Neko Mulally Takes Another Pro GRT Win

Making it now 3 wins in the series for 2013, and 5 in his career, Neko Mulally continues his great 2013 season by winning in Snowshoe, West Virginia, and by another solid margin, this time it was 6 seconds.

The win picks up Neko another 60 points in the series and by our calculations, he moves from 4th to 2nd overall, though the title is not his main objective.

Neko said: "These races have been providing me with an excellent opportunity to train. My training has been largely strength and skill based lately. I've been going hard in the gym and cross-training with XC, BMX and motocross. My coach and I saw this event as a great chance for some skill specific work. I felt like I got a lot out of racing at Windham a couple of weeks back and this race was another great training race for the upcoming 2 World Cups.

We had surprisingly nice weather all weekend because that place is in a rain forest, so I was expecting more mud. The track was a good lead up for the next World Cups, 4 minutes long with really high speeds and pretty rough terrain which made it very physical. Snowshoe was one of the first places where I spent a lot of time racing but I haven't had the chance to race there since 2008, so It felt great to be back.

I am really happy with the pace I'm riding right now and I can't wait to take this feeling into the next 2 World Cups."

Neko will be at the upcoming US National XC Championships this weekend where he plans to race the Super D.

Brook and Neko Make It Trek World Racing 1-2 at Pro GRT

Team mates Brook MacDonald and Neko Mulally made it a 1-2 on the podium for the 4th round of the Pro Gravity Tour at Mountain Creek, New Jersey. After qualifying fastest the day before, Neko had to settle for the backseat on race day, but was only 0.83sec behind his World Cup winning training partner. Brook didn't qualify as strongly but put in a great run on Sunday race day.

Brook said: "I'm really stoked to take the win today here at Mountain Creek. The short track made for some really close racing. A big thanks to our mechanics and also Neko's family for taking care of me over here on the East Coast!"

Neko said: "I was happy with my quali and wanted to do a similar sort of run to keep myself at the top of the results sheet on Sunday. I had a solid run and it's always good to be so close to the Bulldog! A nice 1-2 for the team".

Results:

1. Brook MacDonald (NZL) - 2mins 12.98secs
2. Neko Mulally (USA) - 2mins 13.81secs
3. Logan Bingelly (USA) - 2min 14.23secs

The next race for Brook and Neko will be this weekend for Round 5 of the Pro GRT in Plattekill, New York.

2013 Fontana PRO GRT Race Report By Mikey Haderer

2013 Pro Gravity Tour Announced

Racing into its fifth year, USA Cycling’s Pro GRT will feature ten events from coast to coast, an increase over the six events that made up the 2012 calendar.

The tour kicks off in March with three new additions. Reaper Madness Downhill & Super D leads things off in Boulder City, Nev. Riders will then head west for the Fontana City – California Golden State competition a few weeks later. In April, the popular Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, Calif., will host the Pro GRT’s third stop.

Racing resumes in May with two east coast favorites: the Mountain Creek Spring Classic 2013 in Vernon, N.J., followed by the 2013 Plattekill Gravity Open in Roxbury, N.Y. Both events are also part of the POC Eastern States Cup.

Another race familiar to Pro GRT riders, the Chile Challenge, marks the start of the second half of the calendar. The June event takes place in Angel Fire, N.M., less than two months before the venue will host the 2013 USA Cycling Gravity Mountain Bike National Championships.

Riders will head to the China Peak Ski Resort for the California Golden State event later that month before crossing the country for the Windham Downhill in Windham, N.Y. on June 30, which is a UCI C2-inscribed race. July’s sole event is the Snowshoe Mountain Pro GRT in West Virginia. The Pro GRT concludes in early September at the Mammoth Kamikaze Bike Games in Mammoth Lakes, Calif.

Series points are given to top finishers at each event and used to determine the individual men’s and women’s standings that rank the best downhillers competing in the U.S. The 2012 men’s top ranked rider was Logan Binggeli (Saint George, Utah/KHS Factory Racing), while Jacqueline Harmony (Sedona, Ariz./IXS-510-Smith Optics) finished first in the women’s standings.

2013 Pro Mountain Bike Gravity Tour

• March 15-17   Reaper Madness Downhill & Super D — Boulder City, NV
• March 30-31   Fontana City - California Golden State — Fontana, CA
• April 21           Sea Otter Classic — Monterey, CA
• May 19           Mountain Creek Spring Classic 2013 — Vernon, NJ
• May 26           2013 Plattekill Gravity Open — Roxbury, NY
• June 7-9        Chile Challenge — Angel Fire, NM
• June 22-23    California Golden State — China Peak Ski Resort, CA
• June 30          Windham Downhill — Windham, NY
• July 13-14      Snowshoe Mountain Pro GRT — Snowshoe, WV
• Sept. 4-8       Mammoth Kamikaze Bike Games — Mammoth Lakes, CA

Four Events Make Up Pro UET

Now in its third year, the 2013 Pro UET will consist of four events offering series points to rank the top male and female endurance mountain bikers in the country.

Returning to the Pro UET from 2012 are two US Cup series races: the Sagebrush Safari 50 in Lake Morena, Calif., in May, and the Big Bear Classic in Big Bear Lake, Calif., in June. The Pro UET picks up again in August with the Galena Grinder Whit Henry Memorial at Galena Lodge in Idaho. Concluding the series is the brand new Templeton Cache XCM in Colorado Springs, Colo., on August 17.

The final standings of the 2012 Pro UET saw David "Tinker" Juarez (Whittier, Calif./Cannondale Factory) and Monique "Pua" Mata (Anaheim, Calif./Team Sho-Air Specialized) top the men’s and women’s rankings, respectively.

2013 Pro Mountain Bike Ultra-Endurance Tour

• May 19          US Cup – Sagebrush Safari 50 — Lake Morena, CA
• June 2           US Cup – Big Bear Classic — Big Bear Lake, CA
• August 10     Galena Grinder Whit Henry Memorial — Galena Lodge, ID
• August 17     Templeton Cache XCM — Colorado Springs, CO