Rowdy weekend up at Purg for the final leg of the Downhill Rockies series hosted by Trail Party.
Whether you know mountain biking or not, it is undeniable how talented this group of riders was. Ranging from ages as young as 7 to the 40+ division, this event is proof that downhill has no age requirements. Unlike previous years, every age group also had a ladies division. Even in the 10 and under category, and they all came to prove that bikes aren’t just for the boys.
We saw races on our trails Diggler, Pirate, and World Cup. The technique required to ride downhill in the San Juans cannot be understated. Roots, rocks, dust, and drops, the riders were pushed to their limits on the true home mountain of downhill. We are happy to share that despite a few close calls, there were no serious injuries this year. That should really speak to the level of skill that showed up to race.
Purg got to see many new faces on the trails, but a lot of familiar ones as well. Durango DEVO showed up ready to dominate the podium, and even some independent locals came to conquer as well. The DEVO Death Squad represented, and let the competition know that Asa Vermette won’t be the only Junior World Champion to come out of Durango. They have be watching, learning, and training hard to give him a run for his money one day.
We are still waiting for the final times and points to be updated, but they will be available on the Trail Party website for the Downhill Rockies Finals soon. They’ll be located here, and we are very excited to get to share them soon.
Overall, we were stoked to host the final leg of this race. We cannot wait for what next year holds. Greg Herbold would be proud to see his very own trail ripped by such insane racers, 34 years after his gold medal win in the first World Mountain bike Championship on the same mountain. Durango has always been the epicenter of cycling, but we’re ok with Arkansas pretending they are if that’s what they need to sleep at night.
