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Dahle, Meirhaeghe climb to top in Mont Sainte-Anne XC

by VeloNews.com

• June 27, 2004
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By Chris Milliman, Special to VeloNews

A few weeks off from competition clearly didn’t hurt Gunn-Rita Dahle (Multivan-Merida). The reigning World Cup champion, who skipped last weekend’s race in Schlamding, Austria, repeated her cross-country win of a year ago here at Mont Sainte-Anne with a win over hometown favorite Marie-Helen Premont (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects).

Premont, who grew up only 15 minutes away from the race venue, pushed the pace on the opening lap, leading Dahle and teammate Alison Sydor up the opening climb. But it was on the climb that Dahle’s incredible form came into play.

The 31-year-old Norwegian, who spent the past two weeks training in Colorado, dropped Premont and Sydor on the uphill and rode conservatively, but fast enough, on the tricky descents through the woods. Dahle’s lead hovered around 15 seconds for most of the first two laps, but by the fourth and final lap the former world champion had put enough space between herself and Premont to assure a second consecutive win at Mont Sainte-Anne.

“Last year I crashed very hard, it was a 10 on a scale of one to 10,” said Dahle, “So I rode not as aggressive on the technical parts this year because I knew that one mistake could cost a lot.”

Premont, who also finished second at round two of the World Cup in Scotland, said the high placing may just be enough to cement her position on the Canadian Olympic team for Athens. Crowds of Premont supporters carried placards with a picture of Premont and the Olympic rings, as if they knew that today’s result would put her over the top in the qualification process.

Willoow Koerber (RLX Ralph Lauren) followed up her first-ever NORBA National win at last weekend’s Mount Snow with another first today: a trip to the podium at a World Cup. Koerber rode a steady race, caught between the leading duo of Premont and Dahle and the chasing twosome of Sydor and Barbara Blatter (Specialized).

“I was on my own, just like last weekend,” said Koerber. “But since I train by myself most of the time, I’m used to being able to ride hard without having anyone pushing me.”

So close, yet …

Christoph Sauser says he likes racing at Mont Sainte-Anne, but he’d be forgiven if he were fibbing. For the fourth time, Sauser (Siemens-Cannondale) came in second on the course, a streak spanning three World Cups and the 1998 world championships.

This time, Sauser’s streak was extended by defending world champion Filip Meirhaeghe (Specialized), but the race was not decided until the sixth and final lap.

While Meirhaeghe led every lap of the race, Sauser was never far behind. The two could see each other on the climbs and open slop sections that join the course’s notoriously technical wooded sections. Sauser made his bid for the win on the fifth lap, closing Meirhaeghe’s gap to only five seconds. But it wasn’t to be.

“I got very close,” said the 28-year-old Sauser. “But then Filip attacked on the climb, and I knew on the last lap he was too far ahead. It wasn’t worth taking the risks on the descents to try and catch him.”

For his part, Meirhaeghe knew that if he could stay ahead of Sauser on the climbs, there was no way the Swiss rider could make up time on the descents.

“I love this kind of technical riding,” said Meirhaeghe. “For me, the more technical the better. But I thought Christoph was climbing better than me, so I had to ride the technical sections really well.”

Adam Craig (Giant-Pearl Izumi) came in ninth to score the top American finish.

Mont Sainte-Anne World Cup
Cross country
Women
1. Gunn-Rita Dahle (Nor), Multivan-Merida, 1:41:07
2. Marie-Helene Premont (Can), Rocky Mountain-Business Objects, 1:41:48
3. Willow Koerber (USA), RLX Ralph Lauren, 1:44:38
4. Barbara Blatter (G), Specialized, 1:45:26
5. Alison Sydor (Can), Rocky Mountain-Business Objects, 1:45:45
6. Kiara Bisaro (Can), Gears Racing, 1:46:27
7. Mary McConneloug (USA), Seven Cycles, 1:46:58
8. Chrissy Redden (Can), Subaru-Gary Fisher, 1:48:28
9. Annabella Stropparo (I), Olympus,1:49:29
10. Kelli Emmett (USA), Specialized, 1:50:42

Men
1. Filip Meirhaeghe (B), Specialized, 2:07:48
2. Christoph Sauser (Swi), Siemens-Cannondale, 2:08:46
3. Jose Antonie Hermida (Sp), Multivan-Merida, 2:09:48
4. Jean-Christophe Peraud (F), LaPierre, 2:10:02
5. Roel Paulissen (B), Siemens-Cannondale, 2:10:37
6. Liam Killeen (GB), Subaru-Gary Fisher, 2:10:37
7. Fredrik Kessiakoff (Sw), Siemens-Cannondale, 2:12:26
8. Seamus McGrath (Can), Harp-Adidas, 2:12:56
9. Adam Craig (USA), Giant-Pearl Izumi, 2:15:12
10. Geoff Kabush (Can), Maxxis, 2:16:00