30 May 2012 ~ 1 Comment

NYS Mountain Bike Race Series

By admin

The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup is coming to the US this year, which has cranked up biker energy level all across the country. We saw a sample of this right here at Belleayre with the third race in the New York State Championship series. Racer categories, or CATS, separate mountain bikers into Beginners (Cat3), Sport (Cat 2), and Expert (Cat 1). Each cat is further broken down into age brackets. Pro racers have their own division. This ensures a level playing field and plenty of awards. The Cat 2 and 3 races started in that 10 AM. The Belleayre course was laid out with 4.7 miles laps. There was 700 feet of of altitude gain on each lap, not surprising for a ski area. The section through the woods featured single and double track and, even in the middle of a hot and dry summer, a surprise mud puddle. The Cat 3 beginner races had 2 laps, Cat 2 sports raced 3, experts four and the pro races went five laps or 23 ½ miles. NORBA and USA Cycling sanctioned the event, provided the time keepers and officially declared the winners. The afternoon starts were for the experts and pros divisions. The New York State Cup is an amateur series. The pros who show up are training, using this race aas a tune up for the upcoming World Cup at nearby Windham Mountain. Three pro men took off first. 20 year Old Seamus Powell in bl;ue and white took a quick lead over Scott Feltmate and Gregg Waggoner. By the time they finished the first section of the first lap Powell was more than 10 seconds in
Video Rating: 5 / 5

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