July 23/06 1:17 am - National DH Championships Preview

Posted by Editoress on 07/23/06
 

National DH Championships

In a few hours the National Downhill Championships will start on Whistler Mountain. The course is a little under two kilometres in length. It starts very fast, in the open before dropping into the woods and a series of drops and tight, rough rooty sections, including one big dropoff.

There was some grumbling among a lot of riders when a long rollercoaster bridge was removed on Friday. Officials requested the removal, citing concerns about no ride around and a lack of netting (riders would be as much as 5 metres off the ground). Former national champion Dustin Adams (Cove Bikes) - retired but racing the Nationals - also pointed out:

"I love the section, but the locals all know it so well; I could ride it with my eyes closed. So removing it takes away the (locals) advantage. The new trail is actually harder I think."

In the seeding run, defending women's champion Adrienne Miller (Devinci Daredevil - BC) was the fastest; a full seven seconds ahead of former champions Michelle Dumaresq (Santa Cruz/nsmb.com - BC) and Danika Schroeter (Cove Bikes/Sram/TLD/ - BC). On the men's side it was Andrew Mitchell (BC) with a time of 3:07.112, followed by Jeff Beatty at 3:07.795. Defending national champion Tyler Morland was 4th.