An Oldie but Goodie

Several weekends ago, Go-Ride held the third race in the Utah Downhill Series at White Pine Resort in Pinedale, WY. Connie Misket took the pro downhill win over Addie Stewart. The next race in the series is the Bald Mountain Challenge on July 19-20 at Deer Valley, UT.

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Connie Misket
2. Addie Stewart

Sport Women
1. Joy Sather
2. Liana Gregory
3. Michelle Good

Super D
Pro Women
1. Addie Stewart
2. Connie Miskit

Sport Women 19+
1. Michelle Good
2. Claudia Jackson

We found our results on Go-ride.com.

Blast the Mass Results

Snowmass, CO hosted the Mountain States Cup Blast the Mass event this weekend. This race was the fourth in the MSC series. Melissa Buhl is back from a wrist injury she received at Deer Valley, and once again she dominated both the mountaincross and downhill races. Rachel Bauer maintains her lead in the series Gravity standings. The next MSC race will be the Sol Survivor at Sol Vista, CO on August 1-3.

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Melissa Buhl
2. Rachel Bauer
3. Darian Harvey
4. Stephanie Hatalsky
5. Lisa Reinhard
6. Neven Steinmetz

Expert Women
1. Sage Wilderman
2. Kelly Moore
3. Christen Boyer
4. Nova Hairston
5. Jennifer Johnson
6. Kyra Alexander

Beginner/Jr. Women
1. Briana Perkins
2. Danielle Shewmake
3. Katy Monger
4. Kirstin Buell
5. Brittany Engleking

Mountaincross
Pro/Expert Women
1. Melissa Buhl
2. Neven Steinmetz
3. Christen Boyer
4. Darian Harvey
5. Rachel Bauer
6. Soraya Khalje
7. Stephanie Hatalsky

Sport/Beginner Women
1. Jessica Kirkpatrick
2. Jennifer Johnson
3. Lucy Stevens
4. Brittany Engleking
5. Danika Gillespie

We found our results on racemsc.com.

Downieville All-Mountain World Championships

Rachel Lloyd dominated the 2008 Downieville Classic. Deemed the "All-Mountain World Championships," the race held in Downieville, CA saw an all-star cast of pro cross country and downhill riders vie for the title. Rachel won the cross country race on Saturday and the downhill race on Sunday for the overall win, maintaining her All-Mountain title from 2007. She bested Sue Haywood, her closest competitor, by two minutes each day.

Pro Women All-Mountain
Overall
1. Rachel Lloyd
2. Susan Haywood
3. Sarah Maile
4. Jamie Stamps
5. Maureen Kunz
6. Tiffany Allmandinger
7. Abby Hippely
8. Jackie Baker
9. Niki Gudex
10. Corina Bigham
11. Katrina Strand
12. Erin Moeschler

Cross Country
1. Rachel Lloyd
2. Susan Haywood
3. Sarah Maile
4. Jamie Stamps
5. Maureen Kunz
6. Tiffany Allmandinger
7. Jackie Baker
8. Abby Hippely
9. Niki Gudex
10. Corina Bigham
11. Katrina Strand
12. Erin Moeschler

Downhill
1. Rachel Lloyd
2. Susan Haywood
3. Abby Hippely
4. Tiffany Allmandinger
5. Jamie Stamps
6. Maureen Kunz
7. Sarah Maile
8. Jackie Baker
9. Corina Bigham
10. Niki Gudex
11. Katrina Strand
12. Erin Moeschler

Expert Women All-Mountain
Overall
1. Sharon Hill
2. Laura Home
3. Cassandra Stamm
4. Trista Schulze

Cross Country
1. Sharon Hill
2. Laura Home
3. Lindsey Voreis
4. Cassandra Stamm
5. Trista Schulze

Downhill
1. Sharon Hill
2. Trista Schulze
3. Laura Home
4. Cassandra Stamm

Downhill
Expert Women
1. Zea Walton
2. Sarah Miller
3. Nica Lorber
4. Naomi Murray
5. Margarete Jadamec
6. Sasha Evans

Sport Women
1. Maureen Gaffney
2. Angela Delponte
3. Michelle Stoddard
4. Rachel DeLateur
5. Lauren McQuinn
6. Roxanne Canent

A Rad Event You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The SilverRoxx 3-race weekend could be the coolest gravity event of the season, and if you're like me, it's probably news to you. The race is hosted by Silver Mountain, which is located in northern Idaho. The weekend starts with a "Jam Session" downhill race on Saturday, July 19, where you can take runs for four hours to try to put down the fastest time. Then there's a real downhiller's Super D that afternoon. On Sunday, July 20, there's an Enduro Downhill race to see who can score the most vertical. It's a lot of racing, and it all sounds pretty darn fun.

Countdown to Downieville

It's far too late to get into the Downieville Downhill (it sold out in less than 5 minutes in April). And unless you've been training your booty off, it's probably too late to commit to racing the painful Downieville Cross Country. You still have time to claim a World Champion title, though. The three opportunities to claim your fame July 11-13 in Downieville, CA are the River Jump World Championships, the Pixie Cross World Championships, and the Robot Dance-off World Championships. Show up, goof off, make your friends jealous.
For more information, visit WTB or the Downieville Classic websites.

Gravity East Series Race #4 Results

Plattekill Mountain, NY hosted the fourth downhill race in the Gravity East Series on Sunday. Dawn Bourque took her second GES Pro downhill win of the season. The second race of New York's Dual Slalom State Championship Series was held on Saturday, and Isabel Georgian took the Pro win.

Downhill
Pro/Expert Women
1. Dawn Bourque
2. Allegra Burch A
3. Isabel Georgian
4. Alicia Hamilton
5. Karen Eagan
6. Vicki Koch

Sport/Beginner Women
1. Lauren Daney
2. Kristine Koch
3. Marielle Lueker
4. Amy Somers

Junior Beginner Women
1. Taylor Allison
2. Greer Sargeant

Dual Slalom
Pro/Expert Women
1. Isabelle Georgian
2. Karen Eagan
3. Vicki Koch

Beginner/Sport Women
1. Kristine Koch
2. Amy Somers

Junior Women
1 Maddie Crowley
2 Taylor Allison
3 Olivia Allison

Mount 7 Psychosis Results

The 10th annual Mount 7 Psychosis downhill race took place July 5 and 6 in Golden, BC. The Psychosis has been named the longest all-singletrack downhill race in the world. Claire Buchar claimed the Psychos Women's title, finishing in just over 17 minutes.

Psychos Women
1. Claire Buchar
2. Sarin Warman
3. Bethany Parsons
4. Katie Holden
5. Kari Mancer
6. Marcie Shatula
7. Kristen Smart

Sandbagger Women
1. Dominique Doyon
2. Dawn Cashen
3. Jerusha Millar
4. Michelle Locke

Petition to Reverse the UCI Women's Downhill Qualifying Rule

Sign the petition, pass it on: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/worldcupwomensdhqualification/?e

The UCI recently enacted a ruling that only the women who place in the top 20 in their downhill Qualifying run at a World Cup race can advance to the Final race run. Previously the top 30 women were allowed to compete for a World Cup downhill result. According to World Cup professional downhill riders Joanna Petterson and Jaymie Mart, the reason for the UCI’s rule change was due to faster male riders complaining of slower female riders on the track during practice sessions.

This is a quote from a letter sent by Jaymie to the UCI: “It appears this complaint was originally put forwards to a rider’s forum at meeting in Slovenia in September 2007 and stems from a concern of slower female riders impeding practice of the faster males…”

Reducing the number of women who move from the Qualifying run to the Final run essentially has no effect on the reduction of the number of women on course during practice because there is normally no practice between to the two events on race day.

Another point that Joanna and Jaymie make is that the riders ranked within the last season’s top-10 standings are protected from being disqualified during Qualifying. That means that a top-10 rider can place 23^rd in her Qualifying run and still compete in the final. However, the women with quicker Qualifying times, who place 21^st and 22^nd, are unable to compete in the final.

Now, this top-10 qualifying rule has its drawbacks and merits, but it is not what is being debated. What is disturbing is that, in general, out of all of the women in the world, only 10 additional women outside of the 2007 top 10 are able to compete in a World Cup final.

Jaymie writes, “Percentage wise, in the women’s category, 50% of the riders inside the top 20 are protected riders where as 25% of the men (20 out of a possible 80) are protected. …Minimizing the available positions in a World Cup final evidently does not have the required effect on course and will sadly result in a diminished women’s field at a time when admittedly, numbers of female racers are continuing to dwindle. This category of riders requires support, not restriction.”

In case you’re thinking that there are dangerously slow women attending World Cup races, let’s consider a few points. First, World Cup downhill tracks are tough, and most riders in the world—male or female—would have difficulty riding these courses adeptly. If a rider truly struggles, being the professional rider that he or she is, that rider should recognize that he or she is in over his or her head and should choose not to continue to practice, and certainly not to attempt to race.

Second, if there are real issues with men and women riding at such varying speeds as prove dangerous during practice, why doesn’t the UCI split practice times? Guys can charge, girls can rip, and lift lines remain reasonable. If reducing the number of women who qualify for the Final race has no practical effect on the practice situation, this option seems like a smarter alternative.

Third, anyone attending a World Cup event must first qualify to ride the venue at all in one of two ways: 1. Accrue 20 UCI points in your designated discipline (Downhill races only count toward downhill points, 4x only counts toward 4x, etc). 2. Be a member of a UCI trade team.

There are very few women in the world who have accumulated the necessary amount of UCI points to race a World Cup. Few events provide those points, and the events that do supply points, like National Championships and UCI-rated races only allot a few points per place. The number of women who don’t have their 20 points and are part of a UCI trade team are even fewer. UCI trade teams normally only pull women who have proven themselves at the World Cup level already. Jaymie points out in her letter that the trade team option often allows for inexperienced men to cause an even greater threat on course than the women who have accrued their UCI points.

It’s obvious that the new rule is illogical. Luckily, we can get the UCI pointed back in the right direction by urging them to repeal the new 20-woman Qualifying limit and reinstate the 30-woman standard. Click here and sign the petition, and pass the link on to your friends. Not only will more women get the experience of racing for a World Cup result, but also the pool of talented female downhill racers will continue to grow and thrive.

Click here to read Neven Steinmetz’s blog post about this issue.

Sign the petition, pass it on: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/worldcupwomensdhqualification/?e

Snowshoe Powerade Race #1 Results

The first Snowshoe Powerade race of the summer took place last weekend at Snowshoe, WV. The weekend was dominated by talented Laurens. Lauren Petersen won the Elite downhill, and Lauren Daney won the Open dual slalom. The next race in the series will be held on July 27-27, 2008.

Downhill
Elite Women
1. Lauren Peterson
2. Ellen Adams
3. Rae Gandolf
4. Susan Haywood
5. Amanda Pilling
6. Heather Brennan

Women’s Weekend Warrior
1. Lauren Daney
2. Tamara Peloquin
3. Annie Vig
4. Desiree Miles

Women’s Intro
1. Amy Coleman
2. Robin Warren
3. Liz Scoville
4. Anna Cain

Dual Slalom
Open Women
1. Lauren Daney
2. Robin Warren
3. Amanda Pilling
4. Amanda Levering
5. Melissa Edwards
6. Melissa Moran

We found our results at Ride Snowshoe Mountain.

Free Lift Tickets at Whiteface This Weekend!

Wooohoo! I just stopped by DeclineMagazine.com and was stoked to see an article about Ladies Day at Whiteface Mountain Bike Park this weekend. Whiteface is located in Lake Placid, NY. On Saturday, July 5, all women get a free lift ticket that's good for gondola and bus rides all day. There will be three more Ladies Days throughout the summer on the first Saturday of each month. Get your girls together and go ride for free!

Diablo Domination Series Round 2 Results

Freeride Foundation's own East-Coast transplant Allie Burch claimed her first Diablo Domination downhill win at the Diablo Freeride Park, NJ this weekend. We're glad she's getting adjusted to her new surroundings. Bonnie Chapman leads the series after this second race. The next Diablo Domination race will take place on August 24, 2008.

Pro/Open Women
1. Allegra Burch
2. Bonnie Chapman
3. Stephanie Gubernat
4. Alicia Hamilton
5. Isabel Georgian

Amateur Women
1. Kathleen Herde
2. Stephanie Fritz
3. Kristen Kastrinos

Intro Women
1. Marielle Luker

Series standings after two races:
Pro/Open Women
1. Bonnie Chapman
2. Isabel Georgian
3. Alicia Hamilton
4. Alexis Wruble
5. Allegra Burch
6. Stephanie Gubernat

Amateur Women
1. Stephanie Fritz
2. Kathleen Herde
3. Kristen Kastrinos

Intro Women
1. Marielle Luker

A Northstar Tuesday

After putting some big wide bars on my Giant Glory, I've waited patiently for the perfect, bluebird, smoke-free day to try them out. Today was that day. OK, to be honest, work and a bunch of other stupid stuff got in the way before the smoke did. I rolled up to Northstar to meet my friend Ben.

I had two goals today: 1. Check out the bars and see how many bolts I forgot to tighten while installing said bars. 2. Stay upright. The Downieville Classic is just over a week away, and I'm at enough of a disadvantage when I'm healthy. There's no need to go taking myself out now.

For those of you who've ridden Northstar, you probably know how difficult it can be fulfill goal #2. So my plan involved numerous laps on Livewire, Gypsy, and Karpiel-to-Speed Control-to Pho Dog. After a few laps, Ben and I ran into Kathy Pruitt and Cam McCaul. They were taking a little vaca and riding Northstar for the first time. Kathy was on my goal #2 program, having ridden all the gnar-Star stuff on Monday with a crew of friends, and needed a fun flowy day to get stoked for the rest of her action-packed summer. It was so fun to ride with them!

I couldn't believe how blown out some of the trails had gotten since I'd been there two weeks ago. Boondocks is a complete sandbox, so the upcoming race on that trail should be interesting. All-in-all, it was a successful day. I stayed upright and was super stoked with the new bars. (They stayed upright too.) It took a few runs on some tighter stuff to not feel like a complete beater cornering at slower speeds, but they felt awesome immediately on the fast jumpy stuff like Livewire.

Now it's all smokey again and it'll be after the Downieville race that I get back on the Glory. I can't wait!