California Golden State Mountain Bike Championships

Over the Labor Day weekend, Mammoth Mountain, CA hosted it's biggest mountain bike event since the Nationals in 2005. The final races of the Golden State Series included a downhill race, the Kamikaze, and mountaincross. Tasa Herndon took wins in both the Kamikaze and the Downhill, but Joy Martin was quicker in mountaincross. For more info, visit SouthridgeUSA.com.

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Tasa Herndon
2. Christine Hirst
3. Robyn Embrey
4. Laura Noonan
5. Joy Martin
6. Jennifer Wolf

Open Women
1. Nancy Harris
2. Adrienne Garbiel

Sport Women 34 & Under
1. Rebecca Givens
2. Dani Wisnieski

Sport Women 35+
1. Lisa Tucker

Beginner Women 34 & Under
1. Julia Zavala
2. Kiera Sears

Beginner Women 35+
1. Gina McKee
2. Kim Finch
3. Traci Adams

Kamikaze
Pro Women
1. Tasa Herndon
2. Christine Hirst
3. Joy Martin

Open Women
1. Mandy Oliekan

Legends Women
1. Penny Davidson-Lungren

4X
Pro Women
1. Joy Martin
2. Tasa Herndon
3. Christine Hirst
4. Robyn Embrey

Open Women
1. Nancy Harris
2. Dani Wisnieski
3. Robin Vold

Results Recap

Once again, I've been remiss in getting results posted in a timely fashion. My apologies. Better late than never, though, right? So, here is a smattering of results from around the world that should bring us at least close to being up to date. One interesting note, Berny Pizarro is back on the race scene! She took 2nd at the Copa Chile this weekend.

Copa Chile
Los Andes, Chile
September 13, 2009

1. Veronica Francisca Miranda Fuentes
2. Bernardita Pizarro
3. Vanessa Cecilia Vallerino Kneer
4. Pamela Morena Neira

iXS European Downhill Cup
Bishofsmais, Germany
September 13, 2009

1. Antje Kramer
2. Miriam Ruchti
3. Harriet Rucknagel
4. Nicole Beege
5. Sandra Rubesam
6. Leoni-Caroline Dickerhoff
7. Liz Schwemmer
8. Sylvie Rejfirova
9. Joanne Muoser
10.Caro Gehrig
11. Tanja Hendysiak

MSC Sol Survivor
Sol Vista, CO
September 4-7, 2009

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Jackie Harmony
2. Emma Millar
3. Julie Olsen
4. Neven Steinmetz
5. Stephanie Leonard

Cat. 1 Women
1. Alisha Gibson
2. Christen Boyer
3. Amber Price

Cat. 2 Women
1. Lauren Heitzman
2. Eden Sierra
3. Lana Lawson
4. Melissa O'Connell
5. Kristin Buell
6. Hillary Seminick

Cat. 3 Women
1. Laura Drenen
2. Courtney Papa

4x
Pro Women
1. Jackie Harmony
2. Catherine Cantway
3. Leslie Slagle
4. Neven Steinmetz

Cat. 1/2 Women
1. Alisha Gibson
2. Christen Boyer
3. Eden Sierra
4. Lauren Heitzman
5. Lana Lawson
6. Amber Price

Cat. 3/Junior Women
1. Danika Gillespie

iXS European Downhill Cup
Verbier, Switzerland
August 30, 2009

1. Martina Bruehlmann
2. Miriam Ruchti
3. Caroline Sax
4. Sidonie Jolidon
5. Harriet Rucknagel
6. Carina Cappellari
7. Joanne Muoser
8. Noemi Derron
9. Lauriane Darbre

Whiteface 5K Downhill
Lake Placid, NY
August 30, 2009

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 Beneke
4. Kristine Koch

Cat. 2-3 Women
1. Candace Ellicott
2. Mel Frazier
3. Anne Minor
4. Jennel Ortiz

Dual Slalom
Women Open
1. Karen Eagan

Cat. 2 Women
1. Nicky Frechette

Masters Mountain Bike World Championships
Praloup, FRA
August 29, 2009

Downhill
Women 30-34
1. Nathalie Dappen
2. Meave Baxter
3. Severine Delom
4. Cecile Romand
5. Michele McMullan
6. Pulpanova Bohdana
7. Nathalie Jedda
8. Aurelia Comte Marton

Women 35+
1. Lina Skoglund
2. Chantal Bonaglia
3. Gina Nixon
4. Mylene Kim Fortier
5. Gloria Salvatori
6. Marion Bast
7. Anna Ivana Sparano
8. Marylin Bisson

Fluidride Cup #5
Mt. Hood, OR
August 21-23, 2009

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Dawn Fidler
2. Leana Gerrard

Cat. 1 Women
1. Jaime Rees
2. Chelsey Stevens
3. Cassandra Stamm
4. Brooke Shore
5. Kat Sweet
6. Carolyn Hope

Cat. 2 Women
1. Jessica Serdowich
2. Lisa Hong
3. Jennifer Tell
4. Kathy Malvern
5. Karen O'Connell
6. Jen Schenk
7. Burke Okrasinski
8. April Graham
9. Amanda Markell

Cat. 3 Open Women
1. Ann Davis
2. Lindsay Harper
3. Corrinne Grere
4. Rachel Delateur
5. Diana Miller

Cat. 3 Women 18 & Under
1. Cheyenne Smith

Snowshoe Powerade Race Series #2
Snowshoe, West Virginia
July 24-26, 2009

Elite Women
1. Hillary Elgert
2. Ellen Adams
3. Toni Moss

Amateur Women
1. Anne Galyean
2. Kirstin Cousin
3. Liz Scoville

Women's Intro
1. Maggie Keller
2. Elaine Daniels
3. Elizabeth Flesher
4. Jordan Salman

Fluidride Cup #4
Mt. Hood, OR
July 10-11, 2009

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Sara Johnson
2. Amy Laird
3. Dawn Lambert
4. Britney White

Cat. 1 Women
1. Chelsey Stevens
2. Jaime Rees
3. Cassandra Stamm
4. Jennifer Jones
5. Shelby Reilly
6. Brooke Shore

Cat. 2 Women
1. Hailey Southkoth
2. Jen Schenk
3. Kathy Malvern
4. Ruth Klein
5. Amanda Markell
6. Amy Torget
7. Yvonne Gillette

Cat. 3 Women Open
1. Ann Davis
2. Diana Miller
3. Rachel Delateur

Cat. 3 Women 18 & Under
1. Adrianna Moroz
2. Cheyenne Smith

September's Featured Rider: Sondra Williamson

We've featured a lot of highly-talented riders who excel at many sports and have successful careers off the bike as well. But Sondra Williamson raises the bar several notches. In addition to riding mountain bikes, Sondra dirt bikes, snowboards, and used to have a car she raced on dirt tracks. After graduating from UCSB, she worked there as research assistant in molecular biology. Once she found bikes, she was able to carve out a career for herself in the industry, working at Specialized, Shift Racing, and Kali Protectives. She recently attained her personal trainer certificate. And now, she's returned to school again to take courses in anatomy and nutrition, and is pondering her future as a nurse or physician's assistant.--FF

Name: Sondra Williamson
Home: Morgan Hill, CA, but Carpinteria, CA is where I've spent most of my life
Age: 30! (But someone thought I was 21 the other day!)
Favorite type of riding: Techy, rooty, rocky singletrack--which I've grown to like even after it’s rained! And fast, flowy singletrack with jumps and tight corners. Oh, and pump tracks!
Why you ride: The feeling of freedom. I like to scare myself with new challenges on a trail.
Sponsors: Specialized

I always liked bikes when I was growing up, but it didn’t stick until I was 22. I love soccer and played for UC Santa Barbara until my fifth year. Then I switched my major to biology and joined the mountain bike team. At that point, the closest thing to a mountain bike ride I had ever been on was when my cousin Maria took me and my cruise-around-college-campus bike on a ride that included pavement with a little off-roading on the rocks next to the train tracks! I will never forget what I was wearing: Maria’s hand-me-down royal blue Lycra, a UCSB soccer t-shirt, running shoes and a kid's helmet with a gecko on it. Hey, it’s all about style!

At 25, I finally went on my first downhill run, on a Specialized Demo 9, with my friend Kim. We went down the super-rocky Tunnel Trail in Santa Barbara and I was hooked! Eventually I also got a moto and love to ride it as much as my bike. It helps a lot with the things I need to work on while riding my bike: getting stronger, looking ahead at a faster pace, cornering and learning the feeling of going bigger off of jumps.

I also do CrossFit at Train For Life in Morgan Hill, where I also work as a personal trainer. CrossFit has made me a lot stronger both physically and mentally. Traveling to Whistler has done wonders for my riding skills and confidence overall. And finally, I am lucky and thankful to have my boyfriend Brandon at my side. Its great to always have someone to play with, to make me a better rider, and to look up to.

Some days I still can’t believe I am at this level. It is inspiring and humbling to be surrounded by the most talented riders in the world. I met Anneke Beerten when I was working at Specialized and found out she is from Holland, as is my mom, and would practice my Dutch with her. At that time I was a sport-level racer, but after meeting her I put it in my head that I could be a Pro too! I am proud of winning the 2007 US Open as an amateur, placing 6th in the pro women’s 2009 Sea Otter dual slalom, and also placing 6th at the pro women’s 2009 Fluidride Cup downhill #2 in Port Angeles, WA. Now, I look forward to many more years in the pro class, eventually racing World Cups, traveling, and just having fun on my bike!

World Championship Videos

Miss the action on Freecaster this weekend? Here are some recaps of this year's races!


4X


DH


Interviews

Emmeline Ragot Wins DH World Championship

Emmeline Ragot took her first downhill World Championship title this weekend. She bested Tracy Moseley by two seconds. Ragot's been having a banner year, and this win doesn't come as a surprise. Kathy Pruitt had a great race as well, earning the USA a podium position. What was surprising was a crash and subsequent flat tire from Sabrina Jonnier, which put her in last place.

1. Emmeline Ragot
2. Tracy Moseley
3. Kathy Pruitt
4. Fionn Griffiths
5. Floriane Pugin
6. Claire Buchar
7. Micayla Gatto
8. Mio Suemasa
9. Melissa Buhl
10. Joanna Petterson
11. Celine Gros
12. Anita Molcik
13. Miranda Miller
14. Emilie Siegenthaler
15. Claire Whiteman
16. Harriet Harper
17. Julia Boer
18. Gabrielle Molloy
19. Cara Smith
20. Amy Laird
21. Sarah Booth
22. Tomoko Iizuka
23. Anka Martin
24. Olivia Johnston
25. Sabrina Jonnier

Caroline Buchanan Wins World Championship 4X

Caroline Buchanan took the World Championship 4X win in Canberra, Australia last night with a solid gate start that surprised Jill Kintner. Jill couldn't close the gap, and Caroline snagged the world champ's jersey in her home country.

4X
1. Caroline Buchanan
2. Jill Kintner
3. Melissa Buhl
4. Anita Molcik
5. Anneke Beerten
6. Mio Suemasa
7. Sarsha Huntington
8. Julia Boer
9. Romana Labounkova
10. Joanna Petterson
11. Fionn Griffiths

World Championships 4X Qualifying

The racing has begun at the 2009 Mountain Bike World Championships in Canberra, Australia. 4X qualifying was held today, and Jill Kintner snagged the top spot over Caroline Buchanan who's racing in her home country. Racing promises to be exciting with Anneke Beerten looking for the win as well. And don't count out Fionn Griffiths. She qualified low, but has been racing well all season. The finals are tomorrow!

Qualifying

1	Jill Kintner (United States Of America)	0:00:52.73
2	Caroline Buchanan (Australia)	0:00:00.35
3	Anneke Beerten (Netherlands)	0:00:00.50
4	Romana Labounkova (Czech Republic)	0:00:01.20
5	Anita Molcik (Austria)	0:00:02.16
6	Melissa Buhl (United States Of America)	0:00:03.08
7	Sarsha Huntington (Australia)	0:00:03.31
8	Mio Suemasa (Japan)	0:00:04.70
9	Diana Marggraff (Ecuador)	0:00:07.38
10	Joanna Petterson (South Africa)	0:00:07.56
11	Fionn Griffiths (Great Britain)	0:00:08.58
12	Julia Boer (Hungary)

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.

Diablo Gravity Series Results

The third race of the Diablo Freeride Park Gravity Series took place this weekend in Vernon, NJ. We failed to post the results of the second race in July, so we'll include those too. Currently, Allie Burch leads the series for the Pro Women, and Becky Gardner is out front for the Amateur Women. The next race in the series is September 12-13. For more info, visit DiabloFreeridePark.com.

Round 3

Giant Slalom
Amateur Women
1. Bridget Kozma

Downhill
Open Women
1. Teal Stetson-Lee

Round 2

Giant Slalom
Amateur Women
1. Kristen Kastrinos

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Hannah Trimble

Amateur Women
1. Becky Gardner

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.

Windham, NY Pro GRT Results

The latest races in the Pro Gravity Tour took place last weekend at Windham, NY. Darian Harvey swept the weekend with wins in both downhill and mountaincross. Darian's on a winning streak, as she also won the Snowmass downhill the previous weekend. She maintains her ever-growing series lead going into the final Pro GRT race of the season at Whiteface, NY August 29.

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Darian Harvey
2. Joanna Petterson
3. Dawn Bourque
4. Alexis Wruble
5. Jennifer Wolf
6. Lauren Petersen
7. Hillary Elgert
8. Allegra Burch

Cat 1 Women 30-34
1. Susan DelPino

Cat 2 Women 25-29
1. Elisabeth English
2. Christin McCurdy

Cat 2 Women 35-39
1. Karen Clymer

Cat 2 Women 45-49
1. Felicia Kearsley

Cat 3 Women 13-14
1. Maddie Crowley

Cat 3 Women 30-34
1. Jennel Ortiz

4X
Pro Women
1. Darian Harvey
2. Hilary Elgert
3. Joanna Petterson

Cat 2 Women
1. Maddie Crowley

August's Featured Rider: Britney White

Britney White is an all-around gravity ripper who started her career in while growing up in Wyoming. Britney's a quick descender, an aggressive jumper, and she rides with style no matter what she's doing. Britney recently moved to Bellingham, WA to be closer to Whistler and increase her training program. She's also in the process of getting her personal training certification, so she can help others reach their goals as well.--FF

Name: Britney White
Home: Formerly Bozeman MT, currently Bellingham WA
Age: 26
Favorite type of riding: Downhill with lots of jumps, berms, and flow.
Why you ride: For everyone reading this who rides, this is a silly question! It's so much fun!
Sponsors: RaceFace, Twenty6 Products

I've been riding bikes my whole life, but when I was younger it was just for transportation: like traveling down deep gravel roads, crossing cattle guards and avoiding coyotes (that's Wyoming for ya!). I bought a hardtail cross country bike when I was 18 to ride to school and decided to try it out on a trail one day. Best decision ever! After I got the whole front/back brake thing figured out it was all downhill from there. I haven't put the bike down since.

There definitely are not a lot of girls that ride DH in Montana. But, luckily I have a great group of guys to ride with that push me to progress and keep up of course. We all got lucky a few years ago when my family bought about 1700 acres just outside of Bozeman. Within a few years we built 3 DH shuttle trails, and a really fun freeride jump/ berm track with a bobcat. This was where I spent most weekends in the spring and fall working on trails, and riding of course. In winter, I usually stick to my skis for at least a few months. It makes me appreciate getting back on by bike that much more!

I don't think there's any one skill that makes you great at riding/racing. It's a lot of pedaling, line selection, being comfortable in the air, smooth on the bike. All these skills take lots of practice, practice, practice! I've worked the hardest to learn how to conquer just staying on the bike and not crashing!

I was in gymnastics when I was little and a coach told me something that stuck. I applied to riding my bike and believe it helped me. She said, "Spot your landing and picture executing it perfectly in your head before you go for it." That's what I do with any obstacle put in front of me and, luckily, it usually works!

The feeling of being smooth over the ground on a bike is, for me, one of the best feelings in the world. When I get on my bike and start riding a trail, I leave every other thought or problem in my life behind me. There is nothing else that matters. Being smooth and free on a bike is so liberating and the learning curve happened fast for me, since I only rode with guys who were better than me. I hated seeing them having fun and going big and not doing it with them. So I started scaring the crap out of them and hitting the same drops and jumps, obviously with a lot less style!

I am and will always be progressing on my bike and that's why I love riding bikes. The satisfaction of getting a trick down, going faster, or conquering that big stunt feels so good that I never want to stop riding bikes.