Craig fourth in bike race

WEST DOVER, Vt. – The National Mountain Bike Series made its annual trip to New England over the weekend, and native son Adam Craig earned a fourth-place finish in the men’s pro cross country race at Mount Snow.

The 24-year-old Craig, who splits his time between Corinth and Bend, Ore., completed the race in 2 hours, 13 minutes, 17.76 seconds to rank as the second-fastest American behind 2004 U.S. Olympian Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski of Boulder, Colo. Horgan-Kobelski placed third overall among the 61 finishers in 2:12:10.25.

Christopher Sauser of Switzerland, using the race as a tuneup for this weekend’s International Cycling Union World Cup stop at Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, won the race in 2:09:29.11, three seconds ahead of second-place Liam Killeen of Great Britain.

Craig also competed in a separate men’s pro short-track race, placing 13th among 59 finishers, a lap behind Ryan Trebon of Corvallis, Ore. Trebon finished the race in 24 minutes, 3.4 seconds, 20 seconds ahead of second-place Geoff Kabush of Victoria, British Columbia.

The NMBS schedule resumes July 8-9 at Deer Valley in Park City, Utah.

Craig will head to Quebec this weekend for the fifth of six races on the World Cup men’s elite cross country tour.

Craig finished a career-best fourth in last year’s Mont-Sainte-Anne stop. He currently ranks 37th overall in the World Cup standings but second among American riders behind Horgan-Kobelski, who sits in 13th place.

Julien Absalon, the 2004 Olympic champion from France, leads the UCI World Cup point standings.