Inaugural Pinnacle Bike Championship – First Teams and Athletes
The first teams and athletes for the inaugural event of the Pinnacle Bike Championship have been released with some exciting and maybe even surprising elements coming into play. Right out of the gate there are recent DH world championship medalists coming back from injury and world cup winners, but not whom you would expect.
Hutchinson UR – Mick Hannah, Fabien Cousinie and Guillaume Cauvin
Madison Saracen – Matt Simmonds, Sam Dale and Manon Carpenter
Hear what the riders and team managers had to say:
![Expect Mick to be back in time for World Champs in Norway.]()
Mick Hannah – Hutchinson UR – Australia “'I’m really excited to see my sport growing. Downhill racing in the US has been very strong in the past and it's great to see an event like this happening over here!”
![Pinnacle DH Race PR images]()
Fabien Cousinie – Hutchinson UR – France – Rider / Team Owner "I like to try and race everything on my mountain bike and this is definitively something I was waiting for."
![Pinnacle DH Race PR images]()
Sam Dale – Madison Saracen – Great Britain “really excited about riding the gnarly Pinnacle track with big jumps and other riders all around me. I've also heard great things about the Boston area, so looking forward to a great party afterwards!”
![Pinnacle DH Race PR images]()
Matt Simmons – Madison Saracen – Great Britain “looking forward to this new Pinnacle event and format for racing. Thinking about the track and line choices and having to contend with other riders in your face is bound to make things interesting for sure. Heard great things about the track so just getting out there and having fun on it will be awesome.”
![Pinnacle DH Race PR images]()
Manon Carpenter – Madison Saracen – Great Britain “think I might be getting thrown in at the deep end here but hey, I love a challenge! Sixty of the World's fastest guys to try and beat and a full on track is my kind of fun. Guess I'll have to give it a go and see how I get on. I hear the Waterville Valley Resort is a fantastic place, so looking forward to our end of season trip to New Hampshire.”
Will Longden – Madison Saracen Team Manager “the team are really looking forward to checking out this new format of racing. Pinnacle is sure to be a fun event and a fantastic showcase for the spectators and fans. Head-to-head racing is always exciting and seeing the World's fastest DH racers bar to bar, MX style, is going to be an eye opener to say the least. It's always great when a new venue invests in bringing mountain biking to the area, so I'm really pleased the team has been invited and we can support Waterville Valley Resort in this new venture and share it with the rest of the world.”
Stay tuned as more athletes and teams are announced.
Tickets for the Pinnacle Bike Championship are on sale and can be purchased in advance at www.PinnacleChampionship.com.
Hutchinson UR – Mick Hannah, Fabien Cousinie and Guillaume Cauvin
Madison Saracen – Matt Simmonds, Sam Dale and Manon Carpenter
Hear what the riders and team managers had to say:
Mick Hannah – Hutchinson UR – Australia “'I’m really excited to see my sport growing. Downhill racing in the US has been very strong in the past and it's great to see an event like this happening over here!”
Fabien Cousinie – Hutchinson UR – France – Rider / Team Owner "I like to try and race everything on my mountain bike and this is definitively something I was waiting for."
Sam Dale – Madison Saracen – Great Britain “really excited about riding the gnarly Pinnacle track with big jumps and other riders all around me. I've also heard great things about the Boston area, so looking forward to a great party afterwards!”
Matt Simmons – Madison Saracen – Great Britain “looking forward to this new Pinnacle event and format for racing. Thinking about the track and line choices and having to contend with other riders in your face is bound to make things interesting for sure. Heard great things about the track so just getting out there and having fun on it will be awesome.”
Manon Carpenter – Madison Saracen – Great Britain “think I might be getting thrown in at the deep end here but hey, I love a challenge! Sixty of the World's fastest guys to try and beat and a full on track is my kind of fun. Guess I'll have to give it a go and see how I get on. I hear the Waterville Valley Resort is a fantastic place, so looking forward to our end of season trip to New Hampshire.”
Will Longden – Madison Saracen Team Manager “the team are really looking forward to checking out this new format of racing. Pinnacle is sure to be a fun event and a fantastic showcase for the spectators and fans. Head-to-head racing is always exciting and seeing the World's fastest DH racers bar to bar, MX style, is going to be an eye opener to say the least. It's always great when a new venue invests in bringing mountain biking to the area, so I'm really pleased the team has been invited and we can support Waterville Valley Resort in this new venture and share it with the rest of the world.”
Stay tuned as more athletes and teams are announced.
Tickets for the Pinnacle Bike Championship are on sale and can be purchased in advance at www.PinnacleChampionship.com.
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But this competition won't 'grow the sport' any more than dual speed and style grows the sport, or Nitro Circus grows motocross (though it has contributed to the sport of wheelchair backflipping, I guess).
If amateurs can't ride or race it, if there is no infrastructure, no facilities, then it's a side show. It's cool that teams get more exposure and sponsors kick in more money to downhill mountain biking, but just think: if this were the future of DH, then how many places in the world could you ride 'future' DH? How many race venues? Resorts complain about the high cost of building and maintaining 4X tracks as the principal reason for 4X's slow growth. Guess how much a Pinnacle or Redbull Wide Open costs.
I'll watch it if they stream it, cheer for my favorites, sip an energy drink (or water out of an energy drink can, like a pro), but let's not allow trying to keep a positive attitude about cycling's future make us throw out common sense.
P.S. Pinnacle: don't cheap out on the gate, or you will be compared to XCEliminator to your everlasting shame.