One of the few locales in Colorado spared by the raging fires this past weekend was Crested Butte which played host to the Mountain States Cup annual race. Conditions were dusty, dry and super windy in the afternoons, but the course was excellent, as usual.





Last year, a pre-surgery torn ACL forced Graeme Pitts (X-Fusion, WTB, Gamut, Smith Optics, Jagwire, Cowboy’s Fuzzy Duds and LifeBlasters) into the role of spectator at this venue, which is one of his favorites, so he came prepared this year to make up for it. Pitts describes the course: “It had a great rhythm, everyone always seemed to be grinning ear to ear at the bottom of their runs. There is a good variety of terrain – berms, flat corners, off cambers, rocks, roots, ladder bridges and jumps, some high speed sections, some low speed sections and a quick speed trap close to the finish line where the spectators could be amazed by the speed and intensity of the racers.”

When the dust had settled after qualifying, he learned that he would be last out of the gate for the race. Keeping consistent for the weekend, he crossed the finish line in first as well with a time of 3:37.29, with Yeti National rider Joey Schusler coming in almost a second behind him, Austin Hackett-Klaube in 3rd, and local shredders Kain Leonard and Chris Boice following in the 5 and 6 slots.




Wendy Palmer stood in first place on the Women’s Pro podium with Becky Gardiner and Katy Hanlon in 2nd and 3rd places.


Wendy Palmer off the rock drop
Photo by Alex Fenlon/FenlonPhoto.com

This Mountain States Cup race also included an XC event and two Super D races – great fun for everyone! For complete results, go to http://www.racemsc.com