This past weekend Diablo Freeride Park at Mountain Creek Resort in Vernon, New Jersey, played host to the 2nd Annual U.S. Open of Mountain Biking. The world's fastest downhill mountain bike racers settled upon picturesque Vernon New Jersey to battle for a hefty $20,000 cash purse and the coveted U.S. Open Mountain Bike Title.
The Men's Pro/Open class was stacked with top contenders from around the globe. Australian ripper Sam Hill (Iron Horse/Mad Catz) threw down the fastest time of the weekend and edged out Rich Houseman (Foes, Sponsorhouse.com) by nearly 4 seconds to capture the men's title and a staggering $5000 cash payout. David Klaassenvanoorschot (Intense Cycles, Fox) snagged third place and the final men's podium spot. "The course was really good. It's challenging, it's fast, it's rocky, it's awesome," explained newly crowned U.S. Open champion Sam Hill.
Kathy Pruitt (Luna Women's MTB Team) could be seen ripping the course all weekend long and managed to snake past first place qualifier Marla Streb (Luna Women's /Red Bull/Oakley) for the $5000 payout and women's title. "I got here and I was really impressed" said Pruitt. "The course had a lot of rocks and this section at the bottom with crazy banked turns. Everyone here is super cool and it's not all about the prize money which makes this event so much fun." Lisa Sher (Chumba Wumba) posted a solid time of 3:34.03 which was enough to round out the top 3 and claim her spot on the podium.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
PRO MEN
1. HILL, Sam (AUS)...Iron Horse/Mad Catz...2:53.882
2. HOUSEMAN, Rich (USA) Foes/Funn/Sponsorhouse...2:57.697
3. KLAASSENVANOORSCHOT, David (USA)Intense Cycles/Fox...3:01.209
PRO WOMEN
1. PRUITT, Kathy (USA)...Luna Womens...3:22.943
2. STREB, Marla (USA)...Luna /Red Bull/Oakley...3:24.587
3. SHER, Lisa (USA)....Chumba Wumba...3:34.030
AMATEUR MEN
1. ERAMO, Matthew...(USA)...3:18.736
2. DEMAIO, Dom (USA)...Hcor.net/Oakley/Diablo Freeride Park...3:25.127
3. BARGIEL, Nathan (USA)...Azonic/Marzocchi...3:27.546
AMATEUR WOMEN
1. RIZZO, Jenna (USA)...FinishLine Factory...4:31.829
2. DYNIA, Sarah (USA)...Team Cutting Edge...4:34.173
3. SEEBERG, Terry (USA)...Brooklyn/Outback...4:39.571
|