What happened to Bob haunted me all Saturday night. The familiar pinch-flat that dooms so many at Downieville. I was up 3+ minutes after winning Stage 1, the XC point-to-point, of the 35+ Expert All-Mountain Class.
Saturday’s race had many highlights, some of which, riding the wheels of top DH pros Miles Rockwell and Nathan Riddle on the decent into town.
Earlier on the climb, a group of us mixed Experts and Pros got passed by a VERY young Frischknecht, while his Dad was competing for the top spot out in front. The race attracted new and old legends of the sport. At the end of a first day, Platinum had two of us in position for the overall. Krage Orlich in 3rd, with a time of 2:20 and me up 3+ minutes with the lead at 2:17.
Stage 2 is a 17 mile time trial known as the famed “Downieville Downhill”. “Downhill” is somewhat misleading, as the course throws everything at you – technical, smooth, fast, quick steep climbs, longer climbs, flats, creek crossing, etc. 3 minutes my seem like a big lead, but I decided to race on a 29inch Hardtail this year. 2nd overall, Sam Lueke, was riding a Santa Cruz Nomad, and Krage was on his carbon Specialize Stumpjumper (perfect for this course) in 3rd.
Bike selection, tires and tire pressure can make or break your race. It should be noted that in the All-Mountain category your bike is weighted and photo’d before each race. You can’t change anything from the day before. So it was me and my hardtail against the big guns in the DH showdown. 4 – 5 am earlier that morning- the unthinkable. Thunder, lighting, and RAIN!!! Perfect conditions for a great day of racing after dry, hot, and dusty conditions Saturday.
I was second out of the gates in my class. Strategy was simple. Clean, smooth lines at 90%, hammer in the safe spots and climbs. At 52 minutes and change I was at the bottom in one piece and with no flats. The waiting brought some pretty cool drama. Could Krage or Sam rip down the mountain and make up 3+ minutes for the overall title? Sam came first in first with a solid run. Not enough to take it. Then Orlich came in much faster … definitely faster than my time – but my how much????
In the end, krage won Sunday’s DH (50 seconds faster than my time), but I was able to hang onto the overall for the All-Mountain title. With his big win Sunday, Krage moved into second overall and Platinum took the top 2 spots in the Overall All-Mountain Expert 35+ category.
And in Downieville, the racing is just the beginning to all the fun up there. It’s a place you have to race at least once in your career. Oh and bring your party hat. The town goes off! Also, stay tuned for some write-ups in Velo. I heard Ross Schnell almost hit a deer and a coyote on his DH run!!!!
