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FONTANA, Calif. (January 14, 2008) - Southern California kicked off 2008 with packed crowds for the 14th Annual Southridge Winter Series presented by SHIMANO. Riders throughout the southwest traveled to the small California suburb to test out their winter fitness... little did they know, they'd be challenged to the best of their ability just to make it down the hill!
Around the pits, it's easy to see that people are anxious for the season to start back up again. Crowds were larger than normal, and some of the classes had doubled in size. The parking areas were filled to capacity and company turnout was pretty impressive for a local winter series race as well. Shimano, being the title sponsor, had a rider support booth set up to assist riders. Sponsorhouse was representing, as well as a variety of other companies including VSI (THE helmets, Intense Tires, etc), KHS Bicycles, Iron Horse, Brodie, X-Fusion & NEMA.
A walk around the parking lot & you could find some great deals on used/new parts for sale from pro riders like Kyle Strait, as well as industry peeps, like the boys from Decline & Sean Methven from Protec.
A few '08 sponsor changes were spotted in the pits. Rich Houseman was spotted in brand spanking new NO FEAR gear. He still needs to sort out eyewear sponsorship, as he was still running Fox goggles.
Logan Binggeli has picked up a new ride as well. He'll be riding for KHS in '08, although he apparently has just inked the deal, as he wasn't fitted w/ all his gear & equipment yet.
JD Swanguen was spotted on his new MS Racing/Intense factory ride. Red is a good color for JD! Great to see a American take a spot on a powerful European team!
Missing in action was Fontana regular & countess-time-event-winner Cody Warren. Cody sustained a concussion from a crash the previous week & is spending some time off the bike healing up.
MTX
Saturday kicked off the first MTX race of the year under clear skies & beautiful temperatures. Although the track typically gets a facelift around national time, riders continue to flock to Fontana, in order to get some time in on the permanent MTX track.
Racing action and a descent track layout proved to be a fan friendly atmosphere, as you could see a good deal of the track from any part of the course. Riders pushed themselves & their competitors to the limit as a few riders were riding on the edge... & beyond. There was some great passes & there were several "bumps" and blocks to be seen. There were more than a few riders go off course as they ran out of real estate & had no where to go. Luckily no one was seriously hurt. In the end, the smartest riders won, not necessarily the fastest.
In an earlier heat, newly signed KHS rider Logan Binggeli beat veteran Mongoose rider, Eric Carter, down the first straight & into the first turn. However, Carter knowing when & when not to push it, waited for the opportune moment & took an inside line to block pass Logan in the 2nd turn.. & on to victory.
Carter easily breezed through the remaining round to take the win over brother-in-law Rich Houseman.
Pro Men MTX Results
1. Eric Carter
2. Rich Houseman
3. Logan Binggeli
4. Carter Holland
DOWNHILL
Riders woke up to find the previous day calm weather conditions to be a distant memory. Strong winds would only build in force throughout the day causing chaos. During the early morning practice runs, riders had difficult times maintaining their lines. Toward the end of practice, one female rider was pushed off course by strong winds, resulting in a broken fibula. The medical delay, pushing the start time back a full hour, would only add to the distraught mindset of riders at the top of the course.
*Warning to riders. Do not piss in the wind! There were a few conversations going around & I personally saw one case of the hilarious act. One individual learned the hard way about physics & the dynamics of wind power as he tried to relieve himself at the top of the hill. From a distance, all you could see was a stream of liquid shoot up into the air & the person scramble as he was being covered in his own pee. I was told about another individual who did a similar act but unfortunately covered some fellow riders in line. Dumb? Yes! Funny? Most definitely! That is unless you were the one who received the "golden shower!"
With wind guts in the upwards of 50mph, it was a total crapshoot whether or not you had a headwind, tail wind, or a hurricane on top of you on any part of the course. most riders would round a corner only to find a fierce headwind literally stopping them in their tracks. Over a small rock pile jump, riders were thrown off line & at times crashing off course. Check the video (courtesy of Sean McClendon / Decline Magazine). Riders were nearly out of breath simply managing to stay on 2 wheels at the top of the course. When approaching the infamous "wall" section of the course, some riders could hardly hold on to their handlebars as they sprinted the flat to the finish. To make things worse, some riders (including yours truly) had to fight small "dust devils" (a rotating updraft - similar to tornados - typically half a meter wide and a few meters tall) in their paths, literally stopping them in their tracks.
The most successful riders of the day would be those who had the fewest mistakes. Waylon Smith crashed near the top, but managed to have a clean run the remainder of the course & landed into 4th place. Other riders weren't so lucky. A few were caught off guard & thrown tumbling off course, & were only lucky to survive the day. However no mere winds could stop the strength of Aussie Chris Kovarik (Chain Reaction Cycles / Intense), who has been living in southern California to train over the winter. Kovarik shot through the wind, running a set of baggie shorts & a t-shirt, like he was in a skin-suit! Mother nature isn't stupid... when Kovarik came through, she parted the wind, so not to get hurt herself! As Kovarik crossed the line, he was nearly 4 seconds ahead of 2nd place Eric Carter! What more could be said about his run, except - shear power!
In the women's field, Canadian Claire Buchar (Specialized) dominated the field by 6 seconds! As Buchar rounded the corner to the finish line, she caught up to the rider ahead of her, accidentally colliding and knocking out even more seconds.
Pro Men DH Results
Pro Women DH Results
Semi Pro DH Results
JR X DH Results
For a full list of results, visit SouthridgeUSA.com
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Eric Carter had a fairly easy day in MTX... are you surprised? photo: Joe Lawwill
Big House flying new No Fear threads for '08!
photo: Dylan Dean
The man behind Black Market Bikes, Carter Holland, doing a little R&D - 4th place Pro MTX... I think it works!
photo: Joe Lawwill
How many of you can say you beat EC down the first straight? photo: Dylan Dean
Chris Kovarik takes the win! It's got a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Get used to it... he's back!
photo: Dylan Dean
First sighting of JD Swanguen on his NEW MS Racing/Intense Ride!photo: Dylan Dean
2nd pro race... 2nd race EVER... Aaron Gwin... a name to watch for! photo: Joe Lawwill
Following his 3rd place MTX finish, Logan Binggeli didn't have as much luck in the DH. photo: Dylan Dean
Ian Odom, always a threat at Fontana photo: Dylan Dean
Not to let her boyfriend take all the glory, Claire Buchar took the women's field. photo: Joe Lawwill
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