Longtime MBA photo guy Waylon Smith wins The Burner!
So what is it? The Burner is hosted by Angel Fire Resort and is brought to you by Red Bull. It's a 12 hour endurance downhill (extreme) mountain bike challenge. It started at 9 a.m. and finish at 9 p.m. The winners of the challenge are determined by the total number of runs and elapsed time during the 12 hour period.
Three of Angel Fire’s top bike park downhill trails will be utilized simultaneously for the event. All trails will finish at the Chile Express Chairlift for uphill access back to the start of the courses. A mass start was incorporated. Categories included solo, dual and team entries. Over $5,000 in cash and prizes were up for grabs, the bulk of which went to solo riders.
TRACK #1: This is the straight up World Cup Track; lots of rocks, great flow, and all the gnar you junkies have come to expect from Angel Fire.
TRACK #2: This brand new run is called the Supreme Dream and it's being unveiled at The Burner. It starts within 100 yards of the Chili Express Chairlift and traverses the area just to the right of it. There are some steep drops plus a few jumps and berms near the bottom.
TRACK #3: Just after the Chile Challenge, Angel Fire went and built a super fun, flowy, greenish/blue type run. We're planning on having it serve as the The Burner's recovery course. It's a course that anyone can ride and come away from more pumped than ever to go again. This course will also be great for the solo guys and gals who need a rest and still achieve a lap count.
It is the up to the rider’s discretion on which trail they will use for each downhill run.
So About Those Lights?...
If a rider planned on running the last two to three hours of the event it took a good lighting system or he wouldn't be allowed up the lift.
Angel Fire plans on making this an annual end-of-season tradition.
Check out the finish between the top three solo riders. After 12 solid hours of downhilling, only 60 seconds separated them. That is close racing!
THE BURNER RESULTS
1. Waylon Smith...30 runs/11:45:42 elapsed time
2. Chris Boice...Fox Shox-Yeti Cycles...30/11:46:13
3. Willy Warren...Kona...30/11:46:42
4. Joey Schusler...Yeti-Fox Shox...29/11:32:05
5. Dante Harmony...Zumbi-All Mountain Cyclery-Hayes...29/11:35:19
6. Matthew Fisher...TheFixBikes...29/11:38:04
7. Damon Gilbert...RockShox...29/11:40:33
8. Keith Mott...KHS...29/11:42:04
9. Chris Heath...Manitou-Smith Optics-Hayes...29/11:44:31
10.Nathaniel Hills...MafiaRacing...29/11:46:28
WOMEN
1. Lisa Reinhard...Amp'd Racing...25/11:41:51
2. Darian Harvey...Sobe Cannondale...24/11:42:28
3. Jennifer Whalen...JENX Racer...23/12:03:25
EXPERT
1. Taylor Lideen...DP Air...28/11:38:32
2. Brett Tetzloff...28/11:50:45
3.Gordon Yang...Lonestar Gravity...27/11:34:20
EXPERT WOMEN
1. Kim Gilchrist...No Brakes Racing...21/11:37:10
2. Traci Koesis...17/10:58:36
DUO PRO
1. Oconnor/Wideman...Thunder Squad...27/11:47:39
2. Buhl/Hayashida...Trek...25/11:35:29
DUO EXPERT
1. Lynch/Chambers...Rockshox...28/11:41:18
2. Rutherford/Duller...Team Happy Car...28/11:46:01
3. Prien/Hunter...High Desert Bicycles...27/11:43:15
TEAM
1. Spangler/Gradillas/Sanchez...Bike Works Albuquerque...29/11:47:14
2. Raney/Muler/Nelson/Rice...BTI-Commencal...28/11:41:09
3.Robb/Bates/Orndorff/Way...CBMP...27/11:41:35