The Mountain Cross course was central to the race venue on Saturday and Ross Milan (Arvada, Colo.- Yeti Fox) took the lead in every qualifying round with tactful moves to snatch the fastest lines. He battled it out in the very end with local star Petr Hanak (Winter Park, CO- Totally Wired Cyclery) and came out 0.48 seconds ahead.
Reigning World Champion Melissa Buhl (Team KHS) motored away from Neven Steinmetz (Team Totally Wired) to take the win on the womens side.

The Shimano XTR Big Burn Cross Country race was between 19 and 24 miles and 3700 and 4600 of climbing for the experts and pros. This course proved to be one of the favorites among series riders, with mostly singletrack, multiple stream crossings and enough technical descents to give all rider types an advantage. Jay Henrys (Avon, CO- Tokyo Joes) consistency took him to the top winning the race with a 2:14:30. Brian Smith (Gunnison, CO- Trek VW) was close behind in second with a 2:14:43.

The Australian National Champion, Dellys Starr (Lakewood, CO- Dales Pale Ale / Spot) came for some pre-Olympic racing and took the win for the womens cross country race with a 2:07:59. Kelley Mattingly (New Castle, CO- Rocky Mountain Racing) was close behind with a 2:09:47 and Erin Huck (Boulder- Tokyo Joes) took third with a 2:18:45.

With gravity and endurance racers converging in Sundays Super-D course, the mixed skills took riders down the cross-country ascent for an all-out 10 minutes sprint. Michael Pastore (Avon, CO- Ibis) had the fastest time of the day in the Open Mens category with a 8:53:08. Amanda Carey (Victor- Kenda / Titus / Hayes) has the fastest womens time in the Open Women category with a 10:01:61.

The Santa Cruz Banzai Downhill course set the stage for world class riders with an additional 600 vertical feet added to last years course, a whole new lift to ride and a section aptly named the Waterfall. The Yeti Fox Factory Team showed up in full force and swept the podium with Aaron Gwin (Morongo Valley, CA), Justin Leov (Christchurch, NZ) and Sam Blenkinsop (Wanganui, NZ) taking first (4:05:47), second (4:05:61) and third (4:09:49) respectively.

On the womens side Melissa Buhl (Chandler, AZ- KHS Bicycles) won both the DH by more than 15 seconds over Rachel Bauer (Aspen, CO / Team Dead Bros.) and Darian Harvey (Durango, CO- Sobe Cannondale).

Blast the Mass 2008 was proudly supported by resident SnowmAspentites, The High Society Freeride Company.

Next up on the MSC circuit: Sol Survivor at SolVista Basin Ski Resort in Granby, Colo. Its on the National Gravity Mountain Bike Calendar and is the Colorado State Championships for DH, DS, XC, SD and SS!

Check out racemsc.com for further details and information.

Bigfoot Production was established in 2006 in conjunction with Yeti Cycles to expand and improve the Mountain States Cup Series and promote bike industry involvement in racing. For further inquiries please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .