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.