Well I won juniors last year and in Downieville rules I could race juniors again but I decided to give the pro class a go. The race weekend snuck up on me quick but I still got to be up there the whole week before in our camper. That area is my favorite because of the epic riding, sweet swimming spots in the Yuba River and local lakes, fishing, spectacular views, and wild animals….except for the rodents, they have the plague.
Our RV site was about 200 yards from the XC start so it was a smooth and easy morning with high temps only in the 80’s on a perfect race day. I had my mind set following someone really fast up the hill and not letting go, but about the third mile of climbing behind Jason I decided to give him a break and I let him go. I got to the top of the 8 mile climb in the mid 50 minute range and now have about 20 miles of high speed rock infested trails to catch anyone riding hard tails and 2.0 tires. I finished 10th in the all mountain pro XC with a 2:05, eight minutes faster than last year. Pretty stoked on the day.
Day two we start at the top and ride down with the same exact bike setup as yesterday, bikes are weighed and photographed each day to ensure this. My setup was the ‘09 Giant Reign with a Fox 36 Talas and some shock absorbing WTB Wierwolf LT 2.55 tires. I had smooth DH run with no huge risk taking and caught 6 people in front of me. I pulled a 46:01, just under four minutes faster than last year and two seconds off Brian Lopes. Good enough for sixth place on the day which put me eighth in the All Mountain, I mean “world”. Not too shabby.
Tuesday after Downieville we loaded up the car for our 19 hour trek to Granby, Colorado for National Championships. I got to do some sweet riding at 9,000 feet but I didn’t get to do much breathing on the other hand. The XC course was the longest four mile lap I’ve ever done and was fairly technical and mostly single track. The uphill was a perfectly graded singling track climb with lots of switchbacks and some descent rocks. The down was a brand new trail with a steep “chute” section that was quite fun. I spent the first few laps battling for a top 10 in the U23 pro and was feeling pretty solid and sure enough the cramps were chasing me up the 15 minute climb each lap and I dropped a few spots. Finished 18th on the day out of 50ish, not as good as I was hoping but I got a few more years to win.
I had Saturday off for some early morning Super D runs, a nice nap, and then went to go heckle the big boy pro’s at the “chute”. They go really fast. Then headed to the 4X track to see some racing under the stadium lights.
Sunday was a Super D race in the morning that was just mass chaos and danger. Nothing like 50 pro’s running through an un-groomed field and gravel in their carbon soled shoes and then funneling down to single track in about 100 yards with no room to pass. What place you ran is what place you got, I really wish these were a time trial start like Deer Valley and San Ynez last year. Managed 16th, I guess I have to work on running.
So here is my chance to redeem myself in the Short Track race. I retreated to my car for some heavy metal and a quick shut eye. Grabbed my Giant Anthem X with WTB Vulpine tires that work surprisingly well at low pressure. I snuck up for a 3rd row start and then let the elbows do the work and pulled my way up to about 12th and was feeling really good. A couple laps down and I was holding my position then a metal fence jumped out and grabbed me and set me flinging through the air and sliding down the gravel road. There it went, my chance at redemption and I was feeling pretty good. Well that’s bike racing, win some and lose some. I’ll be back.
1. Swimming Hole
2.DH Start
3.DH run photo by Bob Lowe
4.Stealing Some Shade
5.The Top
6.Carl and I got stuck in some traffic
7.Sending it in the STXC
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