Super D and Short Track wrapped up the final day in Nationals. Riders below getting ready before the start.
Super D is one of the coolest things to happen in mountain biking the last 10 years. The first Super D I think I did was at the WORS cup when they had it had Devils Head. They called it a tt but it had more down than up. The first big mountain one was MT Snow than at Windham which was a great course, specifically built for Super D. Sol Vista had a nice Super D course and the only other place in the Midwest to run one is the WORS Cup again at MT Morris. Nice course for what they have to work with. When Super D first started, guys and gals were using their cross country rigs but now the all mountain bike seems to be the ride of choice. A Super D series in MN would be awesome. Most of the venues used for the MNMBS series could host a Super D nicely and Giants Ridge already has a dh course and a little up could easily be added. Duluth could have at least 4 courses. Everytime I drive across from WI I look at that powerline in Duluth and have visions of Super D. Super D is downhill racing without big jumps and the scary stuff the real downhillers do and a certain amount of climbing to keep the dh guys honest... and give the skinny cross country guys a chance to put on some time.....
...unless you are Adam Craig who can descend with the best with them and still pull off a top 3 in the XC. The announcer was putting riders like Ross Schnell and Mark Wier in the same category as AC but there is no all around rider like Craig. He has been Natl champ in XC but has some of the best descending skills in the sport. Once cool thing about Adam is at the start he is mingling with everyone regardless what level and just like everyone else, loves to ride his bike and shred trails across the world. At Sun Valley they did interval starts which was a good move and gave everyone clean lines and fair shot.
I rode the course before everyone started. It was 42 degrees at the base but about 20 degrees warmer at top with the sun hitting after the gondola ride up. Started off with a very climb to the top on the other side of Mt Baldy after a quick downhill start. A climb like this makes the downhillers dream about snicker bars at the bottom. The gravity events are happening in Bend this year so the only real downhillers that came out of the sage brush where the locals but looking at the results, it was mostly xc guys on the podium.
Open singletrack near the top before switch back.
Nothing to tech. Fast riding. Super fun.
Deeper in the woods.
Back on double track. Fastest section. The only thing I forgot from back home was my wheelset I had set up specifically for the Super D. Running tubulars was a bit risky but the benefits of running that set up was great and no troubles getting down.
Back in the woods on the flowy descending stuff used in the xc race. Trickiest part was staring in to the sun and not hitting the elbows on some of the trees. We didn't pre-ride the course but Jake had a solid result nailing down 15th out of 60 riders, mostly all from big mountain states.
Short track racing later morning. Jake ended having late race battle with fellow Midwest rider Miles Beach. Jake just nipped Miles at the line for 16th. Nice racing by both.
Overall it was a great trip and definitely my favorite area/venue I have been to for a National. The Powerhouse Sports was a great find, thanks to heads up by Geno and nice to visit with the owner Billy Olson. Excellent eats and bikes all over with ones for sell, bikes being built and bikes being repaired. Most of the people that came in were bikers and the table setting was very similar to Maplelag where you sat at a table with 2-3 different parties making for some good and interesting conversation.
Read nice article about Olson in the Sun Valley guide and pleased to find it online. Check it out if you didn't see in
skinnyski report which has full recap of Nationals.
I had the jibskates packed but we didn't venture off the main path to find snow as Jake had to get back so he could get ready for Young Life camp which he is at now in northern lower Michigan. We did stop by the Rendezvous trail head before a beautiful evening drive through Yellowstone and safe trip home.
Super D is one of the coolest things to happen in mountain biking the last 10 years. The first Super D I think I did was at the WORS cup when they had it had Devils Head. They called it a tt but it had more down than up. The first big mountain one was MT Snow than at Windham which was a great course, specifically built for Super D. Sol Vista had a nice Super D course and the only other place in the Midwest to run one is the WORS Cup again at MT Morris. Nice course for what they have to work with. When Super D first started, guys and gals were using their cross country rigs but now the all mountain bike seems to be the ride of choice. A Super D series in MN would be awesome. Most of the venues used for the MNMBS series could host a Super D nicely and Giants Ridge already has a dh course and a little up could easily be added. Duluth could have at least 4 courses. Everytime I drive across from WI I look at that powerline in Duluth and have visions of Super D. Super D is downhill racing without big jumps and the scary stuff the real downhillers do and a certain amount of climbing to keep the dh guys honest... and give the skinny cross country guys a chance to put on some time.....
...unless you are Adam Craig who can descend with the best with them and still pull off a top 3 in the XC. The announcer was putting riders like Ross Schnell and Mark Wier in the same category as AC but there is no all around rider like Craig. He has been Natl champ in XC but has some of the best descending skills in the sport. Once cool thing about Adam is at the start he is mingling with everyone regardless what level and just like everyone else, loves to ride his bike and shred trails across the world. At Sun Valley they did interval starts which was a good move and gave everyone clean lines and fair shot.
I rode the course before everyone started. It was 42 degrees at the base but about 20 degrees warmer at top with the sun hitting after the gondola ride up. Started off with a very climb to the top on the other side of Mt Baldy after a quick downhill start. A climb like this makes the downhillers dream about snicker bars at the bottom. The gravity events are happening in Bend this year so the only real downhillers that came out of the sage brush where the locals but looking at the results, it was mostly xc guys on the podium.
Open singletrack near the top before switch back.
Nothing to tech. Fast riding. Super fun.
Deeper in the woods.
Back on double track. Fastest section. The only thing I forgot from back home was my wheelset I had set up specifically for the Super D. Running tubulars was a bit risky but the benefits of running that set up was great and no troubles getting down.
Back in the woods on the flowy descending stuff used in the xc race. Trickiest part was staring in to the sun and not hitting the elbows on some of the trees. We didn't pre-ride the course but Jake had a solid result nailing down 15th out of 60 riders, mostly all from big mountain states.
Short track racing later morning. Jake ended having late race battle with fellow Midwest rider Miles Beach. Jake just nipped Miles at the line for 16th. Nice racing by both.
Overall it was a great trip and definitely my favorite area/venue I have been to for a National. The Powerhouse Sports was a great find, thanks to heads up by Geno and nice to visit with the owner Billy Olson. Excellent eats and bikes all over with ones for sell, bikes being built and bikes being repaired. Most of the people that came in were bikers and the table setting was very similar to Maplelag where you sat at a table with 2-3 different parties making for some good and interesting conversation. Read nice article about Olson in the Sun Valley guide and pleased to find it online. Check it out if you didn't see in skinnyski report which has full recap of Nationals.
I had the jibskates packed but we didn't venture off the main path to find snow as Jake had to get back so he could get ready for Young Life camp which he is at now in northern lower Michigan. We did stop by the Rendezvous trail head before a beautiful evening drive through Yellowstone and safe trip home.
2 comments:
Super D event in Cloud Town could be tricky but I'm sure we could come up with something spectacular, might involve a little urban assault as well. Cool it was TT start format at the Super D Nationals this year...been some elbows flying in the past. Is ID hosting again next year?
If anyone can pull a Super D off in Cloud town it would be you guys!! Do it! Powder Ridge? Yes, Sun Valley will be hosting again next year. I talked to Kelli Lusk and they are going to change up the xc course a bit to mellow out the climbing but Super D was a hit.
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