2012 US Gravity National Championships Day 2 By Dirt Passion

Day one remained unscathed in terms of moisture, well at least up until the sun went down. About 8:00 p.m. theThunderstorms rolled in. Not sure of the total amount that actually fell, but about 0.5 miles away where the DirtPassion crew crashed, it rained for a good solid hour and for the next few hours it drizzled. 

That meant the next morning would be wet, not a repeat of race day in 2011, but still it would make the morningpretty interesting. At the top of the mountain visibility was about 0.25 miles….. the fog was THICK! The spikes wereout, tape was getting taken out left and right, spectators were slipping on the wet grass, and mud pellets weregetting thrown in every direction.

A chilly morning with the blanket of fog started to make its way out just after the first Amateur rider made theirway down for the first race run of the 2012 Nationals. With clearer skies (not sunny), the temps went up as did thespeeds as the Cat 2 folks started their race runs. Full results for the Cat2 and Cat3 folks can be found on USACycling at the following link. Congrats to All!http://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2012-23 

With the weekend “Signed, Sealed, and Delivered” for the Amateurs, all attention will be directed at the Cat 1 andPro riders for the rest of the weekend. The Pro course being newly groomed for this specific event it wasguaranteed to be Greasy, Greasy, Greasy from top to bottom with no sign of things drying out soon, especially withthe threat of rain for the rest of the weekend.

With about four hours of practice split to between both the Cat 1 riders and the Pros, most of the time on course,reviewing lines, watching others, pushing up and doing it again and again was at the “Rock Garden” Definitely acrowd favorite, the attrition rate, those that either went down or those that had every ounce of speed sucked out  of them, was about 70%. Rightfully so, riders spent lots of minutes trying to figure how to successfully get throughthe twenty yard stretch of rock hell!

of them, was about 70%. Rightfully so, riders spent lots of minutes trying to figure how to successfully get through the twenty yard stretch of rock hell! Pro seeding start tomorrow just after the noon hour, then those that have entered the Dual Slalom will get theirchance to be named the best in the US for Dual Slalom. The night will be topped off with the “Brews and Views”,beer tasting, live music, and bicycles! What more could you ask for?