Taberlay descends to super D victory at Triple Crown finale

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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."

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