Angel Fire New Mexico MSC # 3 and 4X US National Championships

Photos by: Quinton Spaulding

Report by: Quinton Spaulding

Angel Fire New Mexico certainly is a beautiful place. It is a quaint town in an extremely picturesque valley surrounded by some huge mountains, mountains that still had snow caps upon our arrival last week Wednesday.

It felt like summer on the first practice day, we had clear blue skies and perfectly dry dirt. This all changed drastically Friday morning right before Downhill practice…It snowed and rained all day, the winds were fierce and did not let off for even a minute.

The winds were so strong that we had to remove the canopy’s from our tents to avoid them being totally destroyed. There were many EZ-UP tents mangled in the winds at Angel Fire and it took a lot of KHS muscle to avoid serious damage to our tents and trailer… unfortunately the same could not be said for the Cannondale Team trailer.

Once practice is done it is imperative to wash and tune your bike, whether it is snowing or not…obviously it was snowing at this time making bike maintenance just that much more challenging. We do however always try to come prepared for all scenarios…we are professionals and “professionals” get the job done…right??

Early Saturday morning brought some more cold and windy conditions. The snow and rain did subside somewhat, just enough for our afternoon DH practice session. As the day went on the weather improved tremendously, this was a huge bonus for the 4X racing that was scheduled to take place later that evening.

Shimano had their full setup in Angel Fire, this was great to see.

The YETI team is a huge “fan favorite” at the Mountain State Cup Series races, however, the KHS Factory crew did out perform them in the Downhill at this event…we were rather proud!

Fox Racing Shox were also present and ready to help those in need.

Saturday evenings 4X was another highlight for the KHS Factory Team. Melissa Buhl went unchallenged to take the win after qualifying 1st earlier that day. Buhl is on a huge winning streak, and extremely tough to beat at this point in time.

Photo courtesy http://pinnedmtb.com/

There were two 4X events at Angel Fire, the first was the MSC series 4X race and then Sunday afternoon it was the throw down for the US National Championship. Melissa went on to capture the 4X National Championship title for KHS in fine form, there wasn’t another girl in sight when she crossed the finish line.

Binggeli raced well in both 4X events Saturday and Sunday, however, he expected to do a little better in the 4X as did I, but his gate starts were just not on form this past weekend. Binggeli made it to the round of 16.

This track is a past World Cup 4X track. It boasts some huge double jumps and a very acute drop in elevation, which leads down to a high speed rhythm section and then charges to the finish line.

YETI racer TJ Sharp had a horrific crash bringing all 4X racing to a standstill Saturday evening. Fortunately he walked away with some fractured ribs and a concussion…believe me he was fortunate it could have been way worse!

I mentioned in a past race report that we would eventually get to bring the big rigs out!! If the United States ever wants to be highly competitive on the World Cup Downhill Circuit then we need to stop removing the mountain out of mountain biking. There are simply not enough real downhill race tracks on our National circuit. Angel Fire Resort is the “REAL DEAL”, they have a PRO schedule, a PRO race track and people that really care about where our sport is headed!!

Sunday morning through Monday evening brought us absolute perfect weather. The track had dried out perfectly, the sun was shining and it was go time!

Imagine this terrain frozen over with ice, and then riding down in the rain, wind and snow!

KHS Factory Racer Matt Johnston had the best finish in the Mens Pro Downhill for KHS. Johnston finished a very respectable 12th place. This has eliminated any doubts about his previous ankle injury slowing him down. Johnston is a local at the DEER VALLEY RESORT so I expect him to do very well at stop # 4 on the NMBS calender.

Photo courtesy http://pinnedmtb.com/

Melissa Buhl went on to win the Downhill event grabbing another podium for KHS with a convincing 38 second gap over her next competitor. This is three doubles on a trot for Buhl…Melissa and her equipment are totally dialed!!!

photo courtesy http://pinnedmtb.com/

Logan Binggeli had a top twenty finish amongst a stacked field. Binggeli is still coming of age, he pushes himself hard and expects to be on the podium at every race. It is only a matter of time before he is a threat at every event he enters.

Photo courtesy http://pinnedmtb.com/

KHS Vet Pro racer Chuck Valenzuela also got on the podium this past weekend capturing the 4th step on the wood.

Photo courtesy http://pinnedmtb.com/

I had disappointing qualifying and race runs at Angel Fire on a track that I normally perform well on. This track had more rocks than you could “shake a stick at”!! I will be back and ready to lay it down in Deer Valley, Utah.

A HUGE thanks to our sponsors who help us achieve the goals we set our sights on…THANK YOU!!

The KHS Crew will be in Fontana California this coming weekend for round number 3 of the California State Championship series. Please stay tuned for more updates and photos as they become available.

All the best,

Q.

Santa Ynez Valley National – Santa Barbara CA

Photos by: Monique & Quinton Spaulding

Report by: Quinton Spaulding

Upon our arrival in Santa Ynez Valley early Thursday morning, we were directed to the courtesy truck and trailer wash. After cleaning up we proceeded to set up our pit area in what were very hot conditions, giving us a clear indication of what was to come…heat and more heat!

Setting up is not as bad as it seems unless you are in the middle of nowhere in 100+ degree temperatures,however, we did get it done …just a little slower than usual!!

KHS Factory racers Melissa Buhl and Logan Binggeli worked hard to stay cool before their first DH practice session. What really made it difficult was the 3000 yard hike to the start gate of the DH course. This was somewhat disappointing for a National from my prospective and I am sure many others felt the same way.

Melissa Buhl showed up ready to take care of business as always. She qualified 1st Friday evening in the Women’s Slalom and then went on to take the win beating out a legend and former NORBA Champion Leigh Donovan in the final heat Saturday evening. Let me add that Leigh Donovan looked really good, she hasn’t lost any of her speed and power!

Young KHS recruit Logan Binggeli displayed how his training is paying off! He went on to qualify 6th amongst the strongest the U.S.A. has to offer. He railed the berms during qualifying and looked really comfortable on his KHS 4X bike.

Here is a shot of Logan Saturday evening in his first heat going up against Brodie rider Ian Odom. Binggeli beat Odom in this heat and went on to finish 5th overall for the evening. This is Binggeli’s best Slalom finish yet as a pro racer.

Dale Holmes looked really good during practice and qualifying, even though Dual Slalom is not his favorite, he still did really well and qualified 9th. Unfortunately he crashed out on Saturday evening during the finals, but still finished a respectable 10th place in a format he is not quite used to.

Normally a downhill race requires a downhill bike, but sometimes we have to race smaller bikes that do not need as much travel, bikes that are lighter and easier to pedal…well this was definitely the case in Santa Ynez, it was all about “the short travel bike” at this event.

The KHS crew heading UP THE HILL to get in some DH practice, let me also mention it was about 104 degrees right about then? Our team consumed more ice and water at this event than we have the entire year!

Melissa Buhl on the podium again, she is comfortable here and expects to be on top at every race she attends…well done Buhler!

A “Flight for Life” chopper was on hand every day, which is always comforting and reassuring for any athlete who is partaking in an extreme sport. The only person in need of this service was air lifted for heat exhaustion.

Binggeli during his Pro Qualifier, even though it is hard to tell in this picture that he is “on the gas”!

Binggeli had a great weekend for KHS, he acquired his first DH podium at a National, and did it on a KHS. Well done Binggeli!! This should be a great confidence booster going into Angel Fire New Mexico this weekend. Angel Fire sports a World Cup downhill course, and it is this type of course that Binggeli really excels on.

Melissa went on to win the womens downhill. This secures her a second consecutive double in 4X / dual slalom and downhill for 2008, giving her an overall points lead in both disciplines for the National Series.

We are on our way to Angel Fire New Mexico to attend the Chile Challenge which is stop # 3 of the Mountain State Cup Series this weekend. Please stay tuned for more updates and photos as they become available.

All the best,

Q.