Triple Dhip DH Stage Race

By Eddie Clark  

(June 16-19, 2011) GRANBY, Colo.—Downhill racers were treated to a great weekend of racing and riding on three different courses at the Sol Vista bike park in a thrilling stage race format.  Thanks to SRAM and the Town of Granby, promoters were able to put up $25,000 in cold cash for the pro fields, and nearly another $25,000 in sweet schwag which included Code brakes, XO drive trains, and Rock Shox Boxxer World Cup forks for the amateur racers.  Accordingly, the pro fields saw a very high level of competition as many World Cup racers contested the pro cash purse, and big amateur fields competed for some of the nicest prizes ever offered in their categories.

Activities kicked off on Friday with racer practice runs, but the real show started on Saturday with the first stage downhill race and second stage Avid Chainless Downhill. 

Mikey Sylvestri wasted no time in getting down the mountain fastest in the first stage serving notice to a very fast field which included a multi-time world champion and several World Cup podium frequent flyers- some of the fastest downhillers in the world.  Greg Minnar took second followed by Andrew Neethling in third.  To show the depth of this field, less than 10 seconds separated Sylvestri and Leonard Kain in 10^th place.  In a surprisingly small pro women’s field, current World Champion Jill Kintner took the win over Jaqueline Harmony in second and Julie Olsen in third.

In all, the weather which was partly sunny and partly rainy (read perfect for dh racing) kept the courses fast and a little muddy on Saturday, and a good shower Saturday night made for a fast tacky course on Sunday. 

Despite the variable conditions World Cup champion and downhill dominator Greg Minnar flowed fastest down the mountain for stage 2’s Avid Chainless Downhill while Kintner went 2 for 2 as the fastest lady down the mountain.  As an added bonus, SRAM personnel were at the finish handing out brand new SRAM chains in addition to giving out free 10-speed chains to any racer who brought in a 9-speed chain to exchange.  To wrap up the day’s fun, the movie “3 Minute Gaps” was premiered after the awards ceremony later in the evening.

Greg Minnar commented that it was his first time at Sol Vista, “I’ve heard about it before, the trails are fun and built so well.  The courses cater to a range of riders and the jumps are safe with the smaller stuff for the amateurs to hit, but the altitude kind of feels like I have a hangover.”

The pro women’s second placed racer Jacqueline Harmony agreed ”the tracks were awesome, and I loved today’s course, and the Chainless downhill was so much fun”.

On Sunday, racers had nearly three hours of practice time on the third course before racing commenced.  With some serious scrilla on the line in the pro men’s overall racing ($7600 for first, $5100 for second and $2700 for third), Sik Mick Hannah threw down a time that put him within 2 seconds of the first place time recorded by Greg Minnar (who also wrapped up a first place overall for the weekend).  Hannah’s consistently fast times were good enough to catapult him into second place overall, and Neethling rounded out the third overall slot with a third place on the third stage- three for three!

“It’s my first time at Sol Vista, and it’s awesome.  The tracks here are fun and built really well.  It’s got everything, a really fun place to ride.  I’ve never done a format like this before and it was really fun.  I was real tired today though, to learn three tracks, get up to race pace on all three, and manage your energy through all three was pretty hard” said now Colorado local Mick Hannah.

On the women’s side, Kintner took her third win for the weekend to take the overall victory.  “I’m always a little hesitant to come here because I end up chapped from the altitude and weather, but it always turns out being so much fun, the trails are so good and it’s a good time with everybody here so it keeps me coming back.  My runs were a progression of practice so I wasn’t nervous, and was kind of attacking.  The course was a little variable with dry loose sections and mud so it kept me cautious.  There’s something for everyone to be challenged with, and it’s great that the amateurs get to race on the same courses as the pros”.

Full results here.