Episode III: UVM Maple Mountain Bike Madness

For the third race weekend of the season, Penn State riders trekked up to Vermont for UVM Maple Mountain Bike Madness.  The crew competed in Saturday’s slalom and Sunday’s downhill race, and had riders in almost every category.  UVM did a great job organizing the race, and Penn Staters agreed that Vermont featured some of the best courses so far.  The slalom race took riders around swooping banks, moguls, and jumps.  The downhill race featured a good mix between steep loamy sections and fast rocky trails. 

 

 

Courtesy of UVM's Nate Cassidy



 

Downhill Dan:  Generic soda and insufficient snacks kept Dan out of the cat B slalom race.  Thankfully, he managed to get a chocolate croissant in time for the cat A downhill race, and placed 17^th.  Considered to be a hero at Mountain Creek, Dan is expected to crush it this coming weekend. 

 

Jake Hanczar:  State College BMX legend Jake Hanczar joined the PSU mtb crew last week for the cat C slalom and DH races.  Although he had never raced mountain bikes before, Jake got 3^rd in the cat C slalom, and won the men’s C downhill race with 12 seconds on his competitors.  Catting up is in his future.  You should also check out his BMX footage, because he does sick backflips.     

Brandon Thomas:  A fully clothed Brandon appeared in Vermont this weekend.  Brandon competed in the cat B DH event, but he flatted halfway through his run.  Nonetheless, he still got 12^th. 

Avi Moore:  Avi’s steezy two-finger brake levers finally paid off, and he raced despite having a broken pinky.  After the previous week’s setback, he went hard and finished 4^th in cat B downhill.

Steve Clayton:  Steve was still stuffy after battling a nasty cold all week.  He cleared out his system racing the cat B slalom, and placed 10^th.  He was on the mend by Sunday, and placed 3^rd in the cat A downhill race in a death-defying descent.