2017 Fontana KMC Winter Series, Round 6 - Gwin with the Win

Coming into the sixth round of the KMC Winter Series Presented by Southridge USA, many were wondering if Aaron Gwin would race on his "home track" of sorts. Unless you've been in a cave or sitting on an iceberg in the Arctic Circle, you've heard Gwin had surgery. Recent content on his feeds, though, show him shredding the new Jeffsy, the Capra, and his Tues, and then it popped up; a post on his social media saying he would be at Round 6. It still left the question unanswered of exactly how he would stack up at a regional level. Would his physical therapy, post-op, allow his strength and conditioning to be what it once was? And what would the Pro Category look like, with literally five local Pro DH racers in Rotorua for the Crankworx Festival? Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the DH scene, let's take a quick look at the Super D Recap.


Saturday's temps had the lizards basking in the warm California Sun. With temps in the low 80's, it was evident Spring time was upon us.



In the Pro Men's Category, Cody Masson shreds the granite trails of Southridge on his way to the top step in Super D.



Spencer Rathkamp squashes the rock double on Stage 2 of the Super D, landing in second place.

In the Pro Women Category, Heather Gambini took the win, with Xylena Hoppen, having mechanicals on both of her stages. The largest category for the Super D competition was the Junior Experts. Blaise Janssen of the Path Bike Shop team finished in first place, by just over five seconds combined. It was evident however that various events pulled competitors away from the Round 6 Super D competition with just five Pro Men total, two Pro Women, and 97 total participants.

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Sunday's DH Final

Sunday's weather was no different. Hot, dry with a solid marble top surface on the trails making them loose and dusty.


You can see the heat haze in this photo of the start gate from the bottom section of the DH course.


The Shimano Techs stayed hydrated with some Coconut water under their tents. The racers loved having their support when their bikes needed fine tuning. Thanks, Shimano!

The weather wasn't the only thing hot on the hill; so was the racing action. The Junior Expert category was loaded up with sixteen competitors.


Travis Claypool, dropping into the wall, on his way to 3rd place. These are the greenest hills we've seen in Cali in a long time.


Cole Suetos keeps it low and fast for a second-place finish on the day.


Steven Walton, on his way to the fourth victory in the 2017 KMC Winter Series. Walton said coming off of a solid second place finish at the GRT last week in Tennessee it was easy to acclimate back to his home track.




Steven's Factory Commencal steed. Swaltonator has a good lead in points for the season. Going into the final round in two weeks, he has four wins and two second place finishes. Barring any issues, he should secure the overall victory in the Jr. Expert Category.


Emily Gacad was the solo woman in the Pro Category today ensuring a victory.


In the Vet Pro Category, Ryan Cleek finished in 2nd place, with 3rd place going to Greg Gibson and 1st place going to Eric Carter.

The Pro Men Category was pretty shallow, with just six riders slated to drop in. Any rider registered as a Pro gets my respect. Whether you're a local rider or a world cup contender, it takes heart and dedication to do any sport at the pro level.


Luca Cometti sending the triple into 3rd place. He's coming off a less than desirable finish at Windrock last weekend; so to snatch the third spot, you can bet he's stoked on that. Going into the Final round, he is sitting in a good spot with a top ten overall finish out of twenty-three total competitors.


Bruce Klein hammering the pedal section and taking second place by less than a second. Klein, racing for the KHS team, was in first place in the overall coming into the 6th round. With another 95 points added to his total and second place contender Cody Johnson a no-show, it's looking good for Bruce to take the overall.


Gwin took the win at his first race of the series. He said in a quick interview that his knee still isn't at full sprint power, but he plans on racing next weekend at Bootleg and then will return for the final round of the KMC Winter Series. Even with 300 points and assuming he wins the double points final round, he still couldn't pass up Bruce Klein, Cody Johnson or Troy D'Elia for the overall points. Nonetheless, we would love to have him back. The fans love to watch him race with cheering and merriment all the way down the course.



Pro Women DH Podium – 1st Place: Emily Gacad


Junior Expert DH Podium: 1st Place – Steven Walton 01:58.73, 2nd Place –Cole Suetos 01:59.82, 3rd Place – Travis Claypool 02:03.10, 4th Place – Austin Dooley 02:04.67, 5th Place – Seth Butera 02:07.47


Pro Men DH Podium: 1st Place – Aaron Gwin 01:49.97, 2nd Place – Bruce Klein 01:50.65, 3rd Place – Luca Cometti 01:57.06, 4th Place – Jacob Fisher 02:23.97, 5th Place – Orlando Martinez 02:46.78


Steven Walton, Aaron Gwin and Emily Gacad the winners for Jr. Expert, Pro Men and Pro Women DH at the 6th round of the KMC Winter Series presented by Southridge USA.