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The 2012 (I think) Windham race was the first WC I ever attended. Had a front row seat to someone snapping their arm in two in the rock garden.
Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, by the sound of it) I wasn't even aware of it at the time
There's a bit more infrastructure there these days including a cafe and bar at the trailhead, but it's the same mountain.
I posted this over in the 2025 thread, but since y'all were speculating I thought you'd like to see:
Somebody I know knows the management at Whiteface, so I got some info on the Lake Placid race course. Top of Lower McKenzie, though the glades, jumps off mid station, into Stag Brook, across Fox, then finishes at the bottom of the gondola.
Vali didn't have it all her own way to end the season, but she did win it all regardless.
Coming up LIVE TODAY, the third and final stop of the Red Bull Cerro Abajo urban DH series from Genova, Italy. It all gets underway in just a couple of hours!
https://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/member/live-red-bull-cerro-abajo-genova
Cerro Abajo results and write-up here: https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/results-red-bull-cerro-abajo-genova.
Really enjoyed that, some great racing and always good to hear Rob's dulcet tones.
Interesting what BK said about rumours of a world series next year. I like to think it wouldn't have been left in the broadcast if it wasn't happening.
I wish they'd run the 5k race again:
Collegiate Nats in Bentonville, November 14-17. PR below
Bentonville to Host 2024 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships
Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals will be moved to Bentonville, Arkansas, November 14-17 after Hurricane Helene forced postponement.
BENTONVILLE, Ark. - October 30, 2024 - The 2024 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships, originally scheduled for October 24-27 at Ride Rock Creek in Zirconia, North Carolina, will be moved to Bentonville, Arkansas, November 14-17, 2024. Registration will open on October 31, 2024, at 9:00 am MT.
“We're excited to still be able to host Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals this year, despite the postponement due to Hurricane Helene. We understand how much training and racing these collegiate athletes have done leading up to this point, so we’re glad they will have the opportunity to still compete at nationals this semester. Bentonville has stepped up in a huge way to help us make this happen,” said Kyle Knott, USA Cycling’s Director of National Events.
The event will crown Varsity and Club National Champions in Cross-Country, Short Track, Downhill, Dual Slalom, and Team Relay. An Omnium National Title will also be awarded to the best overall Varsity and Club teams at the end of the weekend. Spectators can expect four action-packed days of racing. The marquee events include:
Thursday: Dual Slalom finals and awards.
Friday: Cross-Country finals and awards.
Saturday: Short Track finals and awards.
Sunday: Downhill finals and awards. Team Relay finals and awards.
The full race schedule can be found here.
“We are honored to welcome the 2024 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championship to Bentonville.” said Kalene Griffith, president and CEO of Visit Bentonville.
“It is unfortunate that the event was unable to proceed in North Carolina due to the impact of the hurricane and our heart goes out to them. We are fully committed to supporting these talented athletes and ensuring they have a memorable experience here. Bentonville is ready to provide a warm welcome along with an exciting weekend of competition and fun.”
For event updates and additional resources, refer to the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships event page as it will continue to be updated leading into the event.
For more information, contact the USA Cycling National Events team at nationalevents@usacycling.org
ABOUT VISIT BENTONVILLE (visitbentonville.com)
Visit Bentonville is funded by the Bentonville Advertising and Promotion Commission which was established in 1996. The commission is supported by a 2% tax on lodging and meeting space and a 1% tax on restaurant and dining establishments. The organization's mission is to brand, promote and sell Bentonville as a tourism destination, improving quality of life and stimulating economic development. Visit Bentonville leads the planning of sports, meetings and group tours while also marketing leisure experiences that include arts, cycling, culinary, film, music, and aviation. Visit Bentonville also collaborates with tourism offices throughout the state of Arkansas to create positive economic impact while increasing tourism amenities for both visitors and residents.
For more information, visit https://www.visitbentonville.com/.
ABOUT USA CYCLING (usacycling.org)
USA Cycling is the national governing body for the sport of cycling and oversees the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclocross, gravel, BMX, and esports. USA Cycling’s mission is to grow participation and engagement with the sport of bicycle racing and achieve sustained international success across all cycling disciplines. USA Cycling supports cyclists of all levels and abilities, from those just beginning in the sport to international caliber athletes. The organization identifies, develops, and selects cyclists to represent the United States in international competition through the support of youth and interscholastic programs, amateur and grassroots bike racing events, athlete development programs, and operational support for cycling clubs, racing teams, and event organizers. USA Cycling has a membership of 80,000, sanctions over 2,500 events annually, and is a member of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).
How long before Sea Otter and Eurobike move to Bentonville?
Gwin and Dak are holding a race clinic at Windrock, Nov 23 and 24 - $798.98 for two days
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/aaron-gwin-dakotah-norton-race-clinic-registration-1024403357017
deets below
Join us for an exciting two-day intermediate/advanced mountain bike clinic with 5x World Cup Champion, Aaron Gwin and 2x National Champion, Dakotah Norton! This special event is for riders who want to improve their skills and lower their race times with guidance from two top world-cup racers.
This clinic is a great chance to learn from Aaron and Dakotah's extensive experience. Whether you're preparing for a race or just want to improve your bike skills and speed, this is an amazing opportunity. Spaces are limited to maximize the benefit of each rider, so sign up today.
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Day 1: Mastering the Fundamentals
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Day 2: Race Strategy and Performance (Going fast on the clock)
Stoked to see the course they put together for collegiate dh nationals, surely someone wont win it on a down country bike.
They'll likely go 45 min down the road to eureka or 2 hrs to nebo (and have to build a new coherent line) for that one. Not ideal in my mind for a national level event but hell of a lot better then Bville for gravity.
Otherwise the event will suck but we will be given the best internet makes fun of Bentonville material yet. I'm all about the hilarity, but not at the expense of a student racers experience.
I would imagine this will also be a test run for moving USAC nationals to Bentonville.
Agreed that they can't possibly hold the DH in Bentonville. Nebo would be the best option, but it's about 2.5 hours from Bentonville at the least. Leatherwood would be second-best option, and most likely choice since it's only an hour away.
I'm stretching my brain trying to think of an appropriate track in or around Bentonville proper. Flight Training at Kessler might be one of the better ones. Chunky at Centennial has some line choice at least. Rock Solid? Schroen Train? I don't know. They're all sub 1:00 trails.
Afaik, USAC moved collegiate nats to Bentonville without actually asking anyone on staff at Rock Creek if they could host on the new date.
Things are just fine at the venue now and Henderson County in general is open for bussiness and could really, really use the tourist dollars.
The DH race will be at Coler Preserve. Even the 1999 Helen, GA collegiate dh track is more in line with DH racing in 2025 than anything in Coler.
USAC is on the ropes pretty hard right now trying to please “varsity” collegiate programs, which are mostly made of of small private schools and “club” collegiate programs that are made up of some kickass, gigantic powerhouse state schools where kids run things. The championships are segregated between “varsity” and “club” and it makes no sense, from a sport perspective…
It’s a rough generalization- but most “club” programs are filled with undergrad engineering gravity nerds, and all but a few varsity programs are predominantly endurance oriented…
The “varsity” coaches complain… a lot. So i would not be surprised to see less and less emphasis on decent gravity tracks for collegiate nats going forward…
Just passing this along: Article on Canadian MTB about Jackson Goldstone racing (and winning) at the OneUp DH SORCA race in Squamish on Oct. 27.
Looking forward to seeing him at full health for the 2025 WC season.
https://cyclingmagazine.ca/mtb/jackson-goldstone-is-back/
The DH system at Ponca is a bit closer, rowdier, with some longer trails; they also have a shuttle system.
Ponca is too interrupted with a climb out the bottom. The boys and I were talking this weekend, I think Nebo and a fresh loamer track top to bottom is highly likely. Just hope they don't use the lower flow trail down. Pits at top with frequent shuttles out of the bottom parking lot.
Go to the website folks, the Collegiate dh race is in Coler.
USAC really, really doesn’t care about gravity racing, in case you haven’t noticed.
Looks like there's 180 feet of elevation to work with there? Yikes.
180 feet of hyper machine worked flow.
I expect most people will race XC bikes or slalom bikes for the DH.
I just slapped some fresh Rekons onto 29” carbon trail wheels for the collegiate gravity racer i’ve been supplying bikes to all season.
The DS bike and tire combo he has been on all season will be dope for the Coler DS, but, unsurprisingly, the kid doesn’t actually own any tires for his enduro bike that are appropriate for racing on neighborhood flow trails.
Yep. It's going to be on Fireline from what I've heard. Crazy.
fireline trail in bentonville for those who don't know (pretty sick drone followcam with anneke though!)
That's Anderson (@bentondrones). He's a sick FPV pilot. He did most of this year's Stark Week drone work and he's also been doing a bunch of awesome stuff with Mark Metthews lately that's been featured on his socials.
wtf. that makes my local state park look like val di sol.
OMG, that looks like a longer Bootcamp at Duthie, with a few tables added. It's the trail we deliberately designed for beginners and kids. USAC makes me angry.
Well, if anyone needs to borrow a DH race bike for Collegiate Nats, I’ve got an early 2010’s Fit Aitken available. It’s already set up brakeless, so you should be good to go.
Has anybody heard if they may put in temporary features for it?
I was just thinking about my Kink Rob Tibbs frame sitting in my garage thinking it MIGHT be doable...
a 20 would be so rad but (if anyone is actually serious), verify the rules don't specify wheels have to be 26" or larger - @mickey ???
That sprint section from :25 to 2:22 will be key to winning Collegiate Nationals.
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