Saturday, August 26, 2000 - Sunday, August 27, 2000 -- Massanutten, VA
Hoo Ha Downhill & Cross Country
Photos by Marty Lamp
[Details]
[Coverage]
Results:
[DH Overall]
[DH by Class]
[XC Overall]
[XC by Class]
Pictures:
[Set 1]
[Set 2]
[Set 3]
[Set 4]
[Set 5]
[Set 6]
[Set 7]
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Story by Marty Lamp
Kicking off the popular Hoo Ha mountain biking weekend at beautiful Massanutten Resort was the crowd pleasing downhill race on Saturday, August 26th. The World Cup downhill course on Massanutten's eastern slopes is no secret to many people in the know. It's fast, very rocky in spots, and rewards those with enough gumption to pedal their way down.
The day boasted incredible weather conditions, with plenty of sunshine
and temps struggling to stay in the eighties. The demanding course
offered great riding conditions, with a trail as dry as roasted sand
in most places, and just plain rocky everywhere else.
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When the dust settled, and over 80 racers made their way to the bottom
of the hill, Vet Expert racer Homeboy Beaty(3:41.75) of
Knoxville, TN was the fastest person down the mountain. "I just love
this course" said the wiley veteran downhiller."I have raced all over
the country, and this is definitely one of the top three courses I
have raced on, and that final rocky section might be my favorite
downhill section anywhere!"
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Just a little over a second behind was Pro/Ex winner Charles von Isenburg(3:42.98), with Todd Burnett(3:45.62) finishing third overall.
Coming in with the 12th fastest time while riding in the hardtail
class was Aaron Johnson(3:52.25), and local racer George
Willetts(4:15.76) finished second on the hardtails and 24th
overall, despite slamming hard on the final drop off, and quickly
remounting and sprinting to the finish.
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In the Women's Sport class, Lorraine Woo(4:56.33) edged out Aileen Nippins(5:03.33) for the win, and in the Men's Beginner class, first time racer Kelly Koonce(4:12.66) earned the win.
Thanks go out to Kyle Inman for providing his unique commentary during the event, and for his huge part in making sure everything runs smooth.
The Cross Country...
Story by Dana Harshberger
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The XXC category, beginning promptly at 9:30, boasted 19 riders, an
amazing two of whom were women. After a quick prologue, the pack had
managed to space itself out. In the front of the group were Chris
Eatough, Chris Scott, and Benji Klimas. In a
departure from his usual cross country racing, Eatough had decided the
night before to enter the XXC category, thinking it would be a good
warm up for next week's Shenandoah
Mountain 100.
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Coming across the line first, in a scorching 3:36:18 was Trek East
Coast Factory team member, Chris Eatough. Following at 4:02:01 was
Keezletown local Dylan Johnson, fresh from a summer-long
cycling jaunt across the US, with a finish of 4:02:01. Johnson just
managed to get around Benjie Klimas near the end, who tried valiantly
to hold onto a bold pace while finishing less than a minute behind at
4:02:53.
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On the women's end of things, as always, there was the dominating
force of another Trek rider, Sue Haywood. Finishing a good 19
minutes ahead of her nearest female competitor, and 22nd overall,
Sue's high point of the race was the friendly battle to the finish
with boyfriend Matt Marcus. Coming in second was Sue
George (2:26:21) and not far from her, Kristy Mantz
(2:27:36)
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For the Clydesdale division, Bill Davis brought it home at
2:54:46. Junior Expert Nicholas Atkins captured the finish
with 2:21:50. Rounding it out were Richard Watts(2:38:08) for
the Mens Masters, and Frank Jaworski(2:30:47) with the Mens Vet
Sport.
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With the smell of simmering rice and beans at the finish, killer medals to hang around necks, not to mention the payout of cash and swag, a great day was had by all. Even spectators got to experience the thrill of swag with overabundance of mini boxes of organic cereal that were tossed to the crowd!
As always the folks at Massanutten had made sure that no detail was overlooked from abundant course markings, (no chance of getting lost today!), marshals at every turn, water stops complete with handy recycling bins to catch the empties, and quick and pleasant registration. A big hand to everyone who helped make the weekend a success!