JHK jumps to short track win

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Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Gary Fisher/Subaru) rode a tactically sound race to win the short track in Nathrop. Sid Taberlay (Sho Air/Specialized) launched multiple attacks during the race but had to settle for second place. Young Colin Cares (Kenda/Felt) had the ride of the day, attacking the leaders with two laps to go, and finishing third.

The short track at the Chalk Creek event is certainly the least technical of all the courses that the pro riders will face this year. It is basically fire roads with some S-turns thrown in for fun. However, racers were treated to spectacular views of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains, and near perfect weather for the event.

Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Gary Fisher/Subaru) led the race the first couple laps before Jay Henry (Tokyo Joes) took some determined pulls that whittled down the field to just six riders. Sid Taberlay, the Australian short track champion, unleashed some vicious attacks that eventually put Henry and Bryan Alders (Sponsome) to the rear.

While most observers expected Taberlay and Horgan-Kobelski to battle it out for the victory, nobody expected Cares to come around them both with two laps to go. Cares was clearly riding for the win but behind him were two of the most experienced racers on the planet.

"I was feeling good. The thinner the air the better for me," said Cares after the race.

"I was going to attack the same time Colin did with two laps to go. He rode a great race," said Horgan-Kobelski. "I attacked right near the start/finish with one lap to go and pushed it all the way to the end. [It was a] typical short track - you get one chance so you have to make it count."

Gould wins going away

After winning the morning's Super D race, Georgia Gould (Luna) proved to be too much for her rivals in the short track event. Katie Compton, who rode brilliantly most of the race, took second. Kelli Emmett (Giant) took fourth, riding alone for most of the race. Heather Irmiger, still recovering from a post-World Cup illness, was satisfied with her fourth place finish.

The women formed a long line early in the race behind Gould. "I pulled for the first few laps and nobody would come around me even though I sat up. So I said, 'OK I guess I am pulling.'" said Gould.

When Compton finally decided to deliver some body blows, the lead group quickly was reduced to the final four finishers. Irmiger was the first to drop off the pace, followed by Emmett. Both of them had to ride alone for the final few laps. By the end of the race, she had opened at least a 100-meter margin of victory.

"I decided to give it a go on one of the flats and a small gap opened (to Compton), so I just time trialed to the finish," said Gould. "It was hard, especially after the hard Super D effort and then just sitting around between races."

Jokingly she added, "I wanted to make sure my legs felt really bad for the race tomorrow (cross country), so I figured I'd make it as hard on myself as possible."

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