Logan Binggeli And Jacqueline Harmony Top Pro GRT Standings After Final Round

Logan Binggeli And Jacqueline Harmony Top Pro GRT Standings After Final Round

The USA Cycling Pro Gravity Tour (Pro GRT) concluded this weekend with the Northstar Pro GRT at the Northstar California Mountain Bike Park in Truckee, Calif. With 190 and 132 points respectively, Logan Binggeli (Saint George, Utah/KHS) and Jacqueline Harmony (Sedona, Ariz./IXS-510-Smith Optics) are the overall race calendar winners.

Bingelli placed second in the final round, allowing him to overtake the first-place position from Aaron Gwin(Temecula, Calif./Trek World Racing) who wasn't present at Northstar. In addition to his second place finish, Bingelli also won the Chile Challenge and Whiteface Pro GRT rounds this season. Gwin finishes the 2012 Pro GRT in second with 160 points while Northstar winner,Kevin Aiello (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.), is third with 98 points, and Justin Leov (NZL/Trek World Racing) and Phil Kmetz (Keene, N.H./Von Cooper) round out the top five with 82 and 60 points respectively.

Aiello completed th e Northsta r course with a time of 4:02.81 to take the top step of the podium in Northstar. Bingelli was less than a second off that winning pace with a time of 4:03.81 and taking third place on the day was Graeme Pitts (Nevada City, Calif.) with a time of 4:05.33.

Jacqueline Harmony officially claimed the women's Pro GRT title after winning her third straight round in Northstar. After the final round, the women's standings went unchanged. Harmony is at the top with 192 points while Lauren Daney (Stafford, Va./DRD Intense) finished the season in second with 128 points. Amber Price (Westiminister, Colo./Royal Racing USA)is third with 86 while Elinor Wesner(Wappingers Falls, N.Y./F.L.R. Wheel & Heel) and Joanna Petterson(Jericho, Vt./Nema Maxxis) are fourth and fifth with 70 and 65 points.

In California, Harmony took another decisive win after descending the m ountain in a time of 4:43.23. She beat out second- and third-place riders Adrienne Schneider (Incline Village, Nev.) and Gabriela Williams who clocked times of 4:58.85 and 4:59.40.

2012 Northstar Pro GRT Results

2012 Northstar Pro GRT Full Results

Pro Men

	1	226.80	Kevin Aiello	Rancho Santa Margarita, CA	04:02.81	245409	23
	2	240.29	Logan Binggeli	Saint George, UT	04:03.48	213148	22
	3	253.77	Graeme Pitts	Nevada City, CA	04:05.33	232939	75
	4		Ricardo Preciado Negrete		04:05.39		36
	5	280.75	Kyle Warner	Chico, CA	04:07.55	303746	71

Cat 1 Junior

	1	295.45	Charlie Harrison	Trabuco Canyon, CA	04:11.07	375880	29
	2	308.25	Cole Picchiottino	Murrieta, CA	04:11.36	351042	24
	3	321.06	Jason Schroeder	Carlsbad, CA	04:15.63	356538	54
	4	333.87	Christopher Ravina	Novato, CA	04:19.31	226976	166
	5	346.67	Logan Mulally	Reading, PA	04:19.99	247832	37

Cat 1 Men

	1	440.16	Bo MacArthur	Davis, CA	04:14.00	320254	170	Bicycle Emporium
	2	446.97	Troy Ford	Truckee, CA	04:20.34	358813	159
	3	453.78	Jason Hillard	Pacifica, CA	04:21.53	304416	194
	4	460.59	Zach Ahleen	Saint George, UT	04:23.76	322610	164
	5	467.40	Cody Chapman	Mill Valley, CA	04:23.77	241360	201

Cat 1 Women

	1	540.00	Ariana Altier	Chico, CA	05:07.04	359327	193
	2	556.67	Jaclyn Paaso	Kings Beach, CA	05:07.33	119543	177
	3	573.33	Heather McFadden	Morgan Hill, CA	05:46.61	269627	192
	4	590.00	Amanda Batty	Park City, UT	05:56.22	316554	153
	DNS		Nichole Christiani	Ventura, CA	DNS	370053	202

2012 Northstar Pro GRT Images Day 1 PM

 

2012 Northstar Pro GRT Images Day 1

Red Bull Rampage Rides Again

Back in 2001, the Red Bull Rampage concept was conceived to serve one of the fringes of the blossoming mountain-bike movement. There were riders -- courageous, driven and a little crazy -- who were at once exploring new terrain, testing their own limitations and defining a new genre of the sport, and their riding style was not represented at all in competition. Freeride mountain biking was rapidly evolving with every insane drop and first descent, and Red Bull Rampage was on board to help push it even harder.

The inaugural event was a landmark in the sport's history and was followed by three more through 2004. If you won Red Bull Rampage -- or even survived the weekend with all your bones intact -- your reputation as a bad ass on two wheels was unassailable. Unlike events with a defined course and familiar obstacles, Red Bull Rampage let the riders determine their own route down treacherous cliffs; the more creative and risky the line, the better the score.

After 2004, the event went on hiatus, but the memories -- and the reputation -- grew in scale. The mountain-bike contest scene did evolve to address the changes in the sport, but in general it still lagged behind what the most progressive riders were capable of. As contest riders began to get pigeonholed into separate disciplines -- downhill, slopestyle, dirt jumping -- it was the freeride ethos that leveled the playing field. You needed skills in every aspect to survive a true freeride run, and the time came once again to prove who had the balls to get it done.

Red Bull Rampage made its return in 2008 with yet another epic gathering of the best mountain bike riders in the world. Anyone who believed the sport couldn’t progress further would have eaten their words on that dusty ridge near Virgin, Utah. Man-made “enhancements” graced the venue for the first time, but the main objective remained: find the most challenging lines down the mountain and ride them with style. Regardless of their background, the riders were all equal at the top of the mountain; equal in the challenge they faced to get to the bottom of it.

The next event was held in 2010, punctuated by Cameron Zink’s jaw-dropping 360 off a 40-foot drop. Every time Red Bull Rampage takes place, individuals push themselves like never before, collectively progressing the sport to a new level. The time has come again: On October 5-7, 2012, mountain biking’s best will return to southern Utah to climb the next -- or the next few -- rungs of the ladder.

Athlete selection criteria has been announced, and the aim has been to collect the best of the best, the top riders in many disciplines who own the skills to survive in the desert.

Zink and Brandon Semenuk, the 2010 and 2008 champions, will automatically be placed into the October 7 final. The top 12 finalists from 2010 are pre-qualified, excused from competing in the October 5th qualifying battle. Invites to the qualifier will go out to the top 12 ranked riders from the FMB World Tour, as well as the top two finishers at the Chatel Mountain Style in France in July. Red Bull Rampage serves as the final stop on the 2012 FMB World Tour.

More details will be available soon; outside of the actual event dates, clear some space on your calendar on Saturday, December 8 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET to watch all of the best action from Red Bull Rampage on NBC as part of the Red Bull Signature Series.