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

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

Slope Sistair Video

Well, here I am slacking again. I didn't get the WC Final DH results up yet, and I'm in Vegas for Interbike. In case you haven't already read it, Tracy Moseley won the race, but Sabrina Jonnier took the series title. I'll post full results when there's a bit of downtime. In the meantime, check out this Slope Sistair III video courtesy of Katie Hayes and 406 Productions!

Slope Sistair 2009 from 406 Productions on Vimeo.

Slope Sistair Rules The Ranch

If I was updating Freeride Foundation's Facebook status this weekend, the progression would have looked a bit like this:

Freeride Foundation is trying to avoid accidentally finding the peach pit (and possible piece of gum) that Gale failed to throw out of the passenger side window of her car last week.

Freeride Foundation is eating pizza at Pablo's in Grand Junction with the women of Slope Sistair.

Freeride Foundation is freaking out that I may have lost my phone in City Market...but I don't remember taking it into the store....why can't I hear it ring?

Freeride Foundation is at The Ranch! It's a freerider's paradise!

Freeride Foundation found my phone next to a dried out peach pit underneath an atlas, underneath the passenger seat. Ew and hooray!

Freeride Foundation is puckered up riding Pucker Up for the first time on my Trance. Hmmm, perhaps I need a 7in freeride bike after all.

Freeride Foundation is having dinner with the ladies of Slope Sistair and James from Grassroots. Lucky James!

Ok, you get the picture.

To fill in the gaps, The Ranch is quite literally a freerider's paradise located about 9 miles outside of Grand Junction, CO. It's a network of trails, jumps, man-made stunts, and a huge slopestyle course, all within a short push from a fairly civilized cabin (ie, running water, a 6-burner stove, huge fridge, and electricity).

Want to ride some of GJ's finest trails? A short jaunt down a dirt road will get you to The Ribbon, and a short shuttle ride puts you within access of Free Lunch, Pucker Up, Holy Cross, and more. Run by Grassroots Cyclery in Grand Junction, The Ranch was the site of the third installment of Slope Sistair.

Stephanie Nychka (left) founded Slope Sistair as a way to get as many ripping slopestyle girls together as possible for a weekend of riding, progressing, and inspiring. The weekend started with trail rides on The Ribbon and Pucker Up on Friday. On Saturday, pros like Tammy Donahugh and Gale Dahlager coached riders looking to improve their confidence on the dual slalom track and on jumps. There was plenty of time for everyone to session the slopestyle course, wall rides, and other jumps around The Ranch.

Sunday's slopestyle session started with a best trick contest off of a step-up that's separate from the slopestyle course. The slopestyle session was rider-judged, and it was no easy task, as Tammy and Darcy Turenne (below) put on a show that included tricks like no-handers and foot-buzzing x-ups.
After a lengthy jump session and a lunch break, everyone moved over to the slopestyle course. the course starts with a bridge to wood-ramp jump or two sets of doubles. Darcy got creative and tranferred fromt the bridge to the backside of the first double, while Tammy and Katie Hayes dropped the bridge to the wood ramp. After a few runs, those two were able to link up the bridge to the wall ride below. Tammy (below) took it even further by hitting doubles all the way down the course--and absolutely maching!

When it was all said and done, Tammy took home wins in both contests, and walked away with a new frame. She was so inspiring to watch, as she rode with the most confidence and style throughout the weekend. And Katie (right) is definitely one to watch. She couldn't get enough of the fire pit jump in front of the cabin, and she was the only other girl to hit the doubles on the slopestyle course. She has a calculated but aggressive style and a good eye for picking lines and judging her landings. We'll be seeing a lot of her in the future!

Best Trick
1. Tammy Donahugh
2. Darcy Turenne
3. Katie Hayes












Best Trick podium. How we do it at The Ranch.

Slopestyle
1. Tammy Donahugh
2. Katie Hayes
3. Darcy Turenne














Tammy slayed slopestyle.











Gale Dahlager has been to all 3 Slope Sistairs (along with Darcy and SS founder Stephanie).











Neven Steinmetz extends her World Cup 4X skills and busts a move on the wall ride.









Nadia Steinbrecher ramps it up.

Slope Sistair Is Next Weekend!

In less than a week, Grand Junction, CO will play host to the women's freeride festival known as Slope Sistair. This is a 3-day weekend of trail rides, clinics, slalom duals, and a slopestyle contest.

There's super-cheap camping on site, and some of the world's most talented female freeriders will be in attendance (read Darcy Turenne, Stephanie Nycka--who's also Slope Sistair's founder and organizer, Nadia Steinbrecher, Gale Dahlager, Tammy Donahugh and more!).
For more information about the event, visit Slope Sistair's website.

Blast the Mass Results

The fifth race in the Mountain States Cup series took place in Snowmass, CO this weekend. The Blast the Mass races included a 4X, downhill, and Super D. Darian Harvey took the downhill win by about 12 seconds, and Rachel Bauer won 4X. The next MSC with gravity events will be held in Sol Vista, CO on September 4-7. Find more info at RaceMSC.com.

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Darian Harvey
2. Jacqueline Harmony
3. Addie Stewart
4. Rachel Bauer
5. Martha Renn
6. Lisa Reinhard

Cat 1
1. Alisha Gibson
2. Margaret Gregory
3. Christen Boyer
4. Katy Monger

Cat 2
1. Jessica Kirkpatrick
2. Amber Price
3. Kristin Buell
4. Kyra Alexander
5. Lana Lawson

Cat 3
1. Rachel Baxter

4X
Pro Women
1. Rachel Bauer
2. Jacqueline Harmony
3. Martha Renn
4. Darian Harvey
5. Neven Steinmetz
6. Bobbi Kae Watt

Cat 1/2 Women
1. Alisha Gibson
2. Chrisen Boyer
3. Lauren Heitzman
4. Christin McCurdy
5. Lana Lawson
6. Catharine Cantway

Cat 3/Junior Women
1. Lucy Stevens
2. Danika Gillespie

Super D
Open Women
1. Jessica Kirkpatrick
2. Kimber Gabryszak
3. Lynn Bush
4. Mary Hoyle
5. Sonya Bugbee

Women 19+
1. Aubrey Aragon
2. Sara Landis
3. Sarah Rawley
4. Lauren Sullivan

Junior Women
1. Lucy Stevens

Airing Out Sol Vista

Yeah, I know. You've already read about who won what, seen the photos, and read all about big jumps, dust, drop gates, and short courses. Over the past few days, I've been thinking about how to write this blog post, as there is actually a lot to say about what transpired at the US National Downhill Championships at Sol Vista, CO this weekend.

I think the best place to start is with a quote from Katie Holden: "We [pro female downhill racers] really progressed women's riding this weekend." While I was happy to progress my bum onto my downhill bike for three days of relaxing riding with my friends, a talented and inspiring group of pro women stepped up to the plate and rode impressively on a course that left plenty of pro men shaking their heads.

Here's the deal. The course was a short one--Melissa Buhl won the stars and bars in 2:41. The top 3/4 of the course consisted of newly-built loose sandy, rocky trail through the woods, followed by "The Three Amigos," which were three progressively larger gap jumps--the final one measuring nearly 50 feet from lip to landing, and concluding with a short woods section into a few high-speed berms with some jumps in between.

The word around the pits after the first day of practice was that anyone who didn't hit all Three Amigos would have no chance at besting someone who did, due to the nearly uphill trail required to go around the booters. Eventually, go-arounds were added so that riders could hit one or two of the jumps, even if they chose not to hit the grand finale.

To be honest, after seeing the course, I was pretty stoked to not be racing. It brought up so many interesting dilemmas that I was much more content to spectate for the weekend.

The first thing I thought of when I saw the jumps was that it was unfair to put these jumps on a National Championship course, when there are very few opportunities in the US to hit anything similar, and therefore little opportunity for someone to successfully progress onto these larger gaps. Putting them on the course with only one huge go-around seemed to be asking for riders to attempt to hit them whether they possessed the skill or not. After traveling to Colorado, spending cash on entry fees, lift tickets, housing, etc., why wouldn't you just go for it?

Then, there's the point that Littermag makes: You choose what to hit and what not to hit, and that's what makes you a skilled bike rider.

Lisa Myklak was the first girl to hit any of the jumps, and also the first to hit all three. She went for them before many of the guys did. She broke the ice, and Jackie Harmony was the only other girl to successfully hit all three. Jackie was also the only girl to hit them all in her race run (Lisa hit the first two). Most of the women's field hit at least the first jump in their qualifying and race runs.

Here's the interesting thing, though: earlier in the weekend, thoughts were that if a girl hit all three jumps, she'd have the win in the bag. The course was so short that everyone assumed there was no room to make up that time elsewhere. But Melissa and Kathy Pruitt proved that a racecourse starts at the top and ends at the finish line. Melissa came off the first jump and into the go-around unbelievably fast, and after also nailing the first jump, Kathy finished less than a second behind her. Lisa took 3rd after hitting two of the three, and Jackie took 4th after hitting them all.

The moral of the story is this: the current field of US racers is one that's full of talent. Melissa and Kathy are able to apply their World Cup experience and weed out the noise to put together blazing race runs. Lisa stole the show early in the weekend by proving that all three jumps were rideable, and made a race-day decision to go around the third. Jackie had the confidence to put all three jumps into her race run. Simply hitting or not hitting the jumps was not the deciding factor--it was putting together a fast and strategically sound race run. These girls and the rest of the women's field prove that we have some incredible riders here in 'Merica, and that we can expect women's riding here to continue to progress to meet the challenges of courses and conditions here and abroad.

Bravo, ladies, bravo!

Downhill Pro Women
1. Melissa Buhl
2. Kathy Pruitt
3. Lisa Myklak
4. Jacqueline Harmony
5. Katie Holden
6. Darian Harvey
7. Rachel Bauer
8. Jennifer Wolf
9. Jennifer Whalen
10. Stephanie Leonard
11. Julie Olsen
12. Connie Misket
13. Michelle Rivera

Cat. 1 Women 19-29
1. Alisha Gibson
2. Emma Millar
3. Johanne Tuttle
4. AnneMarie Hennes
5. Katy Monger
6. Liana Gregory
7. Christen Boyer

Cat. 1 Women 30+
1. Chelsey Stevens
2. Soraya Khalje
3. Rosie Bernhard

Cat. 2 Women 19-29
1. Melissa O'Connell
2. Jesse Kirkpatrick
3. Kyra Alexander
4. Lauren Heitzman
5. Kristin Buell
6. Christin McCurdy

Cat. 2 Women 30-39
1. Lana Lawson
2. Amber Price
3. Bonnie Miller

Cat. 3 Women 30+
1. Ann Davis
2. Rachel DeLateur
3. Jennel Ortiz

Junior Women
1. Cierra Smith
2. Maddie Crowley

Mountaincross
Pro Women
1. Jill Kintner
2. Melissa Buhl
3. Kathy Pruitt
4. Darian Harvey
5. Jacqueline Harmony
6. Rachel Bauer
7. Neven Steinmetz

Cat. 1/2/3 Women
1. Johanne Tuttle
2. Alisha Gibson
3. Catherine Cantway
4. Christen Boyer
5. Christin McCurdy
6. Brittany Jackson
7. Maddie Crowley
8. Soraya Khalje
9. Katy Monger

Slope Sistair 2009

It's on! Visit Slopesistair.wordpress.com for more details!

Wildflower Rush Results

There were parallel podiums at the Wildflower Rush downhill and mountaincross races this weekend. Jackie Harmony threw down the winning run on a new downhill track at Crested Butte's Wildflower Rush this weekend. She had 7 seconds to spare over second place rider Rachel Bauer. This Mountain States Cup race was the third gravity event of the series. Also new to Crested Butte was a mountaincross event. Jackie took the win here too, over Rachel Bauer and Darian Harvey. For more information, visit RaceMSC.com.

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Jacqueline Harmony
2. Rachel Bauer
3. Darian Harvey
4. Stephanie Leonard
5. Sarah Elworthy
6. Sage Wilderman
7. Michelle Rivera
8. Julie Olsen
9. Nadia Steinbrecher

Cat. 1 Women
1. Emma Millar
2. Alisha Gibson
3. Soraya Khalje
4. Sabina Kraushaar
5. Christen Boyer
6. Katy Monger
7. Aubrey Aragon

Cat. 2 Women
1. Jessica Kirkpatrick
2. Melissa O'Connell
3. Kyra Alexander
4. Bonnie Miller
5. Krisin Buell
6. Lauren Heitzman
7. Billie Mohrbach
8. Lana Lawson
9. Amy Patrick

4X
Pro Women
1. Jacqueline Harmony
2. Rachel Bauer
3. Darian Harvey

Cat. 1/2 Women
1. Christen Boyer
2. Katy Monger
3. Soraya Khalje
4. Lana Lawson

Cat. 3/Jr. Women
1. Lucy Stevens
2. Danika Gillespie
3. Jenna Haas

June's Featured Rider: Stephanie Nychka

Stephanie Nychka is one of those riders who’s simply inspiring. She’ll hit jumps and stunts with the same confidence and aggression as the pro guys, and she bounces back from setbacks and injuries a stronger rider than ever. She created and produced the two SlopeSistair women’s slopestyle events in 2005 and 2006, and is in the midst of preparations for the 3rd SlopeSistair, which will be held at The Ranch in Grand Junction, CO on August 28-30, 2009.--FF

Name: Christina Stephanie Danya Nychka
Hometown: Beaverlodge, Alberta
Current Residence: Seattle, WA
Age: 29
Favorite type of riding: Slopestyle, A-Line-ish trails
Why you ride: The progression in this sport is unlike any other I've ever experienced, and being good can happen as easily as you allow it. And it feels good to be good at the sports you love! My development as a rider has been proportional to my love for riding. It makes me smile big.
Sponsors: Transition, Dakine, Five Ten, Skull Candy, Smith Optics, OGIO
Website: StephanieNychka.wordpress.com

I went to university to play volleyball, but ended up living with roommates who rode bikes, which is how I was introduced to riding. I met my fiancé, Joel, while riding during that time. After we were engaged, he began chiropractic school and I moved to Europe to play volleyball professionally. While I was there, he passed away suddenly and I was completely uprooted. The only thing I knew to do was finish what we began together, so I transferred to the chiropractic college he had attended in Minneapolis. There was nowhere to ride though--bikes or boards--and I needed that release. I moved to Whistler and took 8 months off of school to ride bikes and to organize SlopeSistair.

It was during that break that I knew I wanted to be a chiropractor for the right reasons—for myself, and because I love being able to give back to sports and athletes. Since I graduated, I’ve become involved events around Seattle, and have been traveling a lot to work with athletes—and firefighters, policemen, and other professionals. I love my job!

I raced bikes for a couple of years starting in 2000. I rode for PinkBike.com, and even though I didn't like the intensity and pressure very much, I did fairly well, finishing 2nd overall in the 2002 Canada Cup series. I wasn't a smooth rider, but I wasn't scared of much. Prioritizing my skills has definitely changed a bit since!

I gravitated towards slopestyle because it was a combination of so many other disciplines: speed control, fluidity, style, yet it was unique for its absence of a clock. I love the challenge and adrenaline and risk that goes into hitting big jumps and drops. I prefer Boneyard-style jumps and drops—the one-hit, choose-your-own-adventure trails. Your personality and riding style are mirrored in your flow and feature preferences, no two riders ever look the same.

I think the most important riding skill is so basic—and something I didn’t learn how to do until two years ago. One of my favorite people to ride with taught me how to work the trail, how to pump the terrain and use the bike’s suspension. It looked sexy when he did it, and it made me feel sexy once I learned how to do it! I still have a ways to go and its something I probably should have learned first, but better now than never, right?

I’m a more confident rider now, and I know it’s a skill that will transfer to every aspect of riding whether it be dirt jumping, xc, slopestyle or downhill. Whistler`s Crank It Up trail is a fantastic place to practice. Bottom line: Go back to the basics--BMX & pumptracks are the best places to learn how to handle a bike.

Chalk Creek Stampeded Results

The Chalk Creek Stampede is the first gravity race of the 2009 Mountain States Cup calendar. The event, held in Nathrop, CO last weekend, included a dual slalom race and a mountaincross race. I always have trouble figuring out final placings from dual slalom brackets, so visit RaceMSC.com for the full results. Rachel Bauer took the dual slalom win and Bobbi Kae Watt took the mountaincross victory.

Dual Slalom
Pro, Cat. 1/2 Women
1. Rachel Bauer
2. Christen Boyer
3. Jackie Harmony
4. Neven Steinmetz
(then, I'm pretty sure it's:)
5. Jessica Vogt
6. Katy Monger
7. Lana Lawson

Mountaincross
Pro, Cat.1 Women
1. Bobbi Kae Watt
2. Neven Steinmetz
3. Jessica Vogt
4. Jacquline Harmony
5. Rachel Bauer
6. Christen Boyer
7. Michelle Rivera
8. Catherine Cantway

Junior Women
1. Lana Lawson
2. Danika Gillespie

Ranchstyle Results

The Grassroots Cycles Ranchstyle contests were held at The Ranch in Grand Junction on April 25-26. There were clinics, rides, a dual slalom race, and a slopestyle contest. Jackie Harmony won the dual slalom, and we have insider information that tells us that Tammy Donahugh slayed the slopestyle course.

Dual Slalom
1. Jackie Harmony
2. Tammy Donahugh
3. Bobbi Kae Watt
4. Nadia Steinbrecher
5. Erin Borg
6. Marissa Doss
7. Sara Landis
8. Katy Monger

For more information, visit Grassroots-Cycles.com.

Ranch Style Jam and Dual Slalom

Grassroots Cycles is hosting the second-annual Ranch Style festival in Fruita, CO April 23-26. The Ranch Style clinics, dual slalom, and slopestyle are happening the same weekend as the Fruita Fat Tire Festival. The dual slalom will be held on Saturday, and the slopestyle is Sunday. If enough women sign up for the slopestyle, there will be a women's-only class! Sign up early, so Grassroots can plan accordingly!
Click here to learn more about Ranch Style!

Oredigger Challenge Results

Collegiate cycling is awesome. It's gotten even more sweet over the years as disciplines like downhill and dual slalom have become more common. Back when I was racing collegiate, downhill races were rare--but then, the bicycle had only recently been invented. The rad thing about the Colorado School of Mines Oredigger Challenge, which was held last weekend, was not only that they held the downhill at Sol Vista, CO (a real resort!), but that they also included Collegiate and Open categories of competition. Several students raced both races. Meanwhile, in the spirit of team points, several downhillers made impressive cross country showings too. Sage Wilderman won the Collegiate A downhill race, and then took second in the Collegiate A cross country.

Collegiate Downhill
A Women
1. Sage Wilderman
2. Soraya Khalje
3. Emma Millar
4. Eszter Horanyi
5. Naticia Slusher
6. Abigail Carroll
7. Sarah Altschuler
8. Melissa Marts

B Women
1. Kylie Kroneberger
2. Brittany Engleking
3. Sarah Robers
4. Courtney Steen

Women's Open
1. Jessica Vogt
2. Soraya Khalje
3. Kristin Buell
4. Sarah Roberts
5. Courtney Steen

To view the full results and to see who rides for which school, visit CSM Cyling.

Rachel Bauer Wins Mountain States Cup Final

Rachel Bauer won the Sol Squared G3 event at Sol Vista, CO this weekend, which also secured her overall points win in the Mountain States Cup series. The G3 consisted of two downhill races and a Super D. The person with the lowest combined time for all three events is the winner. Rachel attended all but one of the MSC races, and she competed in all of the gravity disciplines--downhill, dual slalom, mountaincross, and G3--to take the series title. Neven Steinmetz took second in the series. To see the entire list of series rankings, visit RaceMSC.com.

G3 Pro Women
1. Rachel Bauer
2. Jacqueline Harmony
3. Sage Wilderman
4. Abigail Hippely
5. Neven Steinmetz
6. Jessica Vogt

G3 Expert Women
1. Christen Boyer

G3 Sport Women
1. Jennifer Johnson

Snowmass G3 Results

The seventh race of the Mountain States Cup series was held this weekend at Snowmass, CO. The event was a G3, meaning racers competed in two separated downhill races, as well as a Super-D. Unfortunately, conditions were less than ideal at the 'Mass, and wet and slimy conditions made for some tough racing. Lisa Myklak survived the slop and secured her third MSC win in two weeks. I don't have results from each race, but I did find the combined overall results on the Mountain States Cup website. Rachel Bauer maintains her points lead in the series, with Darian Harvey now in second, and Lisa Myklak in third.

Pro Women
1. Lisa Myklak
2. Darian Harvey

Expert Women
1. Christen Boyer

Junior Expert Women
1. Amber Price
2. Kristin Buell
3. Brittany Engleking
4. Katy Monger
5. Lana Lawson

Crankworx Colorado Dual Slalom Results

The Crankworx Colorado dual slalom was held on Sunday, while the Sol Survivor downhill was raced just down the street. The Crankworx dual slalom field may not have been huge, but it sure was stacked. Kathy Pruitt took the win over Tammy Donahugh. Whistler's Crankworx kicks off on Saturday!

Pro Women
1. Kathy Pruitt
2. Tammy Donahugh
3. Bobbi Kae Watt
4. Nadia Steinbrecher

Crankworx Colorado--It's Happening!

Racing is already underway at Crankworx Colorado in Winter Park. Amy Scherm won the Pro Women's All-Mountain Super D, Nancy Morlock took the Pro Women's Super D, and Jackie Harmony Jackie Harmony smoked the Pro Women's Downhill. (Jackie had the 19th-fastest downhill run of the day.) There are still two more days of contests and racing left at Crankworx Colorado!

All-Mountain Super D
Pro Women
1. Amy Scherm
2. Tami Perrin

Super D
Pro Women
1. Nancy Morlock
2. Amy Scherm
3. Tami Perrin
4. Anne St. Clair

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Jackie Harmony
2. Sage Wilderman
3. Rachel Bauer
4. Amy Scherm
5. Nancy Morlock

Amateur Women
1. Lauren Heitzman
2. Melissa O'Connell