TRAVERSE CITY -- Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Alison Dunlap can add another championship to their impressive resumes.
The two Colorado cyclists captured the 28-mile Iceman Cometh mountain bike race Saturday afternoon under unseasonably warm sunny skies.
Horgan-Kobelski, who competed in the 2004 Olympics and is the current U.S. national champion, won the men's professional race in 1 hour, 34 minutes, 2 seconds.
Dunlap, a two-time Olympian and 13-time national champ, claimed the women's race by one second over former five-time Iceman champion Kelli Emmett, 1:46:40 to 1:46:41.
"It feels great," Horgan-Kobelski said. "I usually come here in the middle of my off season when I'm not as fit. But it's such a fun race. This year I really wanted to win.
"And it's a hard race to win. If you don't put it together tactically at the end, it's difficult to pull off even if you're prepared."
Six riders separated from the pack early in the men's race.
"We were actually working together pretty well, keeping the pace high for a lot of the race," Horgan-Kobelski said.
Horgan-Kobelski, who was third in 2007 but missed last year with a broken collarbone, made his move just before the last single-track section of the course.
"I wanted to go into that first," he said. "I pushed it right there, created a little gap and then stretched it."
Montana's Sam Schultz, who like Horgan-Kobelski rides for Gary Fisher/Subaru team, finished second, 12 seconds back at 1:34:14.
"I was actually stuck behind two other guys going into that single track," Schultz said. "I knew coming out of it we had a pretty steep climb in the last kilometer. I was able to go around those two guys up the climb. I kind of sat up after that and made sure we didn't put any pressure on Jeremy. I didn't want to drag anyone else up there. I realized he had a big enough gap.
"Our goal is to have one of us on top of the podium. Obviously, we're going to work together if we have the opportunity. It worked out perfectly today."
Wisconsin's Brian Matter, who won the Ore to Shore in Marquette, placed third in 1:34:16.
"Jeremy just had a little more power at the end," Matter said. "He had the most gas on the last climb. That's how it (race) was won last year -- and in previous years. It comes down to who saves the most for that last climb.
"But overall I thought it went well. I tried to get away a couple times earlier in the race, and maybe I used too much energy. But racing against these two guys (Horgan-Kobelski and Schultz) is pretty tough.
Five riders separated from the pack in the women's race. It stayed that way until the 20-mile mark.
"Kelli punched it really hard with eight miles to go," Dunlap said. "I countered and that split the group."
From there, it became a race between Dunlap, Emmett and Heather Irmiger.
"We rode a hard tempo until two miles to go when Kelli attacked again," Dunlap said. "I was on her wheel and I knew there was that one last climb and it was like, 'I've gotta go. I've gotta go for it.'"
She did and took the lead.
"I just attacked (the hill) and at the top I just punched it and went for it," Dunlap said. "Kelli was about 10 feet behind me so I knew I couldn't let up. When we got to the chute (near the end), she got on my wheel, I punched it again and she didn't have enough to come around. Luckily for me, I had enough."
It was Dunlap's first Iceman.
"This is a great race and a super fun course," she said. "I'm thrilled. This is my biggest victory all year."
Emmett made her work for it.
"On that last hill she was able to get around me," Emmett said. "That was the move of the day because then it's tight and winding (in the chute to the finish) so it's hard to make a pass."
Emmett, who has competed in almost half of the 20 Iceman races, called Saturday's field one of the strongest ever.
"The pros want to support a race like this that brings in record crowds," she said. "Also, it offers a lot of money. This is our biggest payout of the year. To win $3,000 is just amazing. I think you're going to see more and more pros try to stay fit (after their seasons end in September) and do well at the Iceman."
The winners in the men's and women's races earned $3,000. The runner-ups received $2,000. Third-place finishers pocketed $1,500.
Irmiger came in third in 1:46:41.
"We all knew that whoever went into that very last steep climb in front was going to win," she said. "I went in third. I didn't quite have the juice to stay with them."
Irmiger was also third a year ago, although she said she had a stronger race Saturday.
"Every year I try harder and harder to not come here out of shape," the Colorado rider said. "It's been working. Maybe next year I'll get second or first."
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