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Gravity Report: Mountain States Cup #3 - The Chili Challenge

(June 6, 2010)

In the face of tragedy, camaraderie rules the day.

Race report and images by Devon Balet

(June 6, 2010) ANGEL FIRE, NM.— The base of Angel Fire Resort sits at 8,600 feet, and boasts over 2,000 vertical feet of terrain. The peak of the resort tops out at 10,677 feet giving racers ample ground to cover getting back down. This mountain is no stranger to putting on a major gravity race. In July of 2005, Angel Fire hosted a UCI Mountain Bike World Cup. The race was featured on the now ever popular World Cup DH trail and the event hosted over 300 riders from more than 30 countries.

This year’s Chili Challenge brought on some difficult times. The four-cross was canceled after a terrible, fatal crash that occurred during practice on Friday. At the families request, full details regarding the accident are not available at this time and the riders name has not yet been officially released. This was the first fatality in the event’s history, according to Angel Fire Resort personnel.

Race director Keith Darner and Scott “Doc” Branney of RPM/Yeti Developmental Racing held a vigil Friday evening for the racer. More than 60 people gathered at the Angel Fire Resort to pay their respects. Branney spoke of the racer but also about the camaraderie among racers, families, and teams that gravity racing creates.

After a extremely emotional end to Saturday, Sunday brought bright blue skies, cool temperatures and a packed lift line at 9am. All the racers were trying to squeeze in last practice run in on the course before having to lay it all out in their race run.

"It (World Cup DH course) has everything you could want in a downhill course. The mountain crew for Angel Fire resort has been working on the trails all spring, and it is showing through," said Keith Darner, race director. "Get ready for the best conditions the World Cup course has ever seen."

The World Cup DH course is well known for its intense and relentless rock gardens. The course seems more like one long rock garden with some high speed smooth sections then a course with some rocky sections. A big factor in the race was tire selection. You want something soft enough to get good traction and have low rolling resistance for the all out smooth sections. But you also need to have a tire stout enough to not flat on your way down. It is a fine balance that all racers were having to battle.

“I was having a tough practice,” say Team Dead Bros Banshee rider Nick Hansch. “I couldn’t get a clean practice run in without getting a flat. Every flat I got I gassed up my tire pressure that much more, and let me tell you it is a rough ride out there fellas!”

As the temperatures slowly began to creep higher and higher, so did the racing action. Kain Leonard laid down an impressive qualifying run setting him up in a solid fourth place for the finals. Yeti’s Chris Boice was the fastest man on the mountain though. Boice shave milliseconds off his time by taking lines no one else seemed to take. In the end he was able to squeeze out Tyler Immer by a mir 0.27 of a second. The podium rounded out with previous year’s champ Chris Heath pulling in the third spot and Crested Butte local shredder Ryan Sutton taking fourth place.

The women’s racing was just as exciting. Jacqueline Harmony dominated the race putting a twenty second gap between her and Jennifer Wolf in second place. Darian Harvey, Stephanie Leonard and Christen Boyer rounded out the top five respectively. The speed Jackie brought down the wide open sections was mind blowing. Seeing the dust trail grow behind her, you would have thought it was a male rider raging down at those speeds. Harmony has been having a strong year with an extensive list of podiums already.

Like every year at Angel Fire, come Sunday evening everyone is ready to get out of town and back home to a hot shower and soft bed. It was a great weekend of hot temps, dusty trails and a massive parking lot parties. This year’s events made it difficult to focus on the good, however after another weekend of gravity racing, it was reconfirmed by the fact that gravity racing is one big family. That we are all out there for the same reason, to have fun. Let us not forget why we all go to these events, and never forget our gravity family. Be safe, ride fast and keep the rubber side down.

 

For additional photos, please contact Devon Balet Photography

The parking lot of Angel Fire Resort quickly morphs into a massive camp ground. For some a weekend at the races is a relaxing time to sleep in a tent and hide from the sun under tarps. For others... well you get the idea.	The camaraderie among gravity racers is second to none. Everyone is quick to lend a hand. Saturday evening left many racers scratching their heads on their tire selection. Angel Fire’s rocky World Cup course made tire selection more important then ever.	The fire road leading down to the start of the World Cup DH course was some of the sketchiest riding on the mountain. The loose gravel and high speeds made for an interesting combination.
The World Cup DH course is like one long rock garden, with a few smooth high speed sections.	Jacqueline Harmony has been having an extremely impressive year so far. Harmony proved she was the fastest lady by putting an huge lead of twenty seconds between her and Jennifer Wolf in second place.	The fact this race was held a week later than normal made for much drier conditions then normal. Here Shawn Neer lays out a fast dusty turn in the opening turn of the race course.
Sunday’s weather was perfect for some high speed downhill racing.	The speeds racers take down this course is mind boggling at times. Here Oliver Vowel gets in the back seat to open it up through some rough terrain.	The rock gardens claim another victim on the day.
Matt Giaraffa keeps is focus down trail and lines smooth.	Dwayne Self takes a short breather from the rough terrain to lay out a few extra cranks through the smooth.	Grassroots Cycles racer Eric Landis finds the smooth line through the rock to take home the first place finish for Cat 1 Men 30-39.
Jess Fowler keeps the momentum moving forward as he exits one rough rock garden into another.	The afternoon weather threatened to bring rain but it never produced. One racer blasts his way down the course with looming rain clouds in the distance.	Kain Leonard is all but a blur through the dark trees on the lower section of the course. Leonard had a strong race finishing out fifth place.
Pro Women’s podium; 1st Jacqueline Harmony, 2nd Jennifer Wolf, 3rd Darian Harvey.	Pro Men’s podium; 1st Chris Boice, 2nd Tyler Immer, 3rd Chris Heath.

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