Vittoria ESC New England DH Series #1 at Pat's Peak

On the heels of its first-ever enduro-and-downhill-in-a-day race last weekend, the Vittoria Eastern States Cup shook up the conventional wisdom again this weekend at its New England Downhill series kickoff at Pat’s Peak in Henniker, New Hampshire. For the first time at a New England Series event, racers took two runs on two different downhill tracks with the best combined time determining the winner.

In the past, the Pat’s Peak event has always had a unique best-of-two-run format on a single track. The race dynamic was flipped on its head this year. Where before you got two shots at one perfect run, this year you got one shot at two perfect runs.

Pat’s Peak has a modest vertical but offers a wealth of old-school New England downhill terrain with tangles of roots and a vast supply of rocks.

For the most part, the rocks are weathered and rounded so the race wasn’t a flat-tire fest like last weekend at Blue Mountain but more a test of suspension and line choice. Instead of flats, there were loads of dinged pedals and bottom brackets, demolished bash guards and one very precisely snapped set of carbon bars belonging to Junior-X racer Joe Montano.

In addition to the downhill race, Pat’s Peak also hosted a variety of cross-country events throughout the weekend. The mountain made some big course upgrades since last season to better accommodate and enhance the experience for both race groups. One impressive new feature was this XC tunnel beneath the downhill track.

Another new addition was this massive log bridge, an engineering marvel, that allowed the downhill tracks to finish lower on the mountain as the racers soared over the heads of the cross-country racers.

Let's take a look at the two tracks. The first track resurrected the old downhill course from a few years ago and took a longer line down the mountain. With a new start ramp and a plunge down the fall line it didn't take long for racers, like Frederico Vieira, to get up to speed.

Entering the woods, riders enjoyed a speedy romp through old-growth softwoods. Local pro Steve Avery, known to his fellow riders as the fastest guy to never have won a race, returned from a winter of racing motocross in Florida to snag a 5th-place finish.

Though more circuitous, the first track offered the biggest features, including a hefty drop into a rock garden. 40+ expert Mark Schnepel, one of the most active racers on the tour last year, sent the drop in his first downhill since moving up to Cat 1 this season.

Finding the right speed off of the drop was a tricky proposition and the rocky, flat landing caused problems for racers all weekend. Amateur 30-39 racer Mike Anthony went down in practice but figured it out on his race run to win his category.

After surviving the drop and rock garden, racers faced a series of root-filled turns down the fall line. Junior-expert Aidan Casner, racing for POC and Schwalbe on the ESC North American Downhill Team, sent it off a natural feature en route to a win in his category.

Vittoria ESC honcho George Ulmer got his new Transition up to speed through the pines.

The final challenge of track one was a slick, off-camber jumble that punished riders who couldn't hold their line and got sucked into the pedal-your-way-out territory. Danny's Cycles Junior-X racer Jake Kahn, just back from a successful World Cup appearance in Fort William with the ESC North American Downhill Team, held his line for a second-place finish.

The two tracks joined back into one on the lower half of the mountain and shared a common finish, so let's head back to the top of the hill for a glance at track two. The second run was held on the same course that racers have used for the past few years and began with a high-speed bomb out in the open. Danny's Cycles junior-X racer Joe Montano pinned it after replacing his busted bar.

Diving into the woods, racers were in for a very rough ride as the track took a relentlessly rocky line straight down the fall line. Drummer Racing's Rob Westover kept his eyes on the prize as he raced to a third-place finish in the 30-39 expert class.

To be successful, riders had to lay off the brakes through rough straight sections then brake hard into technical corners. Danny's Cycles Expert 40+ racer Steve DeGrange won both segments for a solid margin of victory in his class.

One of the trickiest spots on track two was a jumble of boulders that riders had to go over or around. Matt Driscoll took the over option and took second place in the amateur 18 and under category.

This particular section wasn't very forgiving, as amateur rider Sam Esker found out in his race run.

The track continued through seas of baby heads. Special shout out to Bicycle Express rider Andrew Lints, who raced the six-hour cross-country endurance race solo on Saturday, then took second in the amateur 19-29 class in his first downhill race on Sunday then changed back into his cross-country gear for the Root 66 pro XC race in the afternoon. If there were an ironman prize at Pat's Peak, Lints would have been a shoe-in. He also won the Fly speed zone challenge at 33 mph and, perhaps more impressively, wore lycra on the downhill podium.

After a wild ride down the baby head express, riders finally rejoined track one. Ross McDonald, videographer with MTB Mania, made his first New England series start since Jiminy Peak in 2014 and won the hefty amateur 19-29 class.

After combining tracks, the lower section of the mountain began with a troublesome rock garden that offered several options through its rough confines. In his first race since aging up into the amateur 15-18 class, Conner Vaillancourt sent it down the middle for a third-place finish.

Others took less conventional rides through the rocks. Ryan Smith lost both pedals near the top of the section and somehow managed to ride the entire stretch bouncing wildly off his seat and frame.

William Harrington also took the bronco-ride approach and was also able to ride it out despite numerous brushes with disaster along the way.

The final woods section was a leap of faith, literally, as racers jumped from the bright sunshine of an open ski slope into the dark depths of the forest. Jake Baxter launched into the rough landing zone and won the 19-29 expert class.

The once-formidable rock huck to flat was tamed by course designers last season and is now more of a playful feature than a real challenge. Drummer Racing's Jack Williams easily gapped the table and took the runner-up spot in the expert 30-39 class.

After speeding through the Fly speed zone, racers rocketed over the new bridge which offered opportunities for pre-jumps, scrubs or plain old launches like the one amateur 15-18 winner Avi Ehrlich took.

The newly-lengthened courses finished with a high-speed step down into one of the largest finish corrals you'll ever see. Highland Mountain Bike Park coach Whitney Poulin is no stranger to airing it out on her bike.

With the head lamps of endurance XC racers criss-crossing the mountain after dark, the spacious pits at Pat's Peak were busy with campfires, radio-controlled car racing, socializing and plenty of wheelies and manuals.

After some late day showers on Saturday, race day dawned sunny and breezy.

Time for our weekly look at one lucky racer's steed. For this edition of the bike check I chose New Hampshire native and defending Pat's Peak pro champion Tim White who rides for MadKats Racing and has been competing at a top level since some of this year's participants were in diapers.
Frame: Transition TR500, aluminum, 27.5 size XL
Fork: Fox 40
Shock: Fox DHX2 with 500-pound spring
Wheels: Novatec Demon with Novatec hubs
Tires: Onza Ibex rear, Onza Citius front, both 2.4, set-up tubeless with Orange sealant
Brakes: Shimano Saint front and rear with 203 rotors
Cranks: Race Face SixC carbon
Chainring: Race Face
Cassette: Shimano 10-speed DH
Derailleur: Shimano Saint
Shifter: Shimano Saint
Bars: Race Face Six C carbon, 800mm
Stem: Race Face Atlas
Grips: Race Face
Seat post: Race Face Turbine
Seat: Smanie MK Pro
Pedals: HT X2
Chain guide: MRP

The winners in the Fly Zone speed trap with most speeds hovering around the 30 mph mark.

The junior expert podium was nearly a clean sweep for the ESC North American Downhill Team with four of five spots occupied by members of the UCI world cup junior team. From left: Roberto Bonometti-4th, Jake Kahn-2nd, Aidan Casner-1st, Lucas Rey-Sierro-3rd, Josh Ribeiro-5th

The women’s pro race was all about Lauren Daney who crushed the field by a 45-second margin. After taking second at the Mountain Creek ProGRT a few weeks ago, Daney, riding her new 110% Racing Patrol, appears poised for a podium-filled season. Daney clearly enjoys the Pat’s Peak track as she took the event last season as well. "The courses were extremely technical and challenging, especially the one from last year. I really like this venue, I like the whole set up at this race. My new bike is getting dialed in. Its a 110% Patrol from Indonesia and they're just making their American debut." Daney plans to race again this coming weekend at Thunder Mountain.

In second-place for the pro women was Rosy Metcalfe with Bicycle Express Racing. Metcalfe won two events last year in Cat 1 and this was her first career pro start. Metcalfe lost some valuable practice time on Saturday after breaking her helmet in a crash but she was able to procure a new one in time for race day.

Also making her first pro start was Simona Croccolo racing fro Alpine Bike Works in Killington. Croccolo won three Cat 1 events last season. She was plagued by mechanicals this weekend and broke her chain guide off in practice and ended up racing both tracks chainless after dropping the chain in each run.

The women’s pro podium from left: Rosy Metcalfe-2nd, Lauren Daney-1st, Simona Croccolo-3rd

The men’s field saw some tight racing and result shuffling between runs at the top of the leader board. Vermont-native Alex McAndrew, racing for MadKats, threw down a huge first run and took an insurmountable massive 5-second margin into the second run. Recently returned to the East coast, McAndrew was able to get plenty of riding and training in this winter while living in Bellingham, Washington. "This was the first time for me doing the two-run, combined-time format. I was kind of struggling with the second course and I felt a little more comfortable on the first so I just gave it everything on that first run. I was really surprised by the margin. I'm a thinker so I enjoyed the strategy of the two-run format. Its pretty cool to have such tight racing on the East coast." McAndrew has his fingers crossed for a possible start at a World Cup event later this summer.

In the runner-up spot was another Vermonter, Isaac Allaire, racing for Troy Lee Designs, Transition Bikes and Chuck's Bikes (where he and McAndrew used to be co-wokers). Allaire won the second run but was only able to pull back a couple seconds from McAndrew’s heavy cushion.

Brazilian rider Frederico Vieira, riding for aCOS, Move and Royal, continued his string of consistent results with a third-place, just over a quarter-second behind Allaire.

The men’s pro podium from left: Isaac Allaire-2nd, Alex McAndrew-1st, Frederico Vieira-3rd

Next week the Vittoria ESC New England downhill series moves to Thunder Mountain Bike Park in Charlemont, Massachusetts. If you haven't had the pleasure of riding this fantastic new venue, you need to. See you there!

Words and pics by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

Results: www.rootsandrain.com/race4205/2016-jun-12-vittoria-esc-new-england-cup-dh-1-pats-peak-nh/categories
www.easternstatescup.com
www.facebook.com/easternstatescup


Atlantic Downhill

May 22 Plattekill Gravity Open – Roxbury, NY
May 29 Mountain Creek UCI ProGRT – Vernon, NJ – USAC State Championship
June 5 Blue Mountain East Coast Showdown #1– Palmerton, PA
June 26 Plattekill– Roxbury, NY – USAC State Championship
Aug 14 Windham ProGRT – Windham, NY
Aug 28 Blue Mountain East Coast Showdown #6- USAC State Championship, Palmerton, PA
Oct 9 Plattekill– Roxbury, NY – New England and Atlantic DH Finals

New England Downhill

June 12 Pats Peak MTB Bike Festival- USAC State Championship – Henniker, NH
June 19 Thunder Mountain– Charlemont, MA
July 2 Killington East Coast Showdown #2– Killington, VT
July 10 Mount Snow – USAC State Championship, Dover, VT
July 24 Attitash Mountain East Coast Showdown #3- Bartlett, NH
July 31 Killington ProGRT– Killington, VT
Aug 7 Thunder Mountain East Coast Showdown #4- USAC State Championship, Claremont, MA
Aug 21 Sugarbush East Coast Showdown #5 – Warren, VT
Oct 9 Plattekill– Roxbury, NY – New England and Atlantic DH Finals

Enduro

April 17 Diamond Hill Enduro – State Championship, Cumberland RI
May 15 Victory Hill at Kingdom Trails – State Championship, Victory VT
June 5 Blue Mountain East Coast Showdown #1– Palmerton, PA
July 3 Killington East Coast Showdown #2– Killington, VT
July 17 Plattekill – State Championship, Roxbury, NY
July 23 Attitash Mountain East Coast Showdown #3- State Championship, Bartlett, NH
Aug 7 Thunder Mountain East Coast Showdown #4– – State Championship, Charlemont,MA
Aug 20 Sugarbush East Coast Showdown #5 – Warren, VT
Aug 28 Blue Mountain East Coast Showdown #6- State Championship, Palmerton, PA
Sept 11 Killington Enduro Finals – Killington, VT

BOX East Coast Showdown Series

June 5 Blue Mountain East Coast Showdown #1– Palmerton, PA
July 3 Killington East Coast Showdown #2– Killington, VT
July 24 Attitash Mountain East Coast Showdown #3- Bartlett, NH
Aug 7 Thunder Mountain East Coast Showdown #4– Claremont, MA
Aug 21 Sugarbush East Coast Showdown #5 – Warren, VT
Aug 28 Blue Mountain East Coast Showdown #6– Palmerton, PA

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