What a weekend! The King of the Mountain dual slalom course at The Canyons was intense. Eric Carter built the course and it was no joke. Big jumps, flat corners, a steep slope, and gravelly dirt made for challenging conditions for everyone.
At qualifying on Friday, putting down a clean run was the ticket to success. Anneke Beerten put down the fastest first run, gaining nearly two seconds over Melissa Buhl. On her second run, though, Anneke slid out in a corner and aggravated an ankle injury that she's been dealing with most of the season. Lisa Myklak threw down two solid runs, but a missed gate on her first run left her disqualified. Local ripper Gale Dahlager crashed in her first run, as did Stephanie Nychka, who had been ruling the course all morning. Neither was able to recover the lost time on their second runs.
The whole event is made for TV, so the rules are a bit different than a USAC or UCI race. Anneke was unable to race in the final on Saturday (even with her crash, she had qualified 6th). In order to create full brackets, the remaining riders each moved up a place, allowing the 9th-qualified rider into the final. Gale was that rider, but injuries from her crash sidelined her as well. Lisa moved into the 8th-place spot with a chance to take out Melissa in the first round of racing. We'll let you watch the action when the race airs on CBS in October!
The final race of the series will be held October 25 in San Luis Obispo, CA. Heading into that race, Melissa Buhl has the series lead, but Kathy Pruitt is within striking distance of the title too.
The Canyons Final Results
1. Melissa Buhl
2. Fionn Griffiths
3. Kathy Pruitt
4. Tammy Donahugh
5. Leslie Slagle
6. Allie Burch
7. Jackie Baker
8. Lisa Myklak
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