Bittersweet DH and Super D Results

Gravity racer Francine Johnson promoted the Bittersweet Downhill and Super D races at Bootleg Canyon, NV October 17-18. The race has gotten rave reviews, so we're excited to see more events from her! Jackie Harmony stole the show again, winning the pro women's Super D and downhill races. Special congrats to Nancy Harris for winning her downhill race on her birthday!

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Jackie Harmony
2. Jennifer Wolf

Advanced/Intermediate Women
1. Nancy Harris
2. Kathleen Kingman

Super D
Pro Women
1. Jackie Harmony

Advanced/Intermediate Women
1. Erica Dimitrov
2. Kathleen Kingman

Diablo Gravity Series Finals

The final race of the Diablo Gravity Series held at Diablo Freeride Park in NJ was held last weekend. We also missed the results from the September race, so they're listed below. Hillary Elgert won the final pro women's downhill race, and she took the series title too. Liz Scoville won the pro women's giant slalom and took that series title. For full results, visit DiabloFreeridePark.com.

October 17-18
Downhill
Pro Women
1. Hillary Elgert
2. Liz Scoville

Amateur Women
1. Becky Gardner
2. Kendra Wheeler

Intro Women
1. Jen Macari

Giant Slalom
Pro Women
1. Liz Scoville

Amateur Women
1. Becky Gardner
2. Kendra Wheeler
3. Bridget Kozma

September 12-13
Downhill
Pro Women
1. Hillary Elgert
2. Liz Scoville

Amateur Women
1. Becky Gardner
2. Kendra Wheeler

Giant Slalom
Pro Women
1. Liz Scoville

Amateur Women
1. Bridget Kozma

Rachel's Back on the Bike!

The Atherton Project: Episode 11

Collegiate National Championship Results

I said it last year and I'll say it again. I love collegiate cycling. It's how I got my start, and it's such a great way for riders to start and continue their careers while improving their usefulness to society. I can't wait until I go back for my PhD when I'm 50 and get schooled by a bunch of whippersnappers on the racetrack.

Enough about me. What went down last weekend at Northstar, CA was that Sage Wilderman won the Women's Division I Omnium by winning the Division I downhill race, taking 3rd in short track, 9th in 4X, and 5th in cross country. Johanne Tuttle won the Division II Women's Omnium by winning the Division II 4X, taking 2nd in downhill, 5th in cross country, and 6th in short track. That's a lot of racing for a weekend. Christen Boyer finally got the downhill win she's been looking for in the Division II downhil race, and Emma Millar won the Division I 4X.

For more information about collegiate racing, visit USACycling.org.

Division I Women's Omnium
1. Sage Wilderman (Fort Lewis College)

2. Lizzy English (University of Nevada-Reno)

3. Carla Swart (Lees-McRae College)

4. Jill Behlen (University of Wyoming)

5. Deidre York (University of Colorado)

Division I Women’s Downhill
1. Sage Wilderman
2. Emma Millar (FLC)
3. Elizabeth English
4. Deidre York
5. Heather McFadden (CSU-Chico)
6. Sabina Kraushaar (FLC)
7. Neven Steinmetz (CU-Boulder)
8. Nicole Tunnell (CSU-Chico)
9. Jenna Kowalski (Cal Poly-SLO)
10. Chloe Jackson (Lees-McRae)
11. Hannah Trimble (Lees-McRae)
12. Jill Behlen
13. Chantel Coleman (FLC)
14. Rose Long (U of VT)
15. Andrea Kelchlin (Northeastern)
16. Erica Zaveta (Lees-McRae)
17. Jena Greaser (UConn)
18. Carla Swart
19. Catherine Cresalia (Cal Poly-SLO)
20. Sara Lukas (Lindsey Wilson)
21. Sally Hermansen (Cal Poly-SLO)
22. Brittany Engleking (CU-Boulder)
23. Sara Hanson (SDSU)
24. Jessica Baker (Lindsey Wilson)
25. Madison Pitts (Lindsey Wilson)
26. Kristin Jo Markham (Lees-McRae)

Division I Women's 4X
1. Emma Millar
2. Neven Steinmetz
3. Madison Pitts
4. Allie Dragoo (Lindsey Wilson)
5. Chantel Coleman
6. Jill Behlen
7. Jessica Baker
8. Nicole Tunnell
9. Sage Wilderman
10. Deidre York
11. Chloe Jackson
12. Hannah Trimble
13. Sabina Kraushaar
14. Heather McFadden
15. Jenna Kowalski
16. Sarah Lukas

Division I Team Omnium (guys and girls)

1. Fort Lewis College – 671 points

2. University of Colorado – 589

3. Lees-McRae College – 555

4. California Polytechnic – 446

5. Lindsey Wilson College – 409

Division II Women's Omnium

1. Johanne Tuttle (Brevard College)

2. Julia Tellman (Brevard College)

3. Rachel Millsop (Union College of Kentucky)

4. Courtney Steen (Colorado School of Mines)

5. Christen Boyer (Colorado School of Mines)

Division II Women's Downhill
1. Christen Boyer
2. Johanne Tuttle
3. Courtney Steen
4. Becca Parish (Warren Wilson)
5. Rachel Millsop
6. Julia Tellman
7. Ileana Anderson (Warren Wilson)
8. Nina Otter (Warren Wilson)
9. Elisa Otter (Warren Wilson)
10. Sarah Duncan (Brevard)
11. Caroline Decosimo (Brevard)
12. Tallulah Winquist (Warren Wilson)
13. Aubrey DeLone (Warren Wilson)
14. Maria Esswein (Union College)

Division II Women's 4X
1. Johanne Tuttle
2. Courtney Steen
3. Ileana Anderson
4. Christen Boyer
5. Julia Tellman
6. Becca Parish
7. Nina Otter
8. Rachel Millsop
9. Tallulah Winquist
10. Sarah Duncan
11. Elisa Otter
12. Caroline Decosimo
13. Aubrey DeLone

Division II Team Omnium (guys and girls)

1. Brevard College – 663 points

2. Union College of Kentucky – 533

3. Warren Wilson college – 501

4. Colorado School of Mines – 401

5.Montana State University - 284

Help Us Help You!

Now that it's getting chilly outside and there's a bit less daylight to spend out playing, we're working on revamping Freeride Foundation to make it more helpful to the gravity community. We're going to post a few different questionnaires, and the first is up on our Forum.

This first group of questions asks about what you do or would pay for as you ride your bike. You can answer the questions however you feel comfortable, since it is in the Forum format.

Click here to check out the list of questions.

Thanks for the feedback!

Paris Mountain Downhill Results

I have to thank Facebook for this one. I hadn't heard about the Paris Mountain Downhill Race in Greenville, SC, until a friend on Facebook posted his results and a link to the results page. Hooray for social networking! The race took place this weekend, and Anne Galyean took the win for the pro women. Based on the video below, the tight, wooded racecourse looks pretty fun--especially since it's all tacky and autumn-y! To find out more info about racing at Paris Mountain, click here!

Pro Women
1. Anne Galyean
2. Debbie Gillespie

Amateur Women
1. Kim Murrell
2. Jennifer Bauer

2nd Annual Women's Downhill Camp with Gene Hamilton

While cruising around the internet on this fine Sunday, I happened upon Gene Hamilton's 2010 clinic schedule on BetterRide.net. The women's downhill camp is slated for February 26-28, 2010 in Boulder City, NV. I had the privilege of attending his first women's-only downhill camp in February of this year. Gene's coaching and skills progressions really are impressive, and everything is applicable to your everyday riding--whether you're training, racing, or just pedaling with your pals.

To see the full write-up from last spring's women's downhill clinic, click here. We had a solid crew of pro and amateur riders--some who are racers, and some who aren't, several racers who rode their first World Cup races this year, and one rider who's moved from an expert racer to a pro. If you're looking to take your riding to the next level--whether it's racing, or being able to ride tricky sections at your local trails, Gene's clinic is worth every penny.

Gravity East Series Finals

The last race of the 2009 Gravity East Series was held October 10-11 at Plattekill, NY. Dawn Bourque took the win for the pro women. Although I haven't seen any season-long tallies, based on the results history, it looks like Dawn has taken the series title, with Karen Eagan in 2nd. If you've seen the season totals, please let me know! For more information about the series, visit GravityEastSeries.com.

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Dawn Bourque
2. Karen Eagan
3. Stephanie Gubernat
4. Lauren Petersen
5. Lauren Daney

Cat. 1 Women
1. Susan DelPino
2. Kristine Koch
3. Hannah Trimble
4. Katelyn Parhiala

Cat. 2/3 Women
1. Rebecca Bagley
2. Felicia Kearsley
3. Leslie Litton
4. Jennel Ortiz

Junior Women
1. Taylor Allison
2. Maddie Crowley
3. Olivia Allison

Red Bull Burner Results

Once again, I'm on the search for a full results list for an event. However, I'm going to post what I have for last weekend's Red Bull Burner 12-Hour downhill race at Angel Fire, NM. Jackie Harmony is proving to be an endurance downhill queen. She blew apart the competition at the race that allowed riders to choose from three different courses each lap. I can't tell which girls are won which teams for the duo and mixed teams. If you were there, let me know!

Pro Solo Female
1. Jacqueline Harmony
2. Linden Lane
3. Lisa Reinhard
4. Jennifer Whalen

Expert Solo Women
1. Amy Scherm
2. Kim Gilchrist
3. Lisa Barbour

Green River Bike Park!

As gravity addicts, we often find ourselves driving down long stretches of deserted highway on our way from race to race and resort to resort. Now, we all have a sweet spot to stop while traveling I-80 from Boulder to Salt Lake, or from Tahoe to Ray's or wherever you're trying to go that requires you to motor through the corridor of boring that is southern Wyoming. And that sweet spot happens to be in one of the most unlikely places: Green River, WY.

Green River is a mining town on the southern end of the Flaming Gorge. The landscape is similar to that in northwestern Colorado and eastern Utah, being fairly flat, but with cool rock formations to break up the sea of sage. Now, it's also home to a brand new bike park, designed and built by Rachael and Nat Lopes of Hilride. They're the same crew who built the Fresno bike park, and have consulted on numerous other projects in California and beyond.

To check out the progress and location of the Green River park, click here!

Race for Tara 3 Results

I've been searching for more results from this weekend's race, and this is what I was able to find. If anyone has any more classes or details to add, please leave a comment!

Everyone's Facebook and Twitter posts are really positive and excited about the turnout to the race. It's great to see such an incredible group of girls out racing together in October! Tara even raced her 4-wheeler! Apparently the raffle was huge, as was the turnout on the men's side too. Congrats to everyone for making this event so successful!

Here's a little insight into the race from Joy Martin: "Emily's shifter was broken, she was a good sport and raced anyway. Lizzy is an XC and endurance racer. There was a lot of pedaling in the course, and all the ladies had DH bikes, so it was a bit rough pedaling the heavy bikes. Some of the technical sections I needed my DH bike for though and I think we all felt that way."

For more information, visit RaceforTara.com and check out this Decline magazine article.

Pro Women
1. Lizzy English
2. Joanna Petterson
3. Anka Martin
4. Tasa Herndon
5. Joy Martin
6. Lisa Myklak
7. Cierra Smith
8. Emily Johnson

More Racing at Bootleg Canyon!

I just learned about two more races at Bootleg Canyon, NV. The first is the Bittersweet Downhill and Super D this weekend (Oct. 17-18). All Mountain Cyclery is hosting the event, and you can find more information about the race at their website.

The second race, the Dam Cold Downhill, is being hosted by Crash Innovations on January 2-3, 2010. You can find more information about the race by clicking here.

Gravity East Series Recap

The final race of the Gravity East Series is happening right now. Here are the results from the last three events. For more information, visit GravityEastSeries.com.

October 3-4
Mount Snow, VT
Downhill
Pro Women
1. Dawn Bourque
2. Karen Eagan
3. Lauren Petersen

Cat. 1 Women
1. Susan DelPino
2. Becky Gardner
3. Charlene Smith
4. Kate Parhiala

Cat. 2/3 Women
1. Rebecca Bagley
2. Laura Drenen
3. Miranda Cox
4. Jennifer Tammam
5. Jennel Ortiz

Dual Slalom
Pro/Cat. 1 Women
1. Karen Eagan
2. Kate Parhiala

Cat. 2/3 Women
1. Amy Hermann
2. Jennel Ortiz

September 26-27
Blue Mountain Resort, PA
Downhill
Pro Women
1. Karen Eagan
2. Dawn Bourque
3. Hillary Elgert
4. Stephanie Gubernat

Cat. 1 Women 19-29
1. Kristine Koch
2. Kate Parhiala
3. Hannah Trimble

Cat. 1 Women 30-39
1. Susan DelPino

Cat. 2 Women 19-29
1. Leslie Litton

Cat. 2 Women 30-39
1. Karen Clymer

Cat. 3 Women 19-29
1. Becky Bagley
2. Rachael Baxter
3. Christy Allebach

Cat. 3. Women 30-39
1. Jennel Ortiz

Cat. 3 Women 40+
1. Christine Deihl

Dual Slalom
Pro/Cat. 1 Women
1. Dawn Bourque
2. Kate Parhiala
3. Karen Eagan
4. Hannah Trimble

Cat. 2/3 Women
1. Karen Clymer
2. Rachael Baxter
3. Christy Allebach

August 29-30
Whiteface 5K Dowhill, NY
Downhill
Pro Women
1. Dawn Bourque
2. Karen Eagan
3. Alexandra Lacroix
4. Jennifer Wolf
5. Stephanie Gubernat

Cat. 1 Women
1. Becky Gardner
2. Susan DelPino
3. Stacy Benenke
4. Kristine Koch

Cat. 2/3 Women
1. Candace Ellicott
2. Rebecca Bagley
3. Mel Frazier
4. Anne Minor
5. Jennel Ortiz

Dual Slalom
Pro/Cat. 1 Women
1. Karen Eagan

Cat. 2/3 Women
1. Nicky Frechette

Fall Tilt in Telluride 12-Hour Downhill Results

Telluride, Colorado's first 12-Hour endurance downhill race was held Oct. 3-4. Jackie Harmony took the win for the pro women, logging 31 laps. As far as I can tell, she was the only female rider at the race. The Duo categories don't list first names. If you were there and know there were more girls, let me know! You can check out the details at FallTiltinTelluride.com.

Pro Women
1. Jackie Harmony

Plattekill Gravity Series Catch-Up

It turns out that we've missed a few results from the Plattekill, NY downhill and dual slalom series. So, here's a catch-up session. For more information, visit Plattekill.com.

September 19-20
Downhill
Open Women
1. Felicia Kearsley
2. Rebecca Bagley
3. Jennel Ortiz

Junior Women
1. Taylor Allison
2. Olivia Allison

September 5-6
Downhill
Open Women
1. Rebecca Bagley
2. Felicia Kearsley

Junior Women
1. Taylor Allison
2. Olivia Allison

Dual Slalom
Open Women
1. Taylor Allison
2. Olivia Allison
3. Brooke Wilson

July 25-26
Downhill
Open Women
1. Becky Gardner
2. Meredith Mansfield
3. Felicia Kearsley
4. Rebecca Bagley

Dual Slalom
Open Women
1. Olivia Allison
2. Taylor Allison

Snowshoe Powerade Race Series Finals

The third and final race of the Snowshoe Powerade Series was held Oct. 2-4 at Snowshoe, WV. By our calculations, Hillary Elgert won the series with two wins and a 3rd place. For more info, visit Ride.SnowshoeMtn.com.

Pro Women
1. Anne Galyean
2. Amanda Pilling
3. Hillary Elgert
4. Ellen Adams
5. Rae Gandolf
6. Tamara Peloquin

Amateur Women
1. Claire Oliver
2. Liz Scoville

Intro Women
1. Maggie Keller
2. Elaine Daniels

Northstar-at-Tahoe Downhill Series Finals

This weekend is the Race for Tara 3 at Northstar-at-Tahoe resort in California. Last weekend was the final race in the summer-long downhill series. For the first time in the series, Tasa Herndon did not race, making this the only race she didn't win. The honors went to Cierra Smith.

Pro Women
1. Cierra Smith
2. Elianne Furtney
3. Lily Kuehne
4. Adrienne Garbiel
5. Kelly Moore

Junior Women
1. Ruby Tidd
2. Sophie McGuiness

Women 29 & Under
1. Mollie Sitkin

Women 30-39
1. Regine Bertschinger

Women 40 +
1. Gale Derosa

October's Featured Rider: Tammy Donahugh

Tammy Donahugh began racing during downhill's infancy, and continues to progress her own riding, while inspiring women riders of all abilities. Tammy's life is ruled by bikes. Even her house is surrounded by dirt jumps, which explains why she is such a ripping slopestyle rider. She won the Crankworx Colorado dual slalom this season, and she also stole the show at Slope Sistair in August. And when she's not riding her own bike, Tammy's helping to grow and maintain trail networks in your town--she works as IMBA's Operations Manager at the Boulder, CO headquarters. --FF

Name: Tammy Donahugh
Home:My hometown is Santa Cruz, CA and my current town is Berthoud, CO
Age: 32
Favorite type of riding: Anything that has flow mixed with some air time
Why you ride: To get my fix, challenge myself, or goof off. Depends on the day!
Sponsors: SuperCo Bikes, Spank Industries, Atomlab
Website: For now, watch this!

I started riding bikes when I was 16 years old. My boyfriend at the time and his buddies started getting into mountain biking and racing so I wanted to tag along. Soon I found myself not only really enjoying it, but getting faster than some of the boys.

I soon discovered that the downhill sections of the trail were my favorite parts. I started doing some racing, but back then things were quite different. The downhill trails were essentially fireroads and you raced them on a hardtail.

Another boyfriend along the way owned a trials magazine which exposed me to the world of trials riding and balance maneuvers. This in turn helped with my technical skills. Around this time I also moved up to the pro downhill class. It was crazy practicing and racing with factory team riders like Missy Giove, Marla Streb and Tara Llanes. I continually broke my body by never taking any optional “go-arounds” and by throwing myself off every DH course obstacle. It didn’t take long before I drained my bank account and maxed out my credit cards in order to travel the national circuit and pay my doctor bills.

I decided racing DH wasn’t for me right then. Meeting my husband was possibly the transition point out of the race scene. I found a great guy who enjoyed all of the same types of riding and at a similar level. From there on we spent our money and free time traveling to different types of bike riding destinations around the US together. I find it interesting that if you are an avid rider who enjoys anything gravity fed, yet don’t race on a regular basis, then you are considered a “freerider." It’s been cool to see how our sport has progressed and changed over the many years though, and I’m stoked to be living it!

Go pick-up the most recent Dirt Rag issue (#145)! They have a four-page spread covering our backyard playground. The condensed version would be this: Jimmy (my husband) and I both grew up in California and spent almost 30 years there. We moved to CO, bought a house that had enough room for some dirt jumps, and started digging! Currently we have two jump lines, a halfpipe, street spine, and a wall ride. It’s funny to think back to when the yard was empty and to wonder how we will be able to ever go back to “normal” living again one day.

Although I’m a mountain biker at heart, I really admire the 20” riders – especially the girls! Although these little bikes may be easier to throw around, you have to be much more precise and able to take a serious hit on a BMX bike. There are some rad females out there with amazing skills that blow my mind. Just a few names off the top of my head would be Nina Buitrago, Cory Coffey, and Joey Gough.

Early this season I took a mountain bike instructor’s course and began doing some teaching. It’s been a great experience so far and I plan to do much more instruction in 2010. My short term goal is to continue progressing my personal riding while learning new and better ways to explain and break down the skills I’ve acquired, so I can pass them on to other female riders. I want to help girls breach the intimidation barrier that keeps them from trying things like dirt jumping and downhilling. It’s just too much fun to be missed out on!

Fluidride Cup #6 and Overall Series Results

Jill Kintner won the last race of the 2009 Fluidride Cup on September 27th at Mt. Hood, OR. Katrina Strand took the overall series title. For the full series results, visit Fluidride.com.

#6
Pro Women
1. Jill Kintner
2. Dawn Fidler

Cat. 1 Women
1. Chelsey Stevens
2. Jaime Rees
3. Cassandra Stamm

Cat. 2 Women
1. Jennifer Tell
2. Hailey Sou
3. Kathy Malvern
4. Jen Schenk
5. Yvonne Gillette
6. Amy Torget
7. Samantha Carston
8. Amanda Bauer

Cat. 3 Women
1. Ann Davis
2. Rachel DeLateur

Cat. 3 Junior Women
1. Kim Westenhiser
2. Cheyenne Smith

More Fall Racing!

If you haven't gotten your fill of racing yet this year, there are a slew of events still to come in October and November. We've already mentioned the final race in the Northstar downhill series this weekend, and the Race for Tara 3 at Northstar on Oct. 10-11th. Here are a few more you may not have heard about:

Fall Tilt 12-Hour Endurance Downhill Race
Telluride, CO
October 2-4
VisitTelluride.com

Snowshoe Downhill Series Finals
Snowshoe, WV
October 2-4
Ride.Snowshoemtn.com

Gravity East Series #10
Mount Snow, VT
October 3-4
GravityEastSeries.com

Red Bull Burner 12-Hour Downhill Race
Angel Fire, NM
October 10
RedBullBurner.com

Gravity East Series Finals
Plattekill, NY
October 10-11
GravityEastSeries.com

Diablo Gravity Series Finals
Vernon, NJ
October 17-18
DiabloFreeridePark.com

Lagrange Fall Classic Downhill
Weaverville, CA
October 17-18
TeamBigfoot.net

NY State Downhill Series Finals
Plattekill, NY
October 24-25
Plattekill.com

Diabloween
Vernon, NJ
October 31
DiabloFreeridePark.com

18th Annual Southridge Challenge
Fontana, CA
November 21-22
SoutridgeUSA.com