For many people New Year’s spells cold and snow, but in southern California it means that it’s time for racing mountain bikes at Southridge USA’s Winter Series. I always enjoy going to these races and this time was no different, especially with Supercross on the same weekend!

Race run photo of Troy D’Elia by Eric Foltz.

Foes Racing in the pits at Southridge.

Even though registration lines were long with many racers signing up for their annual memberships, the Southridge staff kept the lines moving and the Jasons and Evilio were pumped to be back at Southridge.

The Shimano Kids Races are a hit with competitors and parents alike.

I was eager to race Super D at Southridge just as much as the downhill, and the track used for this race delivered the goods. Starting on a fireroad from the top of the major hike a bike previously used for the Fontana Pro XCT Cup races, the track quickly traversed some rolling singletrack before diving down the ridge onto the pavement shuttle road and then hooked up with the lower section of the downhill track, finishing off with a healthy sprint down the Fontucky wall to the finish line. I had a solid run in the hero dirt and edged out Lawill, but E.C. put the power down and smashed the field by a hefty margin. Afterwards I went up for a few practice runs on the DH before heading home to go watch the Supercross at Anaheim. Brap!

Super D Race Results:

1. 02:20.62 Eric Carter 748ZK
2. 02:32.13 Jon Buckell 17ZK (Foes Racing)
3. 02:33.84 Joe Lawwill 22ZK
4. 02:34.11 Ryan Gardner 210ZK
5. 02:36.43 Jeremy Kneisly 16ZK
6. 02:36.49 Luke Wronski 50ZK
7. 02:53.84 Stephan Smith 6ZK
8. 03:01.50 Joe Simpson 6ZK

Sunday morning came early and we went out for a couple runs in the morning and found the track was bedding in well with the turns flowing together and my Hydro hooking up to the moist Fontana dirt like Velcro. I kept my race run smooth and focused on carrying speed throughout the track to the wall and put down all the power I had for it. Troy’s run was going similarly well, but a washout at the road crossing before the lower rock section ended up costing a bunch of time and will serve as motivation for the next race. My time was good enough for eleventh on the day and I will continue on my hunt to be on top of the box this year. See you at the Tucky!

Downhill race run photo by Jason Cleghorn.

Downhill Top 15 Results:

1. 02:03.42 Waylon Smith 8A
2. 02:05.82 John Keep 29A
3. 02:06.41 Kevin Aiello 28A
4. 02:07.28 David Klaassen Van Oorschot 3A
5. 02:08.09 Rich Houseman 5A
6. 02:09.09 Steve Wentz 800A
7. 02:09.58 Jake Payne 307A
8. 02:09.59 Preston Moore 808A
9. 02:10.57 Jeremy Kneisly 16A
10. 02:11.21 Graeme Pitts 741A
11. 02:11.32 Jon Buckell 17A (Foes Racing)
12. 02:12.07 Craig Harvey 26A
13. 02:12.52 Ryan Gardner 210A
14. 02:12.84 Adam Digby 217A
15. 02:12.95 Ryan Egusquiza 12A

Full results here on Southridge USA’s website.

Big thanks to the help of these companies!