Mountain States Cup Wildflower Rush - Gravity Report

Crested Butte Mountain Resort returns for the 2010 summer season strong and rearing for more!

Race report and images by Devon Balet

(June 26-27, 2010) CRESTED BUTTE, Colo-What can be said about the gravity racing in Crested Butte? Well for starters the elevation is nothing to bat your eyes at. Crested Butte Mountain Resort sits at a lofty 9,380 feet above the waves of any ocean. The downhill track for the Mountain States Cup is quickly becoming one of the more popular races due to the fast, flowing and fun nature of the course.

The crew for the Evolution Bike Park of Crested Butte Mountain Resort have been putting in tons of work this year already, with more on the docket to come. The crew was out on the dh course after practices to make sure things were still in good shape. After a near frantic completion of the mountain cross course, the riders came to a loose and exciting track. The opening left turn was flat, dusty and fast. Many a crash was seen during practice and racing, but thankfully everyone simply dusted themselves off and got back on the bike for more dusty fun.

With the Pro Gravity Tour drawing the majority of pro downhill racers to Northstar, California, the number of riders were down slightly from years past. That however did not keep the crowds from lining both race courses or keep the excitement at a loll. Chris Boice and Joey Schusler of Yeti brought some high speed fun for the masses on the downhill track and Petr Hanak is always a pleasure to watch as he flies down the mountain cross course.

As the sun became low on another day in mountain bike paradise, mountain cross racing kicked into full gear. James Stiper and Ross Milan gave Petr Hanak a run for his money, but Petr’s gate skills and ability to pinch out the competition proved he was the top racer on the mountain.

One rider worth noting is Eric Landis. After petitioning for his Pro card, Eric earned himself a sixth place finish on the day, an impressive finish in a stacked field.

Neven Steinmetz edged out Christen Boyer and Nadia Steinbrecher for the Pro Women top three respectively. With over a hundred registered racers, there was tons of loose, dust flying fun the spectators to enjoy. After the sun finally set, everyone was treated to a free concert by Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe at the base of CBMR.

Sunday brought hopes of some light rain to firm up the downhill track, but Mother Nature only brought her blue bird recipe for the day. The race course of Crested Butte had long had the bad rap of being to pedally.

After a few tweaks to last years improved course, the course this year brought fun back into the downhill racing in Crested Butte. This year’s race was even more burned in, fast and flowed better. The rocks were even gnarlier, which brought a technical challenge to the high speeds.

“This course is just tons of fun. After each lap and all I would want to do is go up for another,” says Santiago Garcia III of Secret Cycling. “This course is just plain fun. Not overly rough or technical and it is much faster than years past.”

The most memorable part of the weekend had to be the new finish to the downhill course. After launching the last table, the new course shot you into a high speed berm that sent you top speed into the trees and rocks. After a tight chicane you were sent air born of the new wooden step down feature.

Chris Boice was obviously going to win with the speed he took into this last section. He landed the last table in the turn at such an angle it was thought for sure he had blown up. Exiting the turn Boice let out a loud laugh, knowing he had done what it would take to beat his World Cup competitor teammate Joey Schusler.

“I knew what I needed to do to beat out the rest. Joey is super fast and it was going to be hard to beat him. To get him on this track is a real gift,” says Chris Boice. “Crested Butte is one of my favorite places to go. There is no town that supports cycling like Crested Butte. Everything about the town screams bike culture.”

Crested Butte certainly has it’s place in the mountain biking world. With the continued development of the Evolution Bike Park, we are sure to see many more exciting and fast gravity races go down in this mountain bikers paradise.

For complete results, please visit Race MSC

The opening turn was loose and fast.	Just remember kids, rubbing is racing!	With the mountain cross course being finished just prior to the race it made for loose but fast racing.
With well over 100 registered racers, there was plenty of action from the tiny groms to big name pros.	Every race was a battle to see who could get to the opening turn first.	Crashes were common, most only requiring a light dusting.
From left to right; Curt Clemetson, Chris Webb and Shawnee McGovern lay it out in the Cat 1 30+ race.	TJ Sharp gets a little loose and rowdy in one of the last rock gardens. Sharp ended up smashing a tree but was alright. Way to roll out of the crash TJ!	This year's race course brought new improvements including granlier rock sections.
Dead Bros Banshee racer Evan Elliott brings the heat to his race run aboard his flashy new Banshee Legend MkII.	The lift ride and downhill course came with some of the best views around.	Mount Crested Butte is impressive any time of the year.
Shawnee McGovern keeps is clean and fast off the rock drop mid way down the course. Shawnee finished 5th overall for the Cat 1 30-39 race.	Sam Houpt of Boulder Colorado makes his way onto the only bridge of the race course.	Mount Crested Butte makes for a perfect backdrop for a free concert.