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U.S. Junior Captures Mountain Bike World Title
FERGUSON CAPTURES GOLD MEDAL AT WORLD MOUNTAIN BIKE CHAMPIONSHIPS
SIERRA NEVADA, Spain (June 9, 2000) -- For the first time since 1992, a U.S. junior male rider stood atop the World Mountain Bike Championship podium, this time in Sierra Nevada, Spain, and claimed the coveted rainbow jersey and gold medal. Walker Ferguson (Norwood, Colo.) won the fight of his race career Friday, June 9, edging out Spaniard Inaki Lejarreta Errasti by 30 seconds in the junior men's cross-country race.
Kelly Mandrell (Newberry, S.C.) finished 15th in the junior women's race, while Jess Swiggers (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was the top American in the espoir (under-23 men) race at seventh.
Ferguson, who placed second earlier this year at the Junior World Cyclo-Cross Championships, rode the first lap of the race in third and was 35 seconds behind Errasti. By the end of the second lap, Ferguson had moved up to second, 50 seconds behind the Spaniard, who started to fade after going to fast in the beginning. It was also at the end of the second lap that Ferguson stepped on the gas and eventually caught the first-place rider at the start of the third, and last, lap.
With approximately 1 km to go, Ferguson sensed it was time to move.
"I went through the last feed zone and was thinking about going as hard as I could," said Ferguson, who won a junior World Cup race in Napa, Calif., in March. "Before the race, I looked at the splits from Wednesday's team relay, and I knew he (Errasti) had the best time. I knew I couldn't match his speed on the first two laps, so I just waited to move. That was the hardest last loop of my life."
Ferguson is the first junior men's world champion since John Osguthorpe in '92. The last time a U.S. rider claimed the rainbow jersey was in 1997, when Cecilia Potts won the junior women's cross-country race.
"I feel awesome, but I don't think it's really sunk in yet," 18-year-old Ferguson said. "I felt confident coming into today, and I knew I could do well. This is the biggest thing that has happened in my life."
Ferguson began cycling in 1998 after suffering a broken knee in a snowboarding accident. In his first year, he won the junior overall title in the SuperCup Cyclo-Cross Series. Ferguson also competed at last year's World Mountain Bike Championships in Are, Sweden, and finished 21st.
Behind Ferguson, Dan Bowman (Farmington Hill, Mich.) was the next American finisher at 39th. Alan Obye (Mendon, Vt.) and Justin Thompson (Avondale, Pa.) were 43rd and 44th, respectively.
Mandrell, the only American in the junior cross-country women's race, admitted her race was tough, but the two-time South Carolina mountain bike champion was able to muster up extra energy in the last lap.
"I didn't know what to expect. I was shooting for a top-10 finish, but that didn't happen. I'm just glad I'm not last. It was the hardest race I've ever been in, but it was fun," Mandrell said.
In the espoir race, Swiggers had a rough start, riding at 16th for the first lap. The 1999 national espoir champion was able to make up time quickly though and soared to seventh in two laps. Teammate and '99 Junior World Cyclo-Cross Champion Matt Kelly (Colorado Springs, Colo.) experienced trouble shortly after the start of the race when his chain jammed. Kelly lost time when he had to remove his tire to fix the mechanical. He was able to comeback to 31st.
World Mountain Bike Championship action continues Saturday, June 10, with the elite and junior downhill competitions and the dual event.
2000 WORLD MOUNTAIN BIKE CHAMPIONSHIPS, JUNE 9, JUNIOR AND ESPOIR CROSS-COUNTRY
Junior Men: 29.350km; average speed, 17.01 km/h
1. WALKER FERGUSON, Norwood, Colo., at 1 hour, 43 minutes and 31 seconds; 2. Inaki Lejarreta Errasti, Spain, @ :30 back; 3. Florian Vogel, Switzerland, @ :48
Other Americans: 39. Dan Bowman, Farmington Hill, Mich. @14:25; 43. Alan Obye, Mendon, Vt., @ 16:37; 44. Justin Thompson, Avondale, Pa., @17:43
Junior Women: 20.050km; average speed, 14.37 km/h
1. SONJA TROXEL, Switzerland, at 1 hour, 23 minutes and 42 seconds; 2. Maja Wlosczowska, Poland, @ 1:44; 3. Nicole Cook, Great Britain, @ 2:19
Americans: 15. Kelly Mandrell, Newberry, S.C., @ 11:46
Espoir: 38.650km; average speed, 18.04 km/h
1. Jose Antonio Hermida, Spain, at 2 hours, 8 minutes and 34 seconds; 2. Marti Gispert Labarta, Spain, @ 3:42 back; 3. Kashi Leuchs, New Zealand, @ 4:15
Americans: 7. Jess Swiggers, Colorado Springs, Colo., @ 6:59; 31. Matt Kelly, Colorado Springs, Colo., @ 17:26. |
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