Nevada County gravity mountain bike riders Graeme Pitts, David Lowe, Greg Hermansen and Max Floyd showed the crowd how it's done at the LaGrange Fall Classic in Weaverville over the weekend.

With the recent storms just a memory, conditions were dry, rocky and loose. The race course has a reputation for being one of the steepest, and a common description is "treacherous.” In addition, it is a long course with run times over 7 minutes, even for the fastest riders. The race was a best-of-2-runs format.

Riding for Nevada City's Dark Horse Racing in the Pro class, Pitts suffered a major crash at the top of his first run, which left him with injuries so severe he could barely get his leg back over his bike. Most thought his day was over, but he rallied for his second run.

"The first two pedal strokes were brutal,” Pitts said, “but they got easier and I was able to get back into a race groove.”

Barely able to walk at the end of the final run, Pitts had ridden to third place on the podium.

Still a newcomer to the Jr. Expert class, David Lowe has shown himself to be a competent, determined racer placing 2nd in that category.

Greg Hermansen and Max Floyd both recently started racing in the Jr. Expert category, and had strong results, placing sixth and eighth respectively.