Mountain States Cup – Wildflower Rush

Photos by: Monique  Spaulding

Report by: Quinton Spaulding

I just love traveling the Highways of America, every  trip has something new and spontaneous to offer.

Traveling through Utah (on our way to Crested Butte, CO), we were treated to some awesome rainbows.

We arrived at the base of the mountain in Crested Butte on Thursday morning to pleasant weather and beautiful scenery.

KHS Factory riders Melissa Buhl and Logan Bingelli were in Europe at this time racing  the “Wheels of Speed” in Willingen, Germany. They then made their way to Maribor, Italy which is one of the friendliest stops on the UCI World Cup Circuit . Buhl on the podium in Maribor with a fantastic 2nd place finish in the 4X.

This was Bingelli’s first World Cup appearance for KHS.  Although he did not qualify for the Final on Sunday, he still put in a good effort gaining some invaluable experience that he can build on down the road as he ventures deeper into World Cup racing. He finished 24th at the “Wheels of Speed”… a good result.

Some crazy sights from the town of Crested Butte.

The peak of Crested Butte Mountain in the background.

In the village.

Next door.

The Crested Butte “SKI Resort” is  well equipped and prepared for a major “action event”. It is rumored that they have future plans for a World Cup Downhill race… on a brand new track.

The Wildflower Rush, MSC # 4 was a new track, which was  nicely laid out with many well built features. This was a “strong pedal” track and fitness was a big factor.

The finish line area had a great ski jump for the crowds. Along with riders that were launching it, it kept the crowd entertained  all weekend long.

We had some good rain showers before qualifying, which made for some pretty slick and sluggish conditions.

I had a fairly decent qualifying run finishing up 22nd out of 65 plus riders.

I shaved 10 seconds off of my qualifying run in the final, along with almost everybody else on a faster drier track. I finished 24th overall on the day and felt pretty good with that result at a National Level.

PRO Men DH Results

Matt Eglin… “The Man” at Hayes that takes care of the teams needs at all our events, outdid himself again at this race …thanks Matt!

KHS will be back in Colorado again for the US National Championships at Sol Vista Mountain Bike Park – July 16th thru the 19th. We are aiming high and looking for titles.

Please stay tuned for more updates and photos as they become available.

All the best!

Q.