Video & Race Report: Eastern States Cup Intense DH Double Header - Blue Mountain, PA
We're back at Pennsylvania's Blue Mountain Resort for the second and third rounds of the Maxxis ESC Intense Downhill series. Two DH races in one weekend offers a chance for double glory or at least redemption if you can't put down your best run on the first try. The two courses share our traditional start and end with some new rocky bits in between to keep things interesting. With rain Saturday morning turning to sun in the afternoon, course conditions were changing all weekend but thankfully the ground here drains quite well so things didn't get too slick. The Driscoll brothers continued the assault of their respective classes to share wins and Mauricio Estrada put it all together to find himself on the top step again. Mazie Hayden and Kristin Lenart split winning duties for the Pro Women, with tight times in nearly every class it was a gravity race fan's dream to spectate all the action this weekend.
The Poconos have been getting their fair share of rain lately, including a decent downpour Saturday morning which thankfully cleared out by race time.
A little pre-race run rinse.
Although the start and finish would remain the same through both races this weekend, Saturday's course would switch it up by dropping into a section of Moto.
Chris Liebig rolls into Moto with ample speed, taking the Clif kids class win by over 14 seconds.
Let's hope you remembered your Flat Tire Defender inserts this weekend, just one of several deflated tires heard hissing through the Pennsylvania woods.
SDR Grom Squad rider Collin Bourque gives 'er the dinner under the stars & stripes on his way to a double win weekend in the U15 class.
Owen Crossman dons the full hazmat suit as you never know what's around the next corner in 2020, he would avoid major disruptions on track and earn second place for the Amateur 15-18 boys.
Everything seemed to click for Matt Thompson this weekend, as he was able to take his first win in the Amateur 30-39 men's class Saturday and backed it up with second place on Sunday.
The next generation is gaining speed fast and that charge is being led by the Driscoll brothers. Andrew topped the Junior Expert class with a 2:42, third fastest overall on the day.
Blue Mountain local Kristin Lenart was able to secure third place for the Pro Women, the top three were separated by just 1.83 seconds.
Liv Cycling racer Riley Miller let it roll into second place for the Pro Women Saturday, unfortunately she would go down and not finish Sunday's race.
Defiant Racing's Mazie Hayden was able to take her first Maxxis ESC win of the year with a final race time of 3:05.
Pro Women: 4th - Sophie Allen, 2nd - Riley Miller, 1st - Mazie Hayden, 3rd - Kristin Lenart
Comp Edge Racing's Saben Rossi is normally more of an Enduro guy but it turns out he's pretty darn fast on the big rig too, taking third place for the Pro Men.
Cameron Mader has being entering national races for a few years and decided to join us at Blue for his first Maxxis ESC DH race and finished just .8 of a second off the top step.
Matt Driscoll picked up right where he left off at our last race, laying down a banger run to earn the fastest time of the day with a 2:38. "I had a bit of a different approach than last race due to the double header format. I made a point of keeping my riding smooth and not overdoing it, especially with the weather and conditions changing throughout practice and the races. I was happy with both my runs and had a great weekend. Congrats to Mauricio on his win as well!"
Pro Men: 4th - Owen Giese, 2nd - Cameron Mader, 1st - Matt Driscoll, 3rd - Saben Rossi, 5th - Mauricio Estrada
Clear skies Sunday brought the locals out of the woodwork to watch the Northeast's fastest battle it out.
Katlin Parenteau was living any racer's dream this weekend, locking down the double win for the Amatuer Women after a second place finish at our last DH race here.
Killington Mountain School's Matthew Krimell was able to improve by two positions Sunday, earning his first win in the Amateur 15-18 class.
Ever wonder where Riley & Simon Miller get their bike skill from? Rad dad Eric Miller got redemption on the 40+ Expert class after a DNF Saturday, taking the win by just .23 of a second.
Crozet Bike Shop rider Jack Dichiara gave it his all Sunday afternoon, capturing the Junior Expert win after just missing it by one position the day before.
Sophie Allen had a solid weekend, earning two podium results including a third place Sunday in her first Pro DH race.
It was a double podium weekend for Mazie Hayden as she was able to grab second place for the Pro Women.
Kristin Lenart fell just short of the top step Saturday and wasn't going to let it happen again Sunday, she took home the win by nearly 7 seconds with a final time of 2:53. "Racing twice in one weekend I tried to make a smart strategy on how to approach it and it worked out well. I felt like I was a little too conservative Saturday, all I knew was I had to go all in on Sunday. I really wanted to win one for all the local friends who are always trackside making so much noise and showing so much support to me. It was a great feeling to find gold again on home turf! I'm really excited for the next round!"
Pro Women: 2nd - Mazie Hayden, 1st - Kristin Lenart, 3rd - Sophie Allen
Cameron Mader scrubs the bridge near the bottom of the final push toward the finish line on his way to another podium, third place for the Pro Men.
Matt Driscoll laid down a speedy run but narrowly missed the double win by just .31 of a second. He has been impressively consistent this season and leads the Pro men's series battle by 28 points.
It's rare to not see Mauricio Estrada on the podium but he's been working his way back to the top step for a while now. After suffering a flat and rolling down into fifth place Saturday he knew it was in reach and made it happen in the second race. "Sunday was awesome for me, the course was running extremely fast, to the point that I was a bit out of control but for my race run I was able to finally put a fast run together enough to win. My last victory was in August 2018 and it feels good to be on the top step again, I love it. Thank you to my team Danny's Cycles for the support during the race weekend. "
Pro Men: 4th - Owen Geise, 2nd - Matt Driscoll, 1st - Mauricio Estrada, 3rd - Cameron Mader, 5th - Saben Rossi
Thank you all for such a smooth and enjoyable double race weekend. The Maxxis ESC team have a few more events on the books coming up but he sure to register as soon as possible as the number of racers is limited due to covid restrictions. Stay tuned for more to be added as they work to find new venues into the fall. Gravity racing is still alive and well in the Northeast!
Words and photos: Andrew Santoro
Video: Jason Scheiding
Full Saturday Results
Full Sunday Results
Easternstatescup.com
Maxxis ESC Specialized Enduro
Sept 6 - Diamond Hill, RI
Sept 20 - Mount Abrams, ME
Maxxis ESC Intense Downhill
Sept 13 - Powder Ridge, CT
October 26 Mountain Creek, NJ
Events will be added once we are sure we can host them within each state’s current Covid restrictions
Author Info:
Must Read This Week
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup
12 Comments
- 4 0
jbourque19
(Sep 1, 2020 at 16:22)
ESC continues to put on super fun events! Thank you for your hard work! Looking forward to this weekend in RI!
- 3 0
jumpstuff84
(Sep 1, 2020 at 16:02)
Man, that’s a real nice looking awards table.
- 2 0
freezeus
(Sep 1, 2020 at 17:58)
Great job ESC!!! Thanks for making another race happen in this challenging season!
- 1 0
char-s
(Sep 2, 2020 at 8:26)
Raced on Saturday on my 140/130 trail It was a tad bit rough. Ended up blowing my fork internals.
- 1 0
Mattysville
(Sep 2, 2020 at 8:35)
Did you really expect anything less would happen? At least your tires made it out fine, that’s a win at Blue mountain.
- 2 0
char-s
(Sep 2, 2020 at 11:33)
@Mattysville: I guess you’re right.
- 1 0
davidb9301
(Sep 2, 2020 at 6:41)
The weather kept things interesting but still a fun weekend as always.
- 1 0
nathandreed
(Sep 4, 2020 at 16:26)
Thanks ESC. Great weekend, fun track.
- 2 0
Sevenz
(Sep 1, 2020 at 17:05)
Great Weekend!!!
- 1 0
Mattysville
(Sep 1, 2020 at 20:20)
Best weekend of my life!! See you all at Diamond Hill.
- 1 0
Tormy
FL (Sep 2, 2020 at 14:57)
Always a great show with the ESC
- 1 0
westerlymiller
(Sep 3, 2020 at 17:25)
Thanks to ESC for putting on another fantastic race weekend!! ????????
Login or Sign Up