Usually we try to get these event recaps out in the days immediately following the race. In the case of Angel Fire, we’re still trying to clear out the fumes. Like the courses themselves, Angel Fire’s a real mother. It’s hard on bikes, it’s hard on collarbones and ribs, it’s hard on egos, and it’s hard on the crew.

The weekend was chock full of high-level competition and even Mother Nature decided to be a contender. Thursday and Friday saw DH and XC riders breaking out heavy gear as rain and snow hit the area hard. Friday’s onslaught forced us to reschedule pro seeding on the 4X course. Saturday dawned and while not exactly clear, it had stopped snowing. The day heated up quickly and by 10 a.m. the sun had broken through and was here to stay for the remainder of the weekend.

Saturday May 24: UCI 4X and Super-D

Practice, qualifying and finals for the UCI/MSC 4X went off without ay major hitches…unless you count the super-stacks of Rudy Unrau, TJ Sharp and Josh Conroy. This race proved to be some of the best racing that we’ve seen in years as savvy vets like Eric Carter and Rich Houseman went toe-to-toe with young up-and-comers like Erik Nelson, Blake Carney and Chris Boice. Czech Republic gated honch Petr Hanak ended up taking the day. On the women’s side KHS pro Melissa Buhl rode from the front all day and walked away with the win. Seeing Petr and Melissa on the top of the box ignites a little fanhood in all of us – they’re both gracious competitors and we’re stoked whenever they show up to race. To us they both help define professionalism.

Earlier in the day the Super-D field was treated to what amounted to three different course conditions: frost, mud, and hero dirt. Racers shot through the finish corral covered head to toe in slime. We had thrown a bit more climbing in than last year and the gravity guys were feeling it.

In year’s past we’ve edged more and more towards a DH-lite style course. Our true SD guys pointed this out so we decided to throw in a bit more climbing. Some grumbled, some were happy about the changes and almost all strapped up and made their way to the line. The questions we were left with were these: what do you guys want from a super-d? There’s a Super-D forum on http://www.racemsc.com/forums/ – feel free to throw your .02 in.

Sunday May 25: 4X National Championship, XC, Clunker Crit

Sunday’s XC was brutal. No other way to put it…and that’s with sunny skies and warm weather. While course conditions were as good as they ever get (more and more wet sections were turning into blue-groove hero lines), the course at Angel Fire is simply hard. The chicane section at the bottom of both loops claimed more than one rider and one pro had the serious misfortune to actually get clotheslined by the tape. Katie Compton and Jay Henry won their respective Pro fields, with Jennifer Smith and Ross Schnell coming across in second.

A few riders and managers asked us to consider going with the old World Cup loop (the 6-miler) and running a multiple lap format. We’re open to that idea, but would like to get a better sense of what the majority would like. We’re curious about how you guys feel. Sound off on the forums if you get a chance.

The other issue is litter on the XC course. Over 200 gel packets were picked up. New rules: get caught littering in one of our races and face immediate disqualification from the event and from the series.

Sunday night brought 4X National Championships for pro men and women. Melissa Buhl once again proved that she’s riding on another level and Yeti/Fox rider Rich Houseman played the old bull routine to perfection and pimped the other riders when he took the inside line from 4th position and never looked back, rolling to his first-ever 4X National Championship title.

Monday May 26: UCI Downhill

Monday saw over 600 DH’ers toe the line. By the time we got to the pros the lower chicane had been pretty dialed and the big boys were applying the scorched earth treatment to the whole course. Local hero Kain Leonard unseated BetterRide Hot Seat sitter Brad Benedict. With 2 riders left to go it looked like Kain’s time might hold, but the very next rider down, Kieran Bennett bested him by .02 seconds to take the top spot.

On the women’s side Melissa Buhl once again roasted the field with a margin of victory of just under 47 seconds. That makes it a triple for the Buhlinator for the weekend, and even better chances for Worlds. An injured Lisa Myklak strung together a solid run that was good enough for second and hopefully strong consideration for the World’s Team as well.

All in all a pretty epic weekend. The Dale’s Pale Ale party hounds brought their usual vibe, we gave a ton of product away at both video premiers and the clunker crit looks like it’s here to stay. Special thanks go out to everyone at Angel Fire Resort (but especially Andy whose patience and good humor continue to amaze me), Cath and John from CJ Timing and all of our sponsors who’ve supported our program year in and year out. Santa Cruz, Dale’s, Fox, Toyota FJ, Shimano…and the kickass number plates from Static – they get cooler every year. Thanks also to all of our other patrons – you guys make it happen in the Rockies.

And lastly, thanks to all of you who made the trip. It’s always hard to get to Angel Fire, but you guys rolled out in force from all corners of the Rockies and at least half the states in the union. We had a great time and we hope you did too.