Practice started early at 9:30 a.m. sharp. Many kept to them selves to help get in to the groove before qualifying at 11:30 a.m. The track was dusty and loose and hadn’t gotten any better over the days.
After practice, riders made their last minute adjustments. They loaded their bikes on the chair lift and they were off to the top for Downhill qualifying. A rider loads the gate; the count down begins, and off the rider goes. One by one the riders come down the mountain hoping for a good time in qualifying. The Pro man and Woman that came out on top for qualifying was Jill Kintner and Michael Sylvestri.
After qualifying riders headed back to their trailers to gear up for downhill finals. Dark clouds started to roll in over the mountains and the winds started to pick up. The Pro Woman loaded the chairlifts and made their way to the starting gate. Pro woman are the first riders on track. One by one they come down until the final Pro woman crosses the finish line. With a time of 2:46.20, Jill Kintner is your Pro Woman’s U.S. Cycling National Downhill Champion.
After Pro Woman were finished, Men Cat. 1 (17-18 ) took to the track. As Cat. 1 started wrap up Pro Men started to make their way up the chairlift for Downhill finals. The clouds started to turn black and the wind really picked up. As the riders slowly trickled down the last man was on course. With a time of 2:21.17 and your two time U.S. Cycling National Champion is Aaron Gwin. Gwin held the hot seat for over an hour and recapturing his Stars and Strips jersey.
After a long week I pack up my bags and headed home. Congratulations to all National Champions this weekend and Congratulations to Jill Kintner and Aaron Gwin on Sundays wins.
Top 5 Men’s ResultAaron Gwin 2:21.17
Logan Binggeli 2:24.64
Tyler Immer 2:24.87
Kyle Strait 2:25.46
Brad Benedict 2:25.61
Top 5 Woman’s ResultJill Kintner 2:46.00
Jacqueline Harmony 2:49.66
Melissa Buhl 2:51.13
Leigh Donovan 2:51.89
Darian Harvey 3:03.18
Ouch of the dayLuke Strobel going down hard on his final run.
