More Than a Race | The Downieville Classic

What happens when you have to race cross-country and downhill on exactly the same bike? The Downieville Classic is one of mountain biking’s most iconic events: a 26.5-mile point-to-point XC race followed the next day by the 15-mile Downieville Downhill. The bike is weighed, its components are checked, and nothing can be changed between the two stages. I arrived expecting to limit my losses in the XC before using my enduro background to move up the standings in the downhill. Instead, I finished 12th in Pro XC and one position worse in the discipline I expected to suit me. This video follows my first Downieville Classic, from the all-out opening climb and deceptively physical descending to the festival, river, camp and community surrounding the race. Downieville is much more than two days of competition. The event supports Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship and the work being done to maintain trails, create opportunities and strengthen communities throughout the Lost Sierra. The racing was brutal, the river was cold the rocks were expensive and I most certainly already want to go back.