GES #5 Highland Results and Report
NORTHFIELD, New Hampshire (derailedonline.com) - What a weekend for gravity racing. One of the best races to-date this year took place this past weekend at Highland MTB Park in Northfield, New Hampshire. It was the fifth stop of the Gravity East Series signaling the halfway point for the whole series and what a weekend it was. Due to many factors, this was one of the best stops of the Gravity East Series this year. The wonderful sunny, blue sky weather was a major factor in making such a great weekend. In spite of not one but two competing events this weekend - one being only about an hour drive away - Highland turned out 139 participants for the weekend in DH and 42 for the DS.
Beyond great courses, lots of riding, and great weather. Shaums March, owner of MMR Mountain Bike Coaching and Camps, was on site in person providing personal training and clinics on Friday and Saturday. Fox Racing van was on staff to support the racers for the weekend. The wonderful crew of Highland made sure everyone had plenty to eat at the cafe while the bike shop was quick to provide emergency repairs and help where needed. Hats off to the entire Highland crew!
The courses that were prepared for this weekends event by the Highland Trail crew was a major highlight of the weekend. The dual slalom - we are talking old school true dual slalom - was designed and constructed by Kyle Ebbet with assistance of a trail crew of 10 people that worked almost non-stop for two whole weeks to prepare for this weekend. The work showed through on probably one of the best DS courses I have seen in my entire career of racing. All the participants walked away from the race with a grin from ear to ear. Course designer Kyle Ebbet secured the top podium spot for the pro men and Dawn Bourque took the pro women. The course was a great for spectators and people lined the course from the top and bottom cheering the racers on to the finish.
Download the full set of results in PDF.
DS Pro Men Results
1. Kyle Ebbett
2. James Patterson
3. Avery Buch
DH Pro Women REsults
1. Dawn Bourque
2. Karen Eagan
3. Kate Parhiala
The DH race took place Sunday on the trail named Eastern Hemlock that is a part of Highland's extensive trail network. While rain did fall Saturday night, conditions during the race were great. Just enough wetness to make for a fun track. High speed rocky descents, quick bermed turns, and tacky soil made up the race course that tested your will to let the brakes off and your sprinting strength to rocket out of the turns. Racing was very compeditve with such a fast course. Ben Moody set the bar high blazing the finishing line with a 2:40.16 ahead of second place Chris Higgerson by over four seconds. Shaums March came across the line in third place - what better advertising for your teaching methods than showing how they can perform. Dawn Bourque pulled off a double header by also winning the Pro Women DH with a 3:16.93.
Download the full set of results in PDF.
Pro Men Results
1. Ben Moody
2. Chris Higgerson
3. Shaums March
Pro Women Results
1. Dawn Bourque
2. Karen Eagan
3. Stephanie Gubernat
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Posted on Jul 13, 2009 13:28:45 -0400 by Brady.