August 8-10 | Snowmass Village, CO
DH/SD/DH
- G3 format (gravity stage race)
- raging free concert! The Dirty Heads!
REGISTER ONLINE

  

MSC #7, Snowmass G3

Rider’s Notes

Saturday, August 9th

8:32am

• Stage 1, Scorch DH: Saturday, 9:45am
• Stage 2, Luge Super D: Saturday 2:15pm
• Stage 3, Banzai DH: Saturday, 5:45pm

iPods: will not be allowed during the race. There’s verbiage in the rulebook to support this and even though we’ve seen different interpretations from different officials it’s common knowledge that we’ve always been in favor of a hard and fast ban on them for racing. It’s really a matter of fairness and safety…for everyone.

Cutting the course: …is cheating. The USAC rulebook has been amended as of 2008 to close this loophole and put to rest all ambiguity. Here’s what the new rule says: 1K9 (page 22): “Short-cutting and/or cutting trail switchbacks is not permitted and may result in disqualification. A rider is required to stay on the designated trail that is marked and/or specified as the race course. It is the rider’s responsibility to know the designated race course. Lack of tape or barriers on the course or misplaced signs will not constitute an excuse for cutting the course.” There seems to be a handful of riders out there who still adhere to the rule “if it ain’t taped it’s fair game”.

For three seasons (beginning in Keystone in 2006) we’ve preached the doctrine of ‘ethical racing’, in other terms, I know the course, YOU know the course; what would an ethical and rational person do? The answer? Race fair. Consider this fair warning: if you cheat you’ll be banned from the series. Not only that, but we’ll blacklist your ass on the forums. There are pros out there that are setting an incredibly bad example for the kids coming up and you better believe that behavior like that will NOT be tolerated. 

MM

SCHEDULE:

FRIDAY:
10am-8pm: On-site Registration and packet pickup in the Snowmass Ticket Pavillion
11am-1:30: Practice - Stage 3, "Banzai DH" (Blast the Mass DH Course) and Stage 2, "Luge SD"
1:30pm-4pm: Stage 1, DH #1, "Scorched DH"
3:45pm - Last chair on the Village Express

3:00pm: Last chair, Village Express Lift

3-ish: Awards for Stage 3 and Snowmass G3 overall

We're serious about the registration deadlines folks.

WHAT ABOUT SERIES POINTS?

Each G3 (that means series finals at SolVista as well) will count as one race towards the MSC overall. Points will be awarded based upon overall G3 result. The Super-D's in the G3's do not count towards the MSC Super D Series, nor are they included in the Super-D season pass.

COURSES

LIFT TICKETS:

WHAT ABOUT THE BAND?

PURSE:

$2,500 (total) cash paid to Pros, Semis and Vets. $15,000 in merchandise and awards distributed to individual race winners and overall winners among the amatuer ranks and via what's become known as "Crusher's Monster Raffle".

WHY G3?:

Why G3? Well, a couple of reasons. The first is that there's a lack of quality gravity events in the U.S. You can't really say the same of the endurance disciplines - they enjoy broad-based support from USAC because they're Olympic medal sports and on top of that, there are 50 XC events for every gravity event in the United States. There just aren't enough racing and money-earning opportunities domestically for an aspiring gravity pro or semi-pro to make the leap to the international level. Providing a series of gravity events with decent sized purses helps those guys and girls on the cusp of making it big keep their dream alive. (To be fair, we have the same philosophy regarding purse on the Endurance side of things.)

The lack of quality gravity events also underscores one of the major issues facing cycling as a whole; participation. There are roadies who would have you believe that their discipline is the only 'real' aspect of our sport. Sadly, there just aren't that many 10 year-olds jonesing to submit to the metronomic boredom of climbing a 45-minute mountain pass. They're not mentally hard-wired that way. Not yet anyway. Plus there just isn't any sort of selection in terms of equipment for kids wanting to try road biking. Not compared to what's available on the mountain bike side anyway.

We love road bikes. We love all bikes. But kids have to physically mature enough to be able to fit on adult-sized road bike offerings and this typically happens when they're between 13 and 14 years old. We as a sport and an industry don't have the luxury of waiting 'til their 14 to get 'em on bikes. If we wait that long we've lost them to football, soccer, hockey or Playstation. Some of the roadies may look down their nose at the mountain bike side, but lemme tell ya, it's a much shorter jump from a DH or 4X bike to a road bike than it is from a set of golf clubs or an ice rink. It's easy for a kid to say yes to gravity and for that simple reason cycling needs it (although 'cycling' may not recognize or acknowledge this fact.) We're not gonna let the shortsightedness of one user group who happens to own the seats of power of our sport continue to hamstring it's future.

And the last reason; it's fun. Years of putting on Final D down in Angel Fire have proven that the format of a 'hang-out-with-your-buds-gravity-only' type events are in short supply. Our answer to that is the incorporation of the G3 format into this year's MSC Series.

FAQ...or, "The Rules":

Can I use a different bike for Super-D? Oh yeah you can. Why not? The Super-D will be pretty gravity-centric, but your full-on DH rig might not be the perfect weapon of choice. Feel free to bring your Klein Rascal with that punk-rock flex-stem you've been hanging on to all these years. All kidding aside, we'll be making all Super-D's as DH-like (DH-lite?) as possible. We're calling it 'Super-D' because we need to use that discipline's start format to allow us to get two gravity stages off in once day.

Is this a NORBA event? Yup. Because they have that sweet, sweet insurance that makes the resort attorneys smile. Standard licensing rules will apply.

So how's this stage race thingy work?: Easy. There are 3 events at each G3. Your combined time for each stage determines your place in the overall (and for a fast handful, your place on the box.) For 2008 we're considering moving to a points system due to the undue influence that SD-ers have on the overall. Stay tuned for more info.

What if I win one stage, but don't race all three? Show 'im the steak knives, Johnny! Just kidding. Steak knives would be a lame prize. We'll have awards for each stage and for the overall, but the cash is reserved for placing in the overall. All pro categories will be paid out 4 deep.

Can I just race Super-D? Can I race just one DH? Yup, awards go 4-deep for each stage in each category, but the cash purse is for 3-stage competitors only.

So what're the categories? Good question. We'll use our standard MSC categories, which are:

LODGING INFO:

Please visit the following links for great deals on lodging. Each is offering a substantial discount or special rate to all MTN States Cup participants. Make sure that you mention that you're with the race!

Destination Hotels and Resorts - www.destinationsnowmass.com

Laurelwood Condominiums - www.laurelwoodcondominiums.com

CAMPING INFO:

• THERE WILL BE NO CAMPING OR ACCESS TO THE SPIDER SABICH AREA
• CAMPING IS AVAILABLE ON FRIDAY NIGHT AUGUST 8th AND SATURDAY NIGHT AUGUST 9th ONLY
• ALL CAMPERS MUST BE OFF OF THE DESINGATED CAMPING AREA BY 5 PM SUNDAY AUGUST 10
• NO CAMPERS WILL BE ALLOWED INTO THE DESGINATED AREA UNTIL 8 AM FRIDAY MORNING.
• A 24 HR CAMP HOST WILL BE ON SITE TO DISTRIBUTE PERMITS, BEAR AND OTHER INFORMATION ALONG WITH COLLECTING FEES
• CAMPING IS ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS
• 100 PERMITS (1/CAR)
• ONCE PERMITS ARE GONE THEY ARE GONE
• $20/PERMIT (GOOD FOR BOTH NIGHTS)
• IF YOU LEAVE, YOU MAY GIVE YOUR PERMIT TO SOMEONE; HOWEVER, YOU MUST HAVE THE LICENSE PLATE NUMBER CHANGED ON YOUR PERMIT AND THE MASTER COPY WITH THE CAMP HOST (NO ADDITIONAL FEE)
• ALL VEHICLES WILL REGISTER AND PAY THE CAMP HOST UPON ARRIVAL $20
• CAR AND RV CAMPING IS ENCOURAGED
• THERE ARE NO RV HOOK-UPS
• SHOWERS MAY BE USED AT THE RECREATION CENTER FOR AN ADDITIONAL FEE
• PUBLIC RESTROOMS WILL BE IN THE TRANSPORTATION CENTER
• ALL GARBAGE WILL BE PLACED INTO (1) MASTER BEAR PROOF DUMPSTER
• CARS/RVS WILL BE ALLOWED ONLY ON THE PAVED RODEO LOT
• NO STAKING INTO THE PAVEMENT
• NO CAMPING ON SOCCER FIELDS
• OVERFLOW TENT CAMPING WILL BE ON THE SOFTBALL FIELD.  CAMPERS WILL NEED TO WALK FROM RODEO LOT TO SOFTBALL FIELD
• THERE WILL BE NO BUS/SHUTTLE SERVICE.  CAMPERS WILL NEED TO FIND THEIR OWN RIDE TO THE RACE AREA OR DRIVE
• AS LONG AS YOU HAVE A PERMIT, YOU WILL BE ALLOWED BACK INTO THE CAMPING PARKING AREA
• YOUR PERMIT WILL HAVE 2 COPIES.  ONE WILL BE WITH THE CAMP HOST.  YOU MUST HAVE THIS PERMIT AND THE LICENSE PLATE NUMBER ON THE PERMIT MUST MATCH THE COPY THAT THE CAMP HOST HAS
• NO FIRES, NO LOUD MUSIC
• PETS MUST BE LEASHED AT ALL TIMES WITH ADEQUATE FOOD, WATER AND SHADE

TECH/EXPO SPACE, VOLUNTEERS, SPONSORSHIP INQUIRIES:

Download tech/expo info here: 2008 MSC TECH/EXPO GUIDE. If you're interested in volunteering of finding out about sponsorship opportunities, please give us a shout at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .