Audio By Carbonatix
Downhill mountain-bike racing is as thrilling to watch as it is for the crazies who put life and limb on the line to bomb the hills, and the craziest of them will be at SolVista Bike Park at Granby Ranch through Sunday. “This year, the town of Granby stepped up with a $25,000 pro prize purse for our second annual Triple Dhip Downhill event, which immediately put us on the national and international competition scene,” says Bike Park director Matt Thompson. “Now we’ve got riders coming from all over the world, including current and past mountain-bike world champions and World Cup athletes.”
But don’t let that put you off entering yourself; there are both pro and amateur divisions in this weekend’s G3-formatted stage races, with an additional $25,000 worth of prizes for the amateur divisions. “Bring the whole family,” Thompson suggests: After mud-season delays (it was still snowing in Granby until a few weeks ago), the SolVista Bike Park opened to the public on June 9 with several new trails geared toward beginner and intermediate riders. “It’s an awesome spectator event, and there’s going to be a little something for everyone. We’ll have high-stakes racing action all weekend long and a lot of chaos and carnage, but we’ll also have some really fun family-friendly stuff like a pump track for kids and some cool activities. Aside from the competition courses, the whole Bike Park will be open for riding.”
Registration starts at $75 for the three downhill races at www.tripledhip.com, where you can also find lodging deals or register for a campsite ($10/night per vehicle). Courses will be open for inspection and practice beginning tonight; races get under way at 8 a.m. Saturday and 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
June 17-19, 2011
