Report by: Quinton Spaulding
Photos by: Brittany Spaulding
We were in picturesque Grandby, CO at the Sol Vista Mountain Bike Park this past weekend for the 2009 US National Championships.
Team KHS always arrives early in preparation for every race event. We were set up, and ready to go for the first 4X practice session early Thursday morning.
This was a huge, fast and technical course that was well constructed by the boys at the Sol Vista Bike Park.
Buhl got her lines dialed early and was ahead of the game by the end of the first practice session.
Binggeli looked great during his practice runs. He was a definite contender for the title besides being one of the favorites amongst the fans!
Men – Pro – Elite 4X Results
During the 4X Finals held Saturday evening, Binggeli was boxed out in round two and did not make it to the final round. However, he finished up in 9th place (which is a very respectable top 10 finish amongst the very best in the Nation).
Left to right: Melissa Buhl (KHS Bicycles), Jill Kintner (Redbull / Intense), Kathy Pruit (Jamis), Darran Harvey (Cannondale)
Buhl faired well and came up just short of taking the 4X Championship Title with a 2nd place podium finish.
Women – Pro – Elite 4X Results
The crowds and racers swelled Saturday morning for the start of the Cross Country.
This fella would do anything to “get the shot”, and if memory serves me well, I do believe he learned everything he knows from Jeremiah Dylan Dean (Dylan Dean Designs).
Binggeli and myself discussing strategies before Downhill practice. This course was technical, rough and loose on the top, which then lead out of the woods toward some jumps big enough for my YZ250F.
Binggeli leads out for our first practice.
The trees were thick in the upper parts of the course and it felt awesome to let the bike roll and let off on the brakes through these sections.
DH Practice was going well for us as a team until I went over the bars! I crashed hard enough to completely eliminate myself from competition and was told by the Doctor on site that it was likely that I had broken a bone in my hand. I waited to get back to Vegas before getting some X-Rays, and was extremely relieved to learn that there was only a very small hairline fracture on my third metacarpal and some bone bruising.
Ulmer had the best Super D race of his Pro Career. He finished 6th (just one place off the podium and one place behind Factory GT racer Eric Carter). Naish beat Adam Craig (Giant Bicycles) who is considered a “Super D specialist”.
Men – Pro – Elite Super D Results
KHS Factory Team mechanic “G-Money”, took time out from his busy wrenching schedule during the weekend to race the Open Mens Super D. He managed to secure a very good 6th place finish ahead of Greg “H-Ball” Herbold. Herbold was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 1996. He won a UCI DH World Championship in 1990, and numerous NORBA Championships in the 80′s and 90′s. Well done G-Money!
Men – Open – Super D Results
www.littlechaweenie.com
This little guy has his own website as well as a “FaceBook Fan Page”… go ahead and become a fan, no one will even know!
Binggeli during his race run.
Ulmer skies the doubles!
Binggeli coming out of the woods.
Men – Pro – Elite DH Results
Binggeli finished 24th with a clean run, but was disappointed and expected to do better. Ulmer finished 52nd.
Buhl attacked from the word go and took the 1st place podium finish re-capturing the National Downhill Championship Title for the second consecutive year.
Left to right: Katie Holden (Specialized), Kathy Pruit (Jamis), Melissa Buhl (KHS Bicycles) Lisa Myklak (Fox Racing), Jacqueline Harmony (Vixen Racing)
Women – Pro – Elite DH Results
KHS will be at CRANKWORX CO July 29 – Aug 3 2009. From there we will head directly to Snowmass in Aspen, CO for the next round of the Professional MTB Gravity Race Tour. Stop by and say hi if you are going to be there.
KHS HAS MUCH LOVE FOR ALL IT’S CO-SPONSORS!!!
Please stay tuned for more updates and photos as they become available.
All the best!
Q.
