswald Yuri (Marin Bikes)                             0.12
4 David Kelsey (Nu Vision Sport Optics)                   1.08
5 Karl Lippisch (Unattached)                              2.05
6 Jeff Mabry (Luv 2 Bike Racing)                          4.12
7 Adam Pace (Nuvision Cyclery)                            5.11
DNF Jeff Mabry (Luv 2 Bike Racing)                                                     
 
Singlespeed 2

1 Marshall Evans                                         42.39
2 John Day                                                1.13
3 Ceasar Contreras                                        5.27
4 Jason Landberg                                          9.16
 
Clydesdale men

1 Pretner Ryan                                           45.54
2 Keith Houk                                             18.12

General classification after stage 2

Elite men

1 Sam Jurekovic                                          35.20
2 Sid Taberlay                                            0.01
3 Tim Allen                                               1.03
4 Christop Sauser                                         1.06
5 Benjamin Sonntag                                        1.34
6 Rotem Ishai                                             1.36
7 Andreas Hestler                                         1.51
8 Adam Snyder                                             2.03
9 Manuel Prado                                            2.15
10 Alex Grant                                             2.23
11 Sean Donovan                                           2.31
12 Drew Edsall                                            2.32
13 Andy Schultz                                           2.36
14 Eric Salstrand                                         3.05
15 Nicholas Stevens                                       3.08
16 Cody Peterson                                          3.36
17 Carl Decker                                            4.33
18 Yuki Saito                                             7.32
19 Blake Zumbrunn                                         8.25
20 Dave Harrison                                              
21 Fabio Dias                                            11.12
 
Elite women

1 Kelli Emmett                                           42.01
2 Maureen Kunz                                            1.14
 
Semi-pro men

1 Rich Weis                                              39.41
2 Brandon Firth                                           1.34
3 Andy Rigel                                              2.29

Expert men

1 Mike Hileman                                             120 pts
2 Brandon Cunningha                                        102
3 Bob Mccall                                                82
4 Todd Sims                                                 66
5 Jared Fischer                                             52
6 Mark Jackson                                              50
7 Mark Roberts                                              40

Sport men

1 Jeffrey Johnson                                          114 pts
2 Tony Gonzalez                                             90
3 Shawn Tyrone                                              82
4 Nando Ateho                                               76
5 John Langton                                              62
6 Eric Neuhaus                                              42
7 Robert Stanley                                            38
8 Kason Smith                                               26
9 Kason Smith                                               26
10 Harold Uttke                                             20
 
Sport women

1 Julie Conner                                              40 pts
2 Michele Bliss                                             34
3 Heather Fischer                                           30
4 Jeanne Starling                                           26

Beginner men

1 Tim Moody                                                108 pts
2 Thomas Pisillo                                            82
3 Doug Murphy                                               26
4 Jeff Zebarth                                              24
 
Clydesdales

1 Pretner Ryan                                             120 pts
 
Singlespeed 1

1 Deay Birtch                                              110 pts
2 John Mylne                                               108
3 Hauswal Yuri                                              94
 
Singlespeed 2

1 Marshall Evans                                           120 pts
2 Jason Landberg                                            98
3 John Day                                                  94