SPECTACULAR SPRING RACING AT MSC #1, RABBIT VALLEY RALLY

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Golden, Colo.- The first stop of the Mountain States Cup- MSC #1, Rabbit Valley Rally brought spectacular weather and a stacked field for the first weekend of racing out in Rabbit Valley, 17 miles west of Fruita, Colo.

"With 517 starts between the time trial and cross country, we are very excited to see such a strong turn-out for the first race," said Sarah Rawley, Bigfoot Productions public relations.

The top pro men put down the fastest time yet on the time trial course on Trails 3, 4 and 5. Colin Cares (Kenda, Tomac, Hayes / Boulder, Colo.) took first with a 15:07.03. Teammates Alexander Grant (Cannondale Factory Racing / Salt Lake City, UT) and Benjamin Sonntag took second and third with a 15:10.06 and a 15:10.49 respectively. Erin Huck (Tokyo Joes / Boulder, Colo.), Becca Blay (Mafia Racing / Boulder, Colo.) and Sonya Bugbee (Yeti Beti / Lakewood, Colo.) put down the fast times for the pro women with a 18:21.08, 19:09.19, 19:47.79.

The cross country course on Sunday was epic in length, terrain and teamwork out on the course. The pro / CAT 1 course was 32 miles long and took riders west on the Kokopelli Trail to the Westwater Mesa / Overlook Trail and back on the Western Rim trail to the start/finish.

"Mother Nature was as kind as she could be. The rain prior to the races made the courses the best they have ever been." said Keith Darner, Bigfoot Productions race director. "Come race day, the windy conditions made drafting crucial and difficult in the beginning of the race. There were a few minor crashes in the beginning as the 52-man pro field sprinted down the wide, open Kokopelli Trail, but once they got up on the Mesa, things began to string out and the wind was all in their favor on the return route."

The Cannondale Factory Racing Team worked together to bring two riders to the podium again with Sonntag in first with a 2:01.30, Grant in second with a 2:03.6 and Brian Alders (Pearl Izumi / Boulder, Colo.) in third with a 2:03.40.

Jennifer Smith (Trek racing co-op/Snrgy Multisport coaching / Gunnison, Colo.) put down the fastest time for the women in the cross country race with a 2:28.47. Jennifer Gersbach (Maverick Bikes / Durango, Colo.) and Teal Stetson-Lee (Velo Bella / Durango, Colo.) were close behind with a 2:29.52 and a 2:30.05 to round out the women's podium.

The CAT 2 riders had an 18 mile course that headed west on the Kokopelli Trail and returned on the Western Rim Trail. The fastest CAT 2 time of the day was 1:16.0 set by CAT 2 15-18 racer, Noah Talley (Racer's Cycle Service / Elkridge, UT).

"We had some of the largest junior fields we have seen in a long time!" Rawley said. "Junior races represented 25 percent of the starts. We hope to see this trend continue throughout the season since getting more juniors into the sport now, means a bigger future for everyone."

The MSC heads to Nathrop May 14-16 for MSC #2, Chalk Creek Stampede. This is also the second stop of the Triple Crown All Mountain Series co-promoted with Scott Tedro and Ty Kady from the US Cup. Pro racers competing in cross country, short track and super d will have the opportunity to score big purses, 10-deep in each event, as well as the overall for the weekend.

Gravity racers will put down their first results for the season in four cross and dual slalom. All details for the event can be found at racemsc.com.

Bigfoot Productions 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 720-407-6142.