US PRO GRAVITY SERIES – Race # 1, Port Angeles, Washington

I last raced the US National Series back in 2003 when it was in the good old days of the NORBA series. Since then the series fell to bits and the racing scene in the US lost its international appeal. The launch of the Pro Gravity tour is an attempt to rekindle the success of the NORBA and create a successful, attractive and competitive series across in the US again. With Trek being an American company they were keen for us to race a little more in the US and help support the series. The first stop was up in the North West, in Washington State. As soon as I landed at Seattle I felt more at home as it was green with trees and grass, a sure sign that it rains a bit more here than in any of the places I have been over the last two weeks. Port Angeles is a tiny little town nestled on a peninsula west of Seattle, it actually not that far from Vancouver and just a short ferry trip from Vancouver island. There was an obvious thriving race scene here as the volunteers and trails in the forest were amazing. We were made so welcome and the organisers were really excited for us to be there. Due to the volcano erupting and flights stopping for a few days a few other teams decide to stay on another week after Sea Otter and do this race aswell, so it really made for a big race, a mini pre world cup event !

The atmosphere was great, really laid back and with the quickest turn around of the uplift and endless practice it made for some great riding and downhill training ! I probably did about 20 runs over the weekend !! The track was great fun, the first proper downhill track I had ridden on my new bike this year and it felt great.

I had fun following the boys on my team down and trying to keep them in sight. The practice was split in pro and non pro, so whenever we were practicing there was always a great crowd making some noise during practice. I seeded 1st just ahead of Rachel Atherton and Jill Kitner who is making the switch from 4x to DH this year. After this weekend’s display of riding I don’t think it will be long till Jill is mixing it up on the world cup downhill podiums !

Race day came and I managed to squeeze 2 practice runs in and then headed up for my race. I was pretty nervous as I knew Rach would be pushing hard to go faster and I really wanted to have a good start to the season. I really attacked the top half of the course and then started to pay for it a little at the bottom as I made a few mistakes, however I was still happy with my run and I knew I have given it everything. I managed to go 3 secs quicker than my seeding and fast enough to take the win with a 2.50min ahead of Rach on a 2.53. It felt great to get the season off to a good start and I really enjoyed the whole weekend.

Thanks to the organisers for a great event and I look forward to round 2 at the end of May. Home now for 2 weeks to prepare for the first World Cup in Maribor.