Brutsaert

The downhill daredevils had been patiently waiting all week long, and on Sunday they were unleashed. The first NORBA National Championship Series downhill took place here at Snow Summit, with a 2.2 mile-long course that dropped over 1200 vertical feet. The track wasn't overly technical, but the speed was hard to control. Myles Rockwell and Elke Brutsaert found flawless final runs to take gold, but...

My money was on Donovan as she roared towards the finish. I'm not sure if it was the vacuum created as she ripped past or the dust her tires kicked up that gave it away, but she had it pegged. Leigh's popular here in So Cal and it showed — the crowd roared, screamed, and cheered as she bombed the course. Sure enough, Donovan crossed the finish line a full six seconds ahead of Kathy Pruitt (3rd) with a flat tire flopping against her rim! With this she sat in the leaders chair, but Brutsaert still needed to run the course.

Not a minute later did Brutsaert better Donovan's time by two seconds - with a conservative approach. "There were some parts of the course that I didn't go hard on, like the jumps at the end. It's too big of a risk to take this early in the season," said Brutsaert. This is her second consecutive Visa downhill win at Snow Summit and she shows no sign of slowing down.

So, Donovan ended the day with silver and in third was 17-year-old Kathy Pruitt from Lake Almanor, Ca. She's no stranger to NORBA and has been gunning for the junior world championships in June. Look for her in Sierra Nevada, Spain.

	Rockwell

I think the fun officially started when Chris Kovarik (Saturday's DS winner) ran the bottom quarter of the course. Coming into the second step down, his rear wheel didn't clear which see-sawed his front tire into the ground, sending him over the bars and inverted. In mid air, he tucked his chin and completed the roll, crash landing on the track. Without hesitation, he lifted the banner and rolled off the course then lay motionless for minutes while he was tended to by medics. Eventually, Kovarik coasted the rest of the course with bumps and bruises while his bike was missing a crank and a derailleur. All in a day's work.

Rockwell had the fastest run in the men's division, but he paid the price. "All week I was losing sleep because I knew I could win this race. I fancy myself a rider that can do well anywhere. It's harder when you know you can win — when you put pressure on yourself."

He went on to comment on the course, "There were two high speed corners — that's where I like to go fast and let it flow. When there's room to actually let your bike get sideways."

Dave Cullinan has mended last years broken arm and is riding well. He took silver just three seconds behind Rockwell. John Kirkcaldie, the speeding Kiwi, wasn't holding back either and took home the piece of bronze. But the fun hadn't ended...

After Mike King made the final descent of the day, the crowd began to disperse a bit too early. The wheelchair division was just about to start — same course with four wheels and a pull arm. It was obvious that the competitors had been waiting at the start gate much too long. Itching for speed, they ran the course and chose not to touch the brakes — the first two out of three competitors were thrown from their quadcycles on one of the steep, rocky sections of the course. Both went uninjured, laughing hysterically, looking like they were having waaaay too much fun. If you happen to make it to the next NORBA event, check out this heart and soul. I've never seen such drive to ride the mountain.

— Lucas Kane, pedaling a beach cruiser for MountainZone.com