This past weekend, Plattekill Bike Park hosted the largest USAC gravity event east of the coast. The Gravity East returns for its second season.
Plattekills downhill was also present for finals.
dual slalom series. The Catskill Mountains’ fall foliage was in full flower
The sun shone and it was beautiful. This was one of the biggest turnouts this season in the east
The festivities were celebrated. There were BBQs and movie premier screenings. Sky rides were also held.
Racing clinics, camping and freeriding, as well as dual slaloms and downhill
Races are spread over three days.
More than 140 racers traveled as far as California and Ecuador to compete in the races.
Plattekill is a trail that’s known for being some of the most difficult to climb.
Any terrain can be challenging. This weekend race was the 5th race in the Plattekills Extreme Series and a double-point finale for the Gravity Eastern Series. The Gravity East Series hosted eight races over six months at seven east coast mountains in its second year. Brady Owens, Dieter Ward, and Brady Owens are the main entrants to the series. They did an outstanding job and deserve a lot of credit. .
The Plattekills trail crew, led by Delta House Racing, spent many days grooming and building the course. The top section had fast flowing singletrack, followed by some drops before the berms. Finally, Omen, a classic fall-line trail was finished. The course was not designed to be a racer’s best friend. Although the course was not very long, it was fast. Alejandro Ortiz won the pro race. The pro/expert course was split with the sport class to give racers a taster of what’s to come.
Shaums March was there to run his race camp, and race to a podium finish at the pro class just three seconds behind first place. To complete the pro podium, Ortiz was followed closely by Chris Higgerson and Kyle Hickey. Gavin Vaughn, Shaums March, and Shaums Mars. Dawn Bourque, Karen Eagan, and Lauren Petersen dominated the women’s pro class. Neko Muallay won the junior expert class in eight seconds and was the sixth fastest of the day.
Overall podium for women: Dawn Bourque (1st), Vicki Ko (2nd), and Karen Eagan (3rd).
The presentation of checks to the Gravity East Championships pro class was the highlight of the awards ceremony. The cash payouts and awards were made possible by all seven venues. Series Pro champion Ben Moody was awarded second place Gavin Vaughn, and third place Jason Memmelaar. Fourth and fifth place finishers Chris Higgerson as well as Benjamin Hulse were also awarded a nice cash payout. Dawn Bourque, Vicki Koch, and Karen Eagan were the women’s pro gravity east champions. They also took home some cash.
A Gravity East Summit was held to discuss the future of the series. Industry leaders, USAC representatives and racers were present as well as team managers.
Everyone left with positive feelings about the future series and the hopes for 2009.
