Video and Report: Vittoria ESC Downhill at Attitash, NH

The brown pow was flying this past weekend as lucky racers got to shred virgin terrain in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. This was the 6th stop on the Vittoria Eastern States Cup New England Downhill Series tour and Attitash Mountain opened up a new lift-serviced race trail on Bear Peak for the event. Enduro racers got a taste of the Bear Peak terrain earlier in the summer, but it was just on the lower mountain. The new top-to-bottom run was recently cut and had barely been ridden before the first day of practice. As you can see, loam ranger Roberto Bonometti got in deep with the fresh duff during a practice run.

Bear Peak is the younger sibling and adjacent to Attitash's venerable main mountain where all previous downhill races have taken place. The Bear Peak track was significantly longer than other Attitash courses and offered spectacular vistas of the high peaks.

Riding on Bear Peak was so new that the quad chair wasn't yet equipped with a full set of bike trays or hooks so racers had to learn various bike carrying techniques, including the ever-popular lap carry, demonstrated by Adam Delonais and Aidan Casner.

The upper third of the track was out in the open on ski trails and featured a few steep drops like this one hit by Drummer Racing pro Oliver Levick.

High-speed traverses were linked by some tricky cornering as the track switchbacked down the mountainside. This stoney corner posed a real challenge for racers like Avi Ehrlich, who took second in the 15-18 amateur class.

Water bars kept everyone, including IdeRide team member Ethan Mosedale, on their toes before the rugged blitz down the open slope section wrapped up.

The track then entered the woods, and … wow. This was the stuff racers will remember for years to come. A fresh-cut ribbon of trail dropped through a beautiful softwood forest. The first few runs on practice day were pure bike porn with soft smooth lines snaking through the glades.

Rooster tails of loam were flying as riders, including Danny's Cycles Junior-X racer David Kahn, ripped into the fresh earth.

This was a new experience for most everyone on the hill and had riders whooping like a bunch of over-sugared toddlers. Cat 1 19-29 racer Josh Tidman shredded the loose lines to take his first win of the season.

They say all good things must come to an end, and so it was at Attitash. After a few runs, roots, rocks and stumps began to pop from the loam like mushrooms. The smooth track became rougher and the hazards grew with each passing tire. Here, IdeRide junior Wilder Hudson faces a rooty anaconda that recently emerged from the soil.

Much of the top section of woods was a sharp side hill that hadn't been bench cut. A line would get burned into the face by tires, but roots would rear their heads and riders would start sliding lower and lower on the line until it blew out. Here, pro rider Jordan Newth approaches what was one of the toughest spots on the track, a nasty off-camber side-hill corner with polished roots.

That tough corner took down countless racers, and few got through without at least a foot dab.

After escaping the harrowing sidehill section, the track picked up speed and headed down the fall line. Camden Johnson, in only his second career start, pinned it between the pines.

Though only moderate in steepness, the terrain undulated frequently, offering up plenty of drops and G-outs. Young speedster Matt Driscoll took the win for the 14 and under crew for the fifth consecutive time this season.

There was air aplenty on the lower reaches of the course, here Zach Baron hits one of the larger features.

The bottom section of forest was studded with boulders and could yield some interesting lines if Attitash chooses to further develop their Bear Peak trail network. Junior-X rider Cole Michie laid down a scorching race run to take his second win of the season. After, exiting the woods the track bee-lined for the finish area. Speeds in the POC speed trap just above the finish area often topped 40 MPH.

By the end of Saturday practice, the track had really taken a beating. Roots and rocks were multiplying like rabbits and every run was different from the previous.

Race day dawned overcast and cool, but any chance of precipitation quickly evaporated as the sun came out for good by the time the lift started to spin. If it had rained, I'm guessing the track would have been a wee bit slick.

Sunday morning practice was extra busy as any lessons learned on Saturday were often worthless due to the quickly changing nature of the track.

The roots and hidden rocks were mostly manageable for riders, but braking and soil compaction had created some truly epic bomb holes, the likes of which few had ever seen. The track was a mogul field of high-impact, head-snapping craters, as Get Loose Racing's Mike Hoffarth discovered on his way to a second-consecutive win in the Cat 2/3 30-39 class.

The women's pro field was a repeat of the previous week's podium at Sugarbush with new pro Ella Skalwold, racing for Transition Bikes, again topping the steps. Skalwold witnessed the track's transformation and said: "Attitash was a tough one for me. The eight inches of loam quickly gave way to unseen New England granite and off camber roots. This made for an extremely physically demanding course. Staying loose and having a lot of fitness were important out there!"

In the runner-up spot was Danny's Cycles pro Steph Sowles. A mainstay on the race circuit for years, Sowles' young son Jakey is now becoming a regular at races too. A chip off the block for sure.

Rounding out the podium was Vicky Morrill who has steadily worked her way up from Cat 2 to Pro over the past five years of racing.

The women's pro podium from left: Vicky Morrill-3rd, Ella Skalwold-1st, Steph Sowles-2nd

The men's pro race was a tight one, except for the top spot, which Hugo Langevin took by a more than 5-second margin. Langevin is a 20-year-old based out of Bromont, Quebec. He has been a steady presence on the Quebec Cup and Canada Cup DH tours for years and only makes occasional appearances at Vittoria ESC events. 2015 has been a good one for him as he finished in the top half of the elite field at both the Mont Saint-Anne and Windham World Cup events and then turned in a top 25 results at the Crankworx Canadian Open downhill at Whistler. Langevin enjoyed his quick south-of-the-border visit to the states: "The race track was super fun, fast and loose! Good dirt and several line choices. The biggest challenge for having a fast run was to keep it smooth and try to not over-cook my corners or lines." Langevin hopes to race the full world cup circuit next season and this winter will go to New Zealand or British Columbia to ride and train.

After Langevin, the ESC regulars had a very competitive day on the hill with less than two seconds separating the next three riders. MadKats second-year pro Isaac Allaire put down another blazing run to capture the second tier of the podium. This was Allaire's third finish in the top two this season.

Billy Goat Bikes pro Dylan Conte took the third spot, and following his second at Sugarbush last week, looks primed to finish the season on a hot streak.

The men's pro podium from left: Benoit Rioux-5th, Dylan Conte-3rd, Hugo Langevin-1st, Isaac Allaire-2nd, Alex McAndrew-4th

Summer may be winding down, but things in the Vittoria ESC race world are hot as ever. Killington Resort will host the ESC Enduro finals this coming weekend. The forecast looks very promising and its Labor Day Weekend so this should to be a huge bike party. Don't miss it!

Words and pics by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur


Results here: https://www.rootsandrain.com/race3312/2015-aug-30-vittoria-esc-new-england-cup-dh-6-attitash-nh/
http://www.easternstatescup.com
https://www.facebook.com/easternstatescup

2015 VITTORIA ESC Schedule:

Atlantic Downhill
May 3 Duryea Urban Downhill – Reading, PA
May 24 Plattekill Gravity Open – Roxbury, NY
May 31 Mountain Creek UCI ProGRT – Vernon, NJ - USAC State Championship
June 21 Plattekill Mountain – Roxbury, NY - USAC State Championship
July 19 Windham Mountain World Cup Track Test Race – Windham, NY
Aug 9 Windham Race the World– Windham, NY – World Cup Weekend
Sept 13 Blue Mountain – Palmerton, PA- USAC State Championship
Oct 11 Plattekill– Roxbury, NY - New England and Atlantic DH Finals

New England Downhill
June 14 Pats Peak MTB Bike Festival – Henniker, NH
July 5 Killington East Coast Showdown #1– Killington, VT- USAC State Championship
July 12 Jiminy Peak – Hancock, MA
Aug 1 Mount Snow East Coast Showdown #2 - Dover VT
Aug 23 Sugarbush East Coast Showdown #3 – Warren, VT
Aug 30 Attitash Mountain - Bartlett, NH- USAC State Championship
Sept 27 Thunder Mountain– Charlemont, MA- USAC State Championship
Oct 11 Plattekill– Roxbury, NY - New England and Atlantic DH Finals

East Coast Super DH Championships
Oct 18 Mountain Creek – Vernon NJ

Enduro
May 10 Plattekill Mountain – Roxbury, NY - USAC State Championship
June 7 Blue Mountain – Palmerton, PA - USAC State Championship
June 28 Attitash Mountain - Bartlett, NH - USAC State Championship
July 4 Killington East Coast Showdown #1– Killington, VT - USAC State Championship
Aug 2 Mount Snow East Coast Showdown #2 - Dover VT
Aug 22 Sugarbush East Coast Showdown #3 – Warren, VT
Sept 6 Killington Enduro Finals – Killington, VT

Super D
May 30 Mountain Creek Super D – Vernon, NJ - USAC State Championship

Triathlon
May 2 Killington Triathlon – Killington, VT

BOX Components East Coast Showdown Series
July 5 Killington East Coast Showdown #1– Killington, VT- USAC State Championship
Aug 1 Mount Snow East Coast Showdown #2 - Dover VT
Aug 23 Sugarbush East Coast Showdown #3 – Warren, VT

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MENTIONS: @Eastern-States-Cup / @vittoria

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