News
Sports
ENLARGE
Northstar at Tahoe Mountain Bike Park was the setting for the third annual “Race 4 Tara,” which supports The Tara Llanes “Heart of a Champion” Road to Recovery Fund and The Christopher Reeve Spinal Cord Research Center.
Race 4 Tara has been gaining popularity steadily since its inaugural event at Sand Hill in Brentwood. In October 2007, after the racing was done, everyone attending “spoke” with Tara in her hospital room via speaker phone. Only one month had passed since her accident at the Jeep King of the Mountain finale in Beaver Creek, Colorado. In 2008, Tara was able to be present at the race, back in the community she loves.
This year, Northstar at Tahoe was happy to have her back on the race course on her quad bike – but not as happy as Tara was when she did a crowd-pleasing 360 degree slide-out as she crossed the finish line.
This event was unique in that the course was a 10+ minute Mega Downhill. Most downhill races are in the 3-5 minute range. Racing a Mega Downhill requires a combination of fitness and technical skill that not all competitors have; some riders have the fitness but not the advanced skills, some have the skills but not the necessary level of fitness.
The race attracted some of the best cross country and gravity riders in the nation; Adam Craig, winner of this year's Downieville Classic and top-ranked USA cross country rider, Mark Weir (7-time Downieville downhill winner) and a long list of other racing celebrities filled out the field.
Local Casey Sanchez, 18 of Grass Valley, rode to a third place podium spot in the Expert 19-24 class. He summed it up well – “You know it's going to be a good race when riders can't decide which bike to ride!” (Riders were debating right up to the start of the race whether to ride all-mountain bikes or downhill bikes.)
“The race was awesome,” Sanchez said, “but most important to me is that we were there for more than a race. We were there to support Tara.”
When the dust settled, David Lowe, 18 of Nevada City, had ridden to a second place finish in the competitive 19-24 class. Having already earned three first place finishes at downhill races at Northstar this year.
“This race was harder than most races,” Lowe said. “There was a lot more pedaling and it was really challenging.”
The racing forums on the Internet the week before the race were buzzing about Nevada City racer Graeme Pitts, a popular choice to win the race. Until last Sunday's race, Pitts was the defending Pro Champion on the Sticks and Stones portion of the trail. However, his bike sustained a flat tire near the top after a gate start. It was a rough way for Pitts to end an otherwise successful rookie Pro year.
For more information about Tara Llanes, go to Race4Tara.com.
Nevada County dominates Oct. 4 podium
October 4 saw the successful running of the third Livewire Classic Downhill Mountain Bike Race at Northstar at Tahoe, and Nevada County was well-represented by two of its strongest riders.
Graeme Pitts, 19 of Nevada City, and Nate Byrom, 18 of Penn Valley took home the second and third place medals, respectively, in the chainless race. This is an interesting event where competitors remove their chains and let gravity do the work along with a unique set of skills. They have to be able to contour to the terrain and ride as smoothly as possible in order to keep up speed, and increase speed wherever possible.
Pitts, riding for Santa Cruz/AllRide Academy, said “There was snow at the top and we had to run to get a good start. It was cool being on the podium with Nate the Great – he's a machine. We don't usually race in the same category – he rides Cross Country, Super D and Short Track in the Pro class, while I usually do the gravity events like Downhill, Mountain Cross and Dual Slalom, also in Pro. But we date back to a few years ago on the local Miners Independent MTB Team.”
“You can definitely learn a lot – you have to maintain speed and you can't make mistakes, ” Byrom, riding for Northstar-at-Tahoe and Giant, said of his first chainless race. “It benefits your riding for when you want to ride with a chain! It was really cold up there. I made one mistake, but I recovered and had a smooth rest of my run.
“(Pitts and I) grew up riding together and he's fast, so it was neat standing next to him on the podium.”
Race 4 Tara has been gaining popularity steadily since its inaugural event at Sand Hill in Brentwood. In October 2007, after the racing was done, everyone attending “spoke” with Tara in her hospital room via speaker phone. Only one month had passed since her accident at the Jeep King of the Mountain finale in Beaver Creek, Colorado. In 2008, Tara was able to be present at the race, back in the community she loves.
This year, Northstar at Tahoe was happy to have her back on the race course on her quad bike – but not as happy as Tara was when she did a crowd-pleasing 360 degree slide-out as she crossed the finish line.
This event was unique in that the course was a 10+ minute Mega Downhill. Most downhill races are in the 3-5 minute range. Racing a Mega Downhill requires a combination of fitness and technical skill that not all competitors have; some riders have the fitness but not the advanced skills, some have the skills but not the necessary level of fitness.
The race attracted some of the best cross country and gravity riders in the nation; Adam Craig, winner of this year's Downieville Classic and top-ranked USA cross country rider, Mark Weir (7-time Downieville downhill winner) and a long list of other racing celebrities filled out the field.
Local Casey Sanchez, 18 of Grass Valley, rode to a third place podium spot in the Expert 19-24 class. He summed it up well – “You know it's going to be a good race when riders can't decide which bike to ride!” (Riders were debating right up to the start of the race whether to ride all-mountain bikes or downhill bikes.)
“The race was awesome,” Sanchez said, “but most important to me is that we were there for more than a race. We were there to support Tara.”
When the dust settled, David Lowe, 18 of Nevada City, had ridden to a second place finish in the competitive 19-24 class. Having already earned three first place finishes at downhill races at Northstar this year.
“This race was harder than most races,” Lowe said. “There was a lot more pedaling and it was really challenging.”
The racing forums on the Internet the week before the race were buzzing about Nevada City racer Graeme Pitts, a popular choice to win the race. Until last Sunday's race, Pitts was the defending Pro Champion on the Sticks and Stones portion of the trail. However, his bike sustained a flat tire near the top after a gate start. It was a rough way for Pitts to end an otherwise successful rookie Pro year.
For more information about Tara Llanes, go to Race4Tara.com.
Nevada County dominates Oct. 4 podium
October 4 saw the successful running of the third Livewire Classic Downhill Mountain Bike Race at Northstar at Tahoe, and Nevada County was well-represented by two of its strongest riders.
Graeme Pitts, 19 of Nevada City, and Nate Byrom, 18 of Penn Valley took home the second and third place medals, respectively, in the chainless race. This is an interesting event where competitors remove their chains and let gravity do the work along with a unique set of skills. They have to be able to contour to the terrain and ride as smoothly as possible in order to keep up speed, and increase speed wherever possible.
Pitts, riding for Santa Cruz/AllRide Academy, said “There was snow at the top and we had to run to get a good start. It was cool being on the podium with Nate the Great – he's a machine. We don't usually race in the same category – he rides Cross Country, Super D and Short Track in the Pro class, while I usually do the gravity events like Downhill, Mountain Cross and Dual Slalom, also in Pro. But we date back to a few years ago on the local Miners Independent MTB Team.”
“You can definitely learn a lot – you have to maintain speed and you can't make mistakes, ” Byrom, riding for Northstar-at-Tahoe and Giant, said of his first chainless race. “It benefits your riding for when you want to ride with a chain! It was really cold up there. I made one mistake, but I recovered and had a smooth rest of my run.
“(Pitts and I) grew up riding together and he's fast, so it was neat standing next to him on the podium.”
