Downhill Southeast series opens season on renovated TTC course [photos]

Mark Pace/Chattanooga Times Free Press - Harley Addair of North Carolina competes in the Downhill Southeast mountain bike series at Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tenn. March 31, 2018. The race was the first leg in the annual series.
Mark Pace/Chattanooga Times Free Press - Harley Addair of North Carolina competes in the Downhill Southeast mountain bike series at Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tenn. March 31, 2018. The race was the first leg in the annual series.

RESULTS

U-141. JACK SHARPLES 2. ERIC WILLETTS3. CADEN HILLMasters1. CLEALAN WATTS2. TIM KEY3. BARRY PAGEAmateur Men1. CHRIS GRICE2. DAVID MORGAN3. ZACK MEHURONProfessional Men1. NEKO MULALLY2. MAX MORGAN3. SETH HANSONProfessional Women1. FRIDA ROENNING

The Downhill Southeast mountain bike series was held again at Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tenn., but the third season of the annual series brought a new beginning of sorts.

Event organizers lost access to the top of the trail last year when the private land owner wanted to sell the property. Local trail builders and mountain bikers came together to build a new access point to the trail system, and the series went on, uninterrupted.

"I honestly liked the old one better, but it's really cool that they've been able to figure out a way to make this work," North Carolina event founder and professional downhill mountain biker Neko Mulally said. "I think they're eventually going to try to get the old way open again in the future, but they've done a really good job doing what they needed to do to keep this thing going."

The old trail was fast and flowy, riders said, while the new section offers steeper, rockier terrain that's much more technical.

Event organizers elected to start the race further down the Sequatchie Mountain trail since the race featured amateurs, masters and under-14 racers in addition to the professionals. The decision allowed racers to take their time down the more-dangerous section before officially starting further down the course.

"This place has a pretty unique flavor to it. It's raw," said course director Mickey Denoncourt. "It's steep and hilly and fun to ride. These guys are here to win, and winning is going to involve a lot of risk. This just made sure things were safer."

Mulally began the series as a training race to kick off the downhill season and get riders ready for the UCI -cycling's governing body - World Cup series. The event grew from there and usually sees about 100 riders. This year's event had 63, which organizers believe was due to the event falling on Easter weekend.

The first race in Downhill Southeast series history was held at Trials Training Center.

"It just has really good training for downhill mountain biking. They have a lot of parking, and it's really like a resort built for two-wheel sports," Mulally said. "Chattanooga is also an outdoor-driven city, so there are a lot of good riders around here."

As for the race, riders ranging in age from 13 to 57 years old rode the approximately 3/4-mile downhill course. Most riders traveled from states in the Midwest and Southeast, but others traveled from as far as Iowa and New York. The fastest riders finished in a little over one minute.

The first rider of the day was 14-year-old Eric Willetts from Pennsylvania, the son of former professional cross-country cyclist George Willetts. It was his first time racing at the venue.

"It's interesting, but very fun," he said. "The bottom section is super flowy, so it was a lot of fun."

The Downhill Southeast series will continue April 28 at Massanutten Resort in Virginia. The final two races will be held this spring at Windrock Bike Park in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Beech Mountain Resort in North Carolina. The series runs on a point system, with riders assigned points based on standings at individual races.

Contact staff writer Mark Pace at mpace@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659. Follow him on Twitter @themarkpace and on Facebook at Chattanooga OutdoorsTFP.

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