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The Mountain States Cup returned to Snowmass Village August 9-10 for the first G3 format race of the season. The premise behind the G3 was to fill the void of quality gravity events in the U.S. and provide an event to get more groms on bikes and excited about racing. Nearly 150 racers showed up for the event, and 40 percent of the athletes were junior racers.
Prior to race day, rain fell all week as the Bigfoot crew set up a super D and two downhill events for the venue. Friday was a very full day with practice running all day long and registration running like clockwork, thanks to the ongoing hard work from the registration crew. If you get a chance at Sol Squared, make sure to thank Kim and Grace for keeping the show running. Saturday’s two-event day was full of action with the Scorched DH and Luge SD. Stage No. 1- the Scorched DH was fast and furious with a lot of turns. Aaron Gwin (Team Yeti/Fox Shox Racing), new phenomenal talent out of Morongo Valley, Calif. won the event in the pro field. Sam Stevens (RPM/Yeti- Carbondale, Colo.) led the junior expert men and the young Teddy Benge racing his first junior expert race came in fourth. Stage No. 2- the Luge SD took made for some exciting finishes after the rain had saturated the SD course just minutes before the start time. Again Gwin won the pro race followed closely by Kain Leonard (Crested Butte Academy- Gunnison), Chris Boice (Yeti Cycles/Fox Shox Racing- Albuquerque, NM) and Joey Schusler (Yeti/Fox Shox Racing- Boulder, Colo.). Sunday morning the racers were greeted with overcast skies and cool temperatures. During the early morning practice session riders came down the mountain looking like they had just participated in a mud wrestling contest. The course was reportedly a greasy mess with the upper section proving to be very difficult to hit the lines that they had been practicing all weekend. Stage No. 3- the Banzai DH was an improved version of the Blast the Mass course that riders raved about. In the pro men’s race Leonard was on the hot seat until Gwin came flying down the last single track section several seconds ahead. Gwin lost the rear end of the bike on the slick wooden bridge and went down in his worst crash of the season. He quickly got up, grabbed his bike and crossed the finish line winning by almost six seconds. Lisa Myklak (Spide/Black Market- Boulder, Colo.) waited just before the finish line for her one competitor in the pro women’s race, Darian Harvey (Sobe/Cannondale- Durango, Colo.) to cross the line  together. The times from the three races were accumulated for the finals standings of the G3. Gwin dominated the pro men’s field with a commanding 11 second lead. Leonard, Boice and Schusler rounded off the podium for second, third and fourth respectively. WHAT’S COMING UP The Mountain States Cup heads to Eldora Mountain Resort August 23-25 for the 5 th Annual Eldora Escape which includes a short track, cross country and Shimano kid’s race for the endurance crowd. This year we will be crowning the Colorado State Short Track Champions. All course maps are available at Warriors Cycling. The Gravity finale is just around the corner. SolVista Bike Park will play host to the gravity stage race which will be formatted very similar to the Snowmass G3. Visit RaceMSC for more information. All Photographs Courtesy of Taf Darner |
