Lopes finds luck in Madonna!

This year's Jeep 48Straight finals brought out some of the world's top-ranked mountain bikers, from ALL disciplines; Greg Minnaar from DH, Adam Craig from XC, Kyle Strait, Cam ZInk and Cam McCaul from freestyle and Brian Lopes from 4X and did I mention celeb snow-boarder Shaun Palmer came out for a cameo. The well-rounded bunch showed off there skills in a course designed by seasoned racer Eric Carter. The course nuzzled in the mountains at the Madonna Inn proved effective in weeding out the true prospects during the qualifying run. Lopes demonstrated to be up for the challenge as he qualified with the fastest time, followed closely by series-point leader Cody Warren. Warren who was eliminated early on by Mike Harderer, as well as Petr Hanak, were two of the 3 potential series champions. Leaving Carter as the sole contender for the overall title. Both Carter and Lopes eliminated their opponents skillfully, meeting up for the final round. With over 60 years of combined racing experience and a long-standing racing rivalry that dates back to BMX days, Lopes and Carter went on to put on a good show for the fans and TV cameras a like. Lopes making the step-up jump look easy and Carter hamming it up for the crowds. The end results proved mutually successful, as Lopes took the win for the race and Carter the overall! Congratulations to EC and Melissa Buhl for their overall win! Big thanks to JEEP and 48Straight for elevating the sport and bringing it to homes nationwide via CBS Sports! MEN FINAL RESULTS 1. LOPES Brian (Oakley/Ibis) 2. CARTER Eric (Mongoose) 3. MINNAAR Greg (Santa Cruz) www.brianlopes.com