Swapping drop bars for flat bars

Apparently the secret is using a really long stem.  Et voila.

http://surlybikes.com/blog/post/an_old_friend_revisited

[By the way, it is perfectly legal, according to USA Cycling rules, to race cyclocross on a mountain bike, on a cross bike with flat bars, on a vintage road bike with knobby tires, or basically anything with two wheels, two brakes, and nothing obviously dangerous on it.  The ultra-picky Union Cycliste Internationale rules only apply to internationally sanctioned elite races.]

Here's a video of Thomas Frishknecht sprinting to silver on flat bars in the 1997 world championships.