The Yee-Ha DH Race - Report by MattJonesPhoto

From Downhill Southeast Round II at Massanutten Resort.

The "Yee-Ha" Downhill race at Massanutten Resort Last Weekend Marked Round II of the Downhill Southeast Series. Here Michael Hummel (pictured) kicks up dirt before getting on the brakes for a loose right hand turn.

Downhill Southeast Massanutten // Matt Jones

Mountain bikers hailing from the Southeastern United States are not one trick ponies, and Neko Mullaly’s Downhill Southeast series is a reflection of this. Race one of the season, held at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie Tennessee, was fast and with a few notable exceptions, smooth and not overly technical. Race two at Massanutten Resort in McGaheysville, Virginia, held just last weekend, was the polar opposite. Out of the gate, riders were confronted with large slabs of rock and boulders strewn with wheel swallowing cracks and gaps. A number of these slabs led to moderately sized drops straight into tight corners that shot riders through closely knit trees and baby head rocks.

This rock garden proved to be the bane of many racer's runs. Here, Rex Nguyen makes quick work of it on the way to a top 20 finish in the Single Crown Category.

Kristine Fiola took home first place in the Women's Amateur race by over 30 seconds.

About midway through the track racers were treated to a rock garden full of sharp rocks that could buck a rider without a moments notice down the precipitous grade straight down the mountain. During warmups, more than a few racers and their bikes fell victim to this section. All the way towards the bottom, on the “World Cup” trail, racers navigated one of the techiest rock gardens around. One slip up, one lapse of concentration, or one wrong line choice and your run would be over. It was here that the crowds gathered in full force, chugging beers, smashing old handlebars on rocks, and heckling racers (and the occasional photographer) as they bombed through towards the finish line.

The main challenge of the day, according to racers, was committing the run to memory. Unlike the Trials Training Center schedule, which was only one day of practice and racing, Massanutten hosted an entire day of practice on Saturday, followed by more practice on Sunday morning with races happening in the early afternoon. Even with an entire extra day of practice runs available the course here at Massanutten, which consisted of the trails “All or Nutten”, and “World Cup”, was a doozy to memorize.

Cody Pittman from Phenom Racing rails this loose corner on his way to first place in the juniors race.

Zach Gareis pins a left-hand berm just before the finish line on his way to a top ten finish in the Pro race.

The crux was that often there were plenty of line options, with only one or two that were actually safe or reasonably quick. Choose the wrong one and you either crashed or lost crucial seconds. Even choosing the right line meant you were going to be working hard. It’s not often at a downhill race that you can hear racers breathing as heavily as a road bike racer in a final sprint.

Given all of the tech features present at this race, it was mind-boggling to see a single-crown “enduro” category of riders bombing down the very same track as bikes with dual crown forks. This category of racing is present at every Downhill Southeast race, so if you want to get a feel for racing, but don’t want to shell out the money for a dedicated park and race rig, you can just bring your burly trail bike or enduro bike out to test the waters. Just make sure your tech skills are well polished!

This rock garden, just above the finish line, was home to beer chugging, loud and rowdy spectators. Ian Bongard (Pictured) seemed to float over it during his Pro Race run.