Manhattan NYC All-Mountain Race: DH Legend Jurgen Beneke Defends Title (now, with photos!)
(4/28/2009)
By Jamie Bogner/photos by David Tufino-NYCMTB
Former World Cup DH champion Jurgen Beneke defended his title as the all-mountain king of New York City with his repeat win at the second-annual NYCMTB Highbridge Park Hustle + Flow All-Mountain race. The Ghostship Clothing team from Connecticut repeated their domination of the team category, breaking their own course record by a whopping 19 seconds.
Jurgen Beneke powers in to the finish. Photo by David Tufino/NYCMTB.
A unique all-mountain race made up of five distinct legs (XC, pump track, DH, road climb, super-d) with classes for solo racers (one racer on the same bike for all five legs) and teams (one racer for each leg raced as a team relay), the NYCMTB Highbridge Park Hustle + Flow race is alone in its incorporation of the many diverse forms of mountain biking. Taking place on the dirt jumps and rugged and technical trails of Highbridge Park in upper Manhattan, the race offers what no other race in North America can—an extremely challenging and well-balanced all-mountain course 160 blocks north of Times Square in a city of over 8 million people.
One competitor warms up for the race by moto whipping the Highbridge dirt jumps. Photo by David Tufino/NYCMTB.
The Hustle + Flow course began with a lap of the Highbridge Park pump track (built in 2007 by pros Jeff Lenosky, Judd DeVall and Kyle Ebbett), then flowed into a mini-DH run down the Hellfighter freeride trail (designed in part by pro rider Jim Dellvalle) including steep chutes, berms, and drops. A short road climb up a steep 18% grade took racers to the start of the super-d leg, an extremely technical trail descent that bears no resemblance to the super-d courses one finds at national races. Riders finished the race with a sprint down a NYC sidewalk turning before the elevated subway station into a climb up the XC trails to the finish line in the dirt jump park.
Alejandro Ortiz of the NYC Freeride team blasts out of the jump park and into the trails. Photo by David Tufino/NYCMTB.
Notable performances included the team XC leg ridden by endurance racer Doug Jenne (Ghostship Clothing), whose under-4-minute time broke the previous course record by over a minute. NYC dirt jumper David Holzer (Los Federales) shaved 3 seconds off his record pump track time from 2008, and Downhiller Alejandro Ortiz (NYC Freeride) took an amazing 5 seconds off his previous record DH time.
Team NYCMTB-Peak Bikes racer Bill Cullen pedaling a 42lb, 8" travel freeride bike to a 5th place finish. Photo by David Tufino/NYCMTB.
Team and solo winners took home season passes from Diablo Freeride Park, and podium finishers walked away with great prizes from Diablo Freeride Park and from renowned Manhattan bike shop Sids Bikes.
Fastest pump track racer David Holzer threw down at the post-race jam. Photo by David Tufino/NYCMTB.
“Who would think you could hold an all-mountain race in the biggest city in the USA,” NYCMTB President and Race Director Jamie Bogner said. “But I think we’ve created a compelling course that’s perfectly balanced toward riders on 5-6” travel trail bikes, unlike those smooth Super-D courses that racers can ride on XC hardtails. And the team component brings together so many different types of riders… it’s a really cool thing to see.”
Black Market Bikes pro Adam Hauck got stylish on the Highbridge dirt jumps. Photo by David Tufino/NYCMTB.
After the racing finished, the laid-back vibe continued with an informal jump jam, highlighted by some world-class riding from Blackmarket Bikes pro Adam Hauck and some spirited tricks from some of NYC’s most talented amateur BMX and MTB dirt jumpers.
The NYCMTB All-City XC race is on deck at Highbridge Park for Sunday, June 7th, 2009, and the Hustle + Flow race will be back next year for more urban all-mountain action. Visit http://www.nycmtb.com for more information about New York City mountain bike trails, races and events.
