For the kick off to the 2015 Mountain Bike Team season, the team headed out to Granby Ranch, Colorado. The team left for the drive Friday night and was happy to be greeted by rain showers with the hope for perfect trail conditions the following day, and was not disappointed.
Saturday was a busy day for the entire team because of the cross country race and practice for the downhillers beginning at ten. The cross country team had strong showings in all categories and was more than pleased with the results. The course featured a steep climb filled with switchbacks and a fabulous downhill ending on the trail, Silky Johnson. Depending on the category, athletes rode anywhere from two to an unexpected five laps. Later in the day, the Super D event took place at three. The course consisted of multiple trails connecting together to create a fun filled course full of short peddles, rock gardens, jumps, and countless berms. Both cross country and downhill athletes competed in this race, allowing all riders to show off what they are made of. Although the athletes didn’t do as well as they would have liked, they were all pleased to have another start to get the early season race jitters out. As the day come to an end, the team was ecstatic to be having raviolis for dinner rather than the typical spaghetti nights in the past, all being served by our amazing chef and coach, Eddy Cohn.
As Sunday morning rolled around, the cross country riders had an early start with a short track race beginning at seven thirty and the last rider ending around eleven thirty. As short track was going on, the downhill team had their last chance to study the course before the race starting at twelve. Men’s C kicked it off with all the new riders taking their first downhill start, then followed by the Women’s B race where Western rider, Grace Owen, beat the other women by over thirty seconds in her first ever downhill race! This was then followed by Men’s B and A, where Western had good showings in both fields.
Overall, the weekend was great success. It was another great race with plenty of fun to be had. Now it’s back to practice in preparation for this weekend’s upcoming race in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. -Jack Thibodeau
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