Taberlay descends to super D victory at Triple Crown finale

On a hot and humid Saturday, Sid Taberlay (Sho-Air / Specialized) and Sue Haywood (SBC) blazed to victories in the first event, a super D, of the final Triple Crown weekend in Virginia.

Over 80 racers tackled the mostly downhill course. Following a rocky ridgeline start, the course plunged downhill over smooth, flowing trails interupted by occasional rock gardens. The course was somewhat loose due to dry conditions, and as it was primarily singletrack, it was run as an individual time trial.

Tablerlay won the race in a time of 11:23, 23 seconds ahead of local pro Jeremiah Bishop (Cannondale) and 24 seconds ahead of Alex Ryan. Open men's class racer and local Mike Carpenter was fourth, and Andy Schultz (Kenda / Felt) rode to fifth.

"It was good, and I had a reasonably smooth run," said Taberlay. "I had a few small mistakes, but I kept it upright."

The Australian Taberlay enjoyed his first Virginia super D experience. "This was certainly the most fun super D course I've ridden," he said. "There was a good mix of technical stuff and some good corners. And 99 percent of it was downhill."

"It was challenging. You started with a rock garden right from the start, and there was nowhere to punch it. You went over threshold in the first 100 meters, and then after that, you just tried to hold it in as big of a gear as you could for the pedally stuff while trying to keep it cool."

Bishop had the home court advantage, having helped build some of the local trails, but it wasn't enough to net him the win.

"I definitely botched the top," said Bishop. "I had a good start, but then I clipped a pedal on a rock and my bike was sideways on a critical uphill section, and that cost me some speed to restart in the right gear."

Bishop had just returned to his home in Harrisonburg after a week out of town attending the Cannondale Sales Meeting in Deer Valley, Utah, where 2011 product was introduced.

"So it didn't feel like I was racing at home," said Bishop. "I still flew in the night before and was scambling to put my bike together."

Kenda / Felt's Andy Schultz, who finished fourth among the pro men and fifth overall, was looking forward to the rest of the weekend's action, including the short track later in the afternoon and the cross country on Sunday.

"I'm not known for my downhill prowess, so I just took it as it was. It was a super fun course," said Schultz. "I'm stoked on the format of this weekend. I think it goes from my weakest event (super D) to my strongest event (cross country). The course tomorrow will be hard, but a lot of fun at the same time."

Haywood may be retired, but she's still fast downhill

Former super D national champion Sue Haywood rode to victory in a time of 13:11 and with 34 seconds over Krista Park (Incycle/Cannondale) while Kelli Emmett took third place, 39 seconds off Haywood.

"My run was pretty smooth," said Haywood. "I'd had terrible pre-rides, including wrecking, but these were my home trails and I knew all the lines, plus I got lots of tips from (partner) Tim."

"I had a sick feeling in my stomach from going so hard, and it was hot," she said, "but it was fun having people out cheering us on."

Park said the spectators on the course motivated her to go well. "There were some guys yelling us on. They shouted, 'Sprint, everyone else out here pedalled this section,' as I rode by. It was awesome to get that kind of support out there." She added that it wasn't her best run, but she was happy not to wreck.

Emmett enjoyed her experience, too. "The course was amazing, I loved it." The super D superstar and pre-race favorite wasn't making excuses for not winning. "I made a little mistake at one of the climbing sections near the top, but otherwise, my run was good."

Full Results

Swipe to scroll horizontally
All men (elite + open)
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sid Taberlay (Sho-Air / Specialized)0:11:26
2Jeremiah Bishop (Cannondale Factory Racing)0:00:23
3Alex Ryan (Champion)0:00:24
4Michael Carpenter0:00:34
5Christopher Michaels0:00:48
6Andy Schultz (Kenda/Felt)0:00:58
7Ryan FawleyRow 6 - Cell 2
8Joel Maynard0:01:08
9Cory Rimmer (CY/Hayes/Kenda/Thompson)0:01:12
10Chris Scott0:01:18
11Kyle Lawrence0:01:19
12Tim Richardson0:01:22
13Aaron Snyder (SCOTT RC Mountain BIke Team)0:01:24
14Colin VentoRow 13 - Cell 2
15Jeff Dickey (NCVC/UnitedHealth Group)0:01:25
16Drew Scharns (Boone Bike and Touring)0:01:35
17Patrick Miller0:01:40
18Dan FudalaRow 17 - Cell 2
19Matt Miller0:01:41
20Jake BrownRow 19 - Cell 2
21Jordan Kahlenberg (Breakaway Bikes)0:01:43
22Jamie KeehnerRow 21 - Cell 2
23Wesley Lamberson0:01:47
24Daniel Atkins (Adventures for the Cure)Row 23 - Cell 2
25Cameron Dodge0:01:50
26Tad Elliott (Sho-Air / Specialized)0:01:52
27Todd Branham (Blue Ridge Adventures)Row 26 - Cell 2
28Madison Matthews0:01:58
29Justin Mace0:01:59
30Matt Smith0:02:03
31Thomas Jenkins0:02:05
32Jed Prentice (Bike Doctor)0:02:08
33Nick Waite (Kenda Pro Cycling)0:02:09
34John Arias (Scott RC Factory Mountainbike)0:02:19
35Mike Capraro0:02:27
36Scott Bechtel (Downhill Zone)0:02:29
37Daivd Parsons-Forfsi (Specialized - Dumonde Tech)0:02:30
38Ian Spivack (StudioOrganics.com)0:02:34
39Ben Frederick0:02:40
40Kurt Rosenberger0:02:42
41Joshua Abelard (EVMA)0:02:47
42Matt Lough (Gripped Racing)0:02:54
43Thomas Cooper0:03:01
44Jay Dodge (scott rc mountain bike team)0:03:02
45Douglas Chamberlain0:03:07
46Jason Sajko0:03:11
47Aaron Hoag (Specialized/Dumonde Tech)0:03:20
48Colby Wallace (Gripped Racing)Row 47 - Cell 2
49Paul Bayne0:03:28
50Chris Shelley0:03:33
51Mark Veerman (SVBC)0:03:40
52Nicholas Quesnel0:03:41
53John Simril0:03:57
54Chris Huffmire (EVMA)0:04:24
55Adam Osterholz0:04:29
56Richard Stem0:04:36
57Alex Harrill (Inland Construction)0:05:06
58Ari Giller-Leinwohl0:05:47
59Kevin Keane0:06:01
60Jeffrey Sheehan (Bike Doctor)0:06:45
61Kevin Ford0:07:14
62Phil Thai0:07:40
63Scott Mcgill0:08:23
64Roger Spivey0:08:37
65Ian Lamberson0:12:54
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Elite men only
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sid Taberlay (Sho-Air / Specialized)0:11:26
2Jeremiah Bishop (Cannondale Factory Racing)0:00:23
3Alex Ryan (Champion)0:00:24
4Christopher Michaels0:00:48
5Andy Schultz (Kenda/Felt)0:00:58
6Cory Rimmer (CY/Hayes/Kenda/Thompson)0:01:12
7Aaron Snyder (SCOTT RC Mountain BIke Team)0:01:24
8Jeff Dickey (NCVC/UnitedHealth Group)0:01:25
9Drew Scharns (Boone Bike and Touring)0:01:35
10Matt Miller0:01:41
11Jordan Kahlenberg (Breakaway Bikes)0:01:43
12Wesley Lamberson0:01:47
13Tad Elliott (Sho-Air / Specialized)0:01:52
14Jed Prentice (Bike Doctor)0:02:08
15Nick Waite (Kenda Pro Cycling)0:02:09
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Open men only
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Michael Carpenter0:12:00
2Ryan Fawley0:00:24
3Joel Maynard0:00:34
4Chris Scott0:00:44
5Kyle Lawrence0:00:45
6Tim Richardson0:00:48
7Colin Vento0:00:50
8Patrick Miller0:01:06
9Dan FudalaRow 8 - Cell 2
10Jake Brown0:01:07
11Jamie Keehner0:01:09
12Daniel Atkins (Adventures for the Cure)0:01:13
13Cameron Dodge0:01:16
14Todd Branham (Blue Ridge Adventures)0:01:18
15Madison Matthews0:01:24
16Justin Mace0:01:25
17Matt Smith0:01:29
18Thomas Jenkins0:01:31
19John Arias (Scott RC Factory Mountainbike)0:01:45
20Mike Capraro0:01:53
21Scott Bechtel (Downhill Zone)0:01:55
22Daivd Parsons-Forfsi (Specialized - Dumonde Tech)0:01:56
23Ian Spivack (StudioOrganics.com)0:02:00
24Ben Frederick0:02:06
25Kurt Rosenberger0:02:08
26Joshua Abelard (EVMA)0:02:13
27Matt Lough (Gripped Racing)0:02:20
28Thomas Cooper0:02:27
29Jay Dodge (scott rc mountain bike team)0:02:28
30Douglas Chamberlain0:02:33
31Jason Sajko0:02:37
32Aaron Hoag (Specialized/Dumonde Tech)0:02:46
33Colby Wallace (Gripped Racing)Row 32 - Cell 2
34Paul Bayne0:02:54
35Chris Shelley0:02:59
36Mark Veerman (SVBC)0:03:06
37Nicholas Quesnel0:03:07
38John Simril0:03:23
39Chris Huffmire (EVMA)0:03:50
40Adam Osterholz0:03:55
41Richard Stem0:04:02
42Alex Harrill (Inland Construction)0:04:32
43Ari Giller-Leinwohl0:05:13
44Kevin Keane0:05:27
45Jeffrey Sheehan (Bike Doctor)0:06:11
46Kevin Ford0:06:40
47Phil Thai0:07:06
48Scott Mcgill0:07:49
49Roger Spivey0:08:03
50Ian Lamberson0:12:20
Swipe to scroll horizontally
All women (elite and open)
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sue Haywood0:13:11
2Krista Park0:00:34
3Kelli Emmett (Giant Bicycles)0:00:39
4Carolyn Popovic0:01:05
5Johanna Kraus (Velo Bella)0:01:27
6Whitney March0:02:26
7Susan Musante0:02:59
8Anina Aaron0:03:00
9Brenda Simril0:03:27
10Misty Tilson0:04:38
11Laura Bechtel (CAMBC/Downhill Zone)0:04:56
12Lemma Mclean0:10:32
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Elite women only
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sue Haywood0:13:11
2Krista Park0:00:34
3Kelli Emmett (Giant Bicycles)0:00:39
4Carolyn Popovic0:01:05
5Johanna Kraus (Velo Bella)0:01:27
6Anina Aaron0:03:00
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Open women only
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Whitney March0:15:37
2Susan Musante0:00:33
3Brenda Simril0:01:01
4Misty Tilson0:02:12
5Laura Bechtel (CAMBC/Downhill Zone)0:02:30
6Lemma Mclean0:08:06

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Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews.  She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.

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