The biggest USAC gravity event on the east coast took place this past
weekend at Plattekill Bike Park. For the second season, the Gravity East
Finals were held at the park in conjunction with Plattekill’s downhill and
dual slalom series. The Catskill Mountain’s fall foliage was in full bloom,
and the sun was shining. One of the largest turnouts in the east this season
celebrated the festivities. There were BBQ’s, movie premiers, sky rides,
racing clinics, camping, freeriding and of course dual slalom and downhill
races spread over three days.
     Over 140 racers ventured from as far away as Ecuador and California to
test the trails at Plattekill, known to be some of the steepest most
challenging terrain anywhere. The weekend’s race counted as the 5th race of Plattekill’s Extreme Series, and as a double point finale for the Gravity East Series. In its second year, the Gravity East Series presented eight races at seven east coast mountains spanning six months. The series is staffed primarily by Dieter Ward and Brady Owens and much of the credit for the series goes to their efforts, they did an excellent job. .
     Plattekill’s trail staff led by Delta House Racing spent many days constructing and grooming the course adding jumps and berms thru the middle of it. The top section featured fast flowy singletrack followed by a few small drops before the berms and finished off on a trail called “Omen” a classic fall-line track. It was a good mix of styles not meant to give an advantage to any one type of racer. The course while not short on distance was certainly fast with the winning pro time of 2:29 posted by Ecuador’s
Alejandro Ortiz. Most of the pro/expert course was shared with the sport class to give those racers a taste of what’s to come if they are moving up in class and with some of the finishing times, more than a few should do so.


Pro men overall podium: Ben Moody (1st), Gavin Vaughn (2nd), Jason Memmelaar (3rd), Chris Higgerson(4th),  and Benjamin Hulse (5th). Photo courtesy of Plattekill Bike Park

     Shaums March was on hand running his race camp and racing to a podium finish in the pro class only three seconds off first place. Ortiz was followed by Chris Higgerson, Kyle Hickey, Gavin Vaughn and Shaums March to round out the pro podium. The women’s pro class was led by Dawn Bourque, Karen Eagan and Lauren Petersen. Neko Muallay dominated the junior expert class with an eight second win with the sixth fastest time of the day.


Pro women overall podium: Dawn Bourque (1st), Vicki Koch (2nd) and Karen Eagan (3rd).
Photo courtesy of Plattekill Bike Park

     The highlight of the awards ceremony was the presenting of the checks to the pro class for the Gravity East Championships. All seven venues contributed to the awards and cash payout for the pros. Series Pro champion Ben Moody received $1500, second place Gavin Vaughn $750 and third place Jason Memmelaar $500 fourth and fifth place finishers Chris Higgerson and Benjamin Hulse also got to take home a nice payout. Women’s pro Gravity East Champion was Dawn Bourque $1000 with Vicki Koch and Karen Eagan also getting the podium and some cash to take home.
     There was also a Gravity East Summit with discussions regarding the future of the series and how to make it the premier series in the nation, industry leaders, USAC representatives, racers and team managers attended.
All came away with positive thoughts regarding the future of the series with the plans for 2009 to be bigger and better.