Feb 19, 2011

Even with the threat of a huge winter storm coming our way we still went about our business laying out another Super D course in Fontana, California for round 4 of the Southridge USA Winter Series presented by Shimano. Last year Eric Carter stepped up to design the Super D courses, which were a huge improvement over previous years. I knew we could do even more with the Super D so I have stepped in and have been designing the last 3 events. Judging by the over whelming response we have been getting it looks like the new Super D courses are a huge hit. Each race we have tweaked and adjusted the course to try and find a good balance of all the ingredients that make up a good Super D. See my website for a full story on what I think makes a good Super D https://www.joelawwill.com/superd.php For this weekends course we extended the climb just a little bit so that we could access a whole other section of the mountain that had a bunch sweet rollers, some railing turns and couple rock drop off launches. Nothing over the top, but enough to keep everyone on their toes. We actually made a few alternative lines in case some riders didn't feel comfortable riding the drops, but it turned out everyone racing took all the main lines.



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On race day to my surprise we wake up to patchy blue skies! We got heavy rain through the night, but because of all the decomposed granite out in the Fontana hills I knew were going to have great conditions. Once out on the course my thoughts were confirmed…the dirt was perfect! While doing final set up my crew and I just couldn't resist carving in new berms and adding in a few new jumps. We actually got so carried away that a few us ended up pretty late for practice. I was really looking forward to getting in a few runs, but at least I got a chance to session some of the new sections that were insanely fun to ride. My Santa Cruz Blur LTC was right at home on the terrain and my WTB Bronsons were hooking up like eagle claws in the dirt. My tires even felt good crossing over some of the solid sheets of granite we have in the course. Although I was hoping to get the course more dialed I at least knew very well where it went. I put in what I felt to be a very good run, but the Veteran Eric Carter took it to me and the rest of the pack. The Foes rider Jon Buckell nipped me by less than a second with a 5:54.80 to take 2nd while I was 3rd with KHS ripper Logan Binggeli taking 4th and Stephen Smith 5th.

Because this course was such a hit with the riders, race promoter Donny Jackson decided it would be a good idea to run this course for the finals in two weeks. It looks like for the most part, we will run the same course but with a couple minor tweaks, so if you are in the Southern California area and have the first weekend in March available I highly recommend you come on out and check out the Winter Series Super D final March 5th, 2011. Check out www.southridgeusa.com for more info.

I would like to give special thanks to the guys that have stepped up to help make these Super D courses so great. There is no way I could have pulled off these courses without your help!

Winning Pro Time: 5:46.08
Total Descent: Approx: 900 feet
Total Ascent: Approx: 150 feet
Total Length: 1.5 miles

(Photos by Stephanie Wolf & Mike Lord - more photos at: https://photos.six3events.com/Mountain-Bike/SRCWS4-2011-Super-D/)

source: Joe Lawwill
"Bikeskills Instructor"
www.bikeskills.com

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