Ralph Naef (Multivan Merida) and Irina Kalentieva (Topeak Ergon Racing Team) won their respective races at the penultimate round of the UCI mountain bike World Cup over the weekend.

The competition, held August 29-31 at a new venue in Canberra, Australia, provided a preview of the 2009 UCI world championships, to be held Down Under next August.

Many heavy hitters skipped the trip, as the race came just one week after the Olympic mountain-bike event in Beijing, China. World Cup leaders Julien Absalon (Orbea) and Marie-Héléne Prémont (Rocky Mountain) were notable absentees; both have already locked up the overall titles. Also absent were world champion Marga Fullana (Massi), Beijing champion Sabine Spitz (Ghost) and silver medalist Jean-Christoph Peraud (Orbea).

North Americans Geoff Kabush, Adam Craig, Michael Broderick and Todd Wells did make the journey, as did American Mary McConneloug and Canadian Catherine Pendrel. Their decisions paid off.

Kabush (Maxxis) and Wells (GT) both suffered in Beijing — Wells from bad legs and Kabush with mechanical problems. Both made the front group in Canberra, alongside Naef, his teammate Jose Hermida and Nino Schurter (Swisspower). Kabush finished third, 28 seconds down on Naef, to take his fourth World Cup podium of the season.

Wells crossed fifth, making his first visit to a World Cup podium.

“The course in Canberra is really fast with tons of berms, jumps and steep drops,” Wells wrote in an email. “There are decision-makers on the climbs where you can take a more technical direct line or a longer easier line. It is a super-fun course and reminds me a lot of Arizona-style riding.”

Craig (Giant) finished 13th and Broderick (Kenda-Seven) 21st, a career best.

Pendrel and McConneloug also enjoyed trips to the podium in Canberra. Pendrel (Luna), the revelation of the 2008 World Cup season, finished third behind Kalentieva and Rosara Joseph (Ghost). It was sweet redemption for the Canadian, who missed a medal by seconds in Beijing.

McConneloug (Kenda-Seven), whose seventh place in Beijing made her the top U.S. finisher, finished fifth in Canberra to claim her first podium of the World Cup season.

Meanwhile, across the pond . . .
The finals of the National Mountain Bike Series saw Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher) and Katerina Nash (Luna) emerge triumphant in the cross country, while Trek-Volkswagen teammates Ross Schnell and Lea Davison scored their first-ever NMBS wins in the short track.

The finale was held August 30-31 in Brian Head, Utah. It’s a long way from Canberra, but three-time NMBS cross-country champ Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) made the trek to defend his title.

The Canadian didn’t win Sunday’s cross country race — that honor went to Horgan-Kobelski, who is three-for-three at Brian Head. Kabush finished third, however, which was good enough to take his fourth series crown. Horgan-Kobelski finished second in the series for the second consecutive season, with Barry Wicks (Kona) third.

Schnell took the runner-up spot, with U23 rider Colin Cares and Andy Schultz finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. The finish helped bump Shultz and Schnell into fourth and fifth in the cross-country overall rankings.

In Saturday’s short track, Schnell took the win ahead of Cares. It was sweet redemption for Schnell, who lost most of the 2007 season to a knee injury.

Davison, meanwhile, beat Nash, the three-time defending series champ. It was just the second time this season that a non-Luna rider has won a NMBS cross-country race. Still, Nash’s second-place finish was good enough to wrap up her fourth consecutive NMBS short track title.

And on Sunday, she came roaring back, outlasting teammate and defending series champ Georgia Gould to take the victory. Gould won her second straight NMBS cross-country title.