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Mountain Biking: Classic Downieville
Downieville, California. Deep in the heart of Gold Country. More than 150 years ago, the area was swarming with prospectors looking for gold. This past weekend, Downieville hearkened back to its pioneer days as a boom town, but instead of miners, drifters, and ladies of the evening lounging on the wooden boardwalks and hitching posts, mountain bikers of every age, size, color, and ability were in town looking to strike it rich in the 11th annual Downieville Classic -- uh, figuratively that is.
The Downieville Classic is actually three races: a downhill race, a point-to-point cross-country epic, and a combined downhill/cross-country competition just for the pros. Make no mistake, this is the most challenging set of mountain bike race courses on the West Coast, comparable with Snowshoe, West Virginia (when it's wet) or one of the high-altitude Colorado courses.
At 15 miles long, the downhill course is the longest in the country. Dropping 4700 feet, it has serious downhill chops, but it's length and more than 700 feet of climbing make it more like a Super D course than a traditional downhill course. The cross-country course climbs 3000 feet in 8 miles then hooks up with the downhill course for the plunge down to Downieville.
A lone rider struggles with pain management while climbing up to Blue Point on the cross-country course.
Because the Downieville courses are so rough (sharp, jagged rocks and roots) and so technically challenging, this year, as always, the races were ones of attrition, testing riders' technical and mechanical acuity as well as their mental and physical conditioning. Lots of riders became runners after flatting more times than they had spare tubes.
The consensus among most racers was that the uphill section of the cross-country course was a little smoother and easier to pull than in years past, but the downhill portion, which was shared by both the downhill and cross-country races, was considerably more chewed up and treacherous. Slower finishing times across the board compared to last year backed up the anecdotal evidence.
Lemurian winner Tim Olson took the cross-country title, and 2005 cross-country winner Jason Moeschler took the combined competition. Downieville's Lance Armstrong, five-time defending downhill champion Mark Weir reigned supreme again, capturing his sixth straight Downieville Downhill title. Weir, riding a gleaming chrome Santa Cruz Nomad, is a downhill master, but he's also a voice in the wilderness calling for more challenging race courses that emphasize riding skill rather than conditioning and fitness.
In fact, the races at Downieville this past weekend highlight a widening schism in MTB racing -- the schism between European power riding and American technical riding.
The problem is, USA Cycling/NORBA, the controlling body of American mountain biking, schedules races and venues with an eye towards European competition rather than American mountain bikers. European mountain bike racing is much different from the American style, especially for cross country. European courses are generally flatter and much, much faster. They favor conditioning over bike handling. Local stars Weir, Olson, Moeschler, and Aren Timmel dominate the technical mountain races, but finish mid-pack on European courses like the Sea Otter and this year's pathetic nationals at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma.
Where were the factory sponsored stars of the sport this past weekend in Downieville? Where were Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Adam Craig, Mary McConneloug, Geoff Kabush, Shonny Vanlandingham, and Brian Lopes? And what about Euros like Gunn-Rita Dahl and Bart Brentjens? Only MTB legend Marla Streb had the cajones to show up and challenge the razor-sharp shale and punishing baby heads of Downieville.
Factory presence was pathetic. A couple of tents from primary sponsors Santa Cruz and WTB, but not much else.
Pretty disappointing given the fact that these races drew 700 hardcore mountain bikers, each riding a bike worth at least $3,000. The event seemed to have been virtually ignored by the cycling establishment. Why?
Screw 'em. They don't know what they missed.
The Classic is organized annually by Yuba Expeditions of Downieville, a local outfit dedicated to mountain biking. The courses are built and maintained by Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship (SBTS), a local nonprofit. For those critical of trail use by mountain bikers, check out the SBTS's vision statement.