First Mountain Cross Titles Wrap Up NORBA Nationals

WEST DOVER, VT (BRAIN)--Pro downhill racers Brian Lopes and Melissa Buhl hammered their way down the slopes of Mount Snow to become the United States' first mountain cross national champions.

USA Cycling replaced dual slalom with mountain cross, a spectator-friendly, short-track downhill format. Unlike dual slalom, where two riders raced down separate but identical tracks, mountain cross sets four riders on a single, short downhill course with turns and jumps. The top two of each heat advance until a final four determines the championship.

Downhill racing has always had its share of gruesome high-speed crashes. With four riders on a tight course, mountain cross upped the ante this year with numerous pile-ups at each event in the five-race series.

In other NORBA national championship news, Alison Dunlap, riding with a broken arm, finished second in the final short track race of the series to secure her national championship title.

In the men's short track race, Todd Wells nearly lossed the overall series lead he brought into the fifth and final race. His standing in the series earned him a front row start, but as the starting gun sounded, Wells had difficulty getting into his pedals and was passed by the entire pack. He fought his way back up through the pack for an 11th place finish, narrowly securing his national championship.

World Champion Roland Green didn't leave anyone else a chance in sweeping the five-race cross country NORBA series to take the national championship. With his shorts torn from a tangle with a tree, Green crossed the line some four minutes ahead of his nearest competitor.

In the downhill competition, Eric Carter and Lisa Sher held onto their series' leads for the U.S. titles despite some accidents. Sher lost a contact halfway down the course. Carter, reeling from a mountain cross-induced concussion suffered the day before, rode against his doctor's orders and through blurry vision in one eye to take 14th place.