By Ryan Cleek
In a region of the US synonymous with the BIG 10 (which has 11 teams) and tractor pulls; the concept of putting on a NORBA Downhill mountain bike race in an area without mountains didn't bat an eye.
Therefore, the second stop of the 2002 NORBA NCS in Alpine Valley, WI produced an exciting Downhill event for spectators from the "dairy state" and surrounding Midwestern areas; despite working with very limited resources, such as mountains.
THE COURSE
The DH course began out of the gate with a steep and terribly muddy vertical drop section riddled with at least 12" deep ruts from Pro and Expert riders practicing for several hours in the rain. After the initial gnarly vertical drop of the downhill course, the rest of the course consisted of challenging man-made obstacles such as a crucial 30+' double jump that required most riders to pedal as hard as possible to the face of the jump to assure landing on the double's backside to keep momentum in the slow and muddy conditions. The course then wound in-and-out of several tight tree sections sending riders over numerous log jumps and rocky sections. Despite the DH course taking top Pros barely over a minute to descend its 300 vertical feet, the Alpine Valley terrain swapped back and forth from sandy gravel-like soil to wet and sticky clay, creating major problems for downhill racers not using mud or rain specific tires. The short downhill course proved to be more of a challenge to racers than many other longer courses because there was no area to make up time after a "less than perfect" section and required racers to sprint out of every turn like it was the last.
MIDWEST MANNERS
The quaint Alpine Valley venue just outside of beautiful Lake Geneva, WI, provided excellent viewing of almost every gravity-oriented event such as the Pro Mountaincross, amateur slalom and even sections of the downhill course. There was a tremendous amount of effort put into the courses and the event staff appeared excited to be part of such a novel national event. Volunteers happily stood in the rain, lifting mud-caked DH bikes onto chair lifts so racers could get in one last practice run. It was great to see the enthusiasm and curiosity of a first-time downhill spectator being captivated by the "circus" of downhill racing and the amazement that events like this happen all over the world.
Many race fans and mountain bike enthusiasts were discouraged when it was announced that Mammoth Mountain, CA would not be having a stop on the 2002 NORBA NCS, and those emotions were followed up with the bewilderment that the Mammoth race would be replaced with a NCS event in the Midwest. The popularity of mountain bikes and the quality of cross country racing in the Midwest is second to none, but downhill? Yes. The success of the Alpine Valley Downhill race is a testament to the desire of the race organizers and course designers to make the best out the situation; and hopefully NORBA being able to pull off a Downhill event in Wisconsin will ignite an interest in downhill racing nationwide, especially in states once thought of as "geographically challenged".
The five race NORBA NCS series opened May 9-12 at Snow Summit, Calif. and moved to a new venue, Alpine Valley Resort in East Troy, WI, June 13-16. The series then goes to Snowshoe, WV, June 20-23; Durango, CO Aug. 1-4; and finishes at Mount Snow, VT, Aug. 15-18.
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