Team MotionBased

"It's the ultimate form of mountain bike racing," said Paula after winning the Expert Women's group in the Super D. "It's like you take all of your buddies, stand them on the line, and say 'first to the bottom wins': there is nothing more pure than that." True, Super-D will extract some primal instincts and make you feel like a kid again, but let's not forget: this is racing. For around 15 minutes you are going as hard as you can possibly go, navigating obstacles and digging deep to get over small rises and flat sections. Mass starts are really where it's at: right away the racing is fun and fierce, with elbows banging in the jockeying for position. Before too long the race begins to sort itself out, but it is even more interesting when you are locked in battle with one or two other racers. The Super D at Brianhead was ideal for the XC guys. Not nearly as challenging as some sections on the XC course, it was still very fun and good handling skills were necessary. However, it still came down to fitness and the strongest riders won. In the Pro Men's race, Brent Winebarger took the early lead until a group containing 4 other favorites used a more direct line they had scouted in their pre-ride to gain an advantage. Brent later flatted but held on for 5th. Up front, Ross Schnell took over and won easily on his hardtail (correction: Fuel EX) (12:05), followed by Adam Craig (6" Reign), Mike and Ariel (Maverick). Motionbased's Olivier Bock finished 6th, narrowly missing a pre-season goal of Top 5. In the Women's race, Marla Streb took the lead early but crashed heavily near the bottom of the course, leaving the course clear for a sprint finish between Sara Bresnick and Sue Haywood: Haywood took the honors in 14:15. In the Women's Expert race, "Alex" Fabbro blew a corner early on, while Paula picked her way through traffic to take the lead on the fireroad around the lake. From there, Paula used fitness to her advantage as the riders were evenly matched on the technical sections. With a loud hoot, and her arm punching the air, Paula made a splash at the finish, capping an exciting day of racing. See Paula vs. Olivier in the Super D (use Internet Explorer).