2007 Downieville Classic Primer

So you've decided to head up to Downieville this weekend for the annual Downieville Classic. As this is the largest races here in the foothills, we here at NorCal MTB Racing have again rounded up some resources to get you prepared:

Registration: If you haven't already registered for the downhill, you are out of luck. DH registration filled up in two hours. However, it looks like you can still register for the Downieville cross country point to point race.

Schedule: Downieville runs over four days, but all the racing is Saturday and Sunday. Here's the abbreviated agenda:

Thursday

• Trail Pre-ride Shuttles (9 AM, 12 noon, 3 PM): Shuttle service to Packer Saddle for those riders wanting a sample of Downieville’s finest singletrack descents. Both the cross country and downhill race courses will be flagged for pre-rides. Cost is $15.00 per shuttle.

Friday

• Trail Pre-ride Shuttle (9 AM, 12 noon, 3 PM)

Saturday

• Point to Point Race - Sierra City at 9:30am
• Trail Shuttle (after XC: 1 PM, 3 PM)
• Bicycle Expo / Street Fair
• Ron's House O' Big Air River Jump
• Live Music and Street Dance (Downieville Fire House at 8:00pm)

Sunday

• Downieville Downhill Race (Packer Saddle at 9:30am)
• Bicycle Expo / Street Fair

More information is available here.

Courses:

• Downhill: Dropping 5,000 vertical feet in 17 miles from Packer Saddle to Downieville, the Downieville Downhill is the longest and most demanding downhill mountain bike race in the nation. For 2007, they've made the downhill course longer, with the addition of Sunrise trail. Sunrise takes racers from Packer Saddle (elev. 7100') to the Butcher Ranch trailhead, and the site of the original starting line (elev. 6,834'). Sunrise was built by Yuba and the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship, and will add 2 miles of flowing singletrack to the course. Winning Pro times are estimated to be in the 50 minute range with this trail addition. Here is the course description and a map. You can also measure yourself up against last years' winner (and current record holder) Mark Weir over at Motionbased. Oliver Bock also posted his Downieville GPS and report.
  
  
• Cross country (XC) point to point: Starting from Sierra City, you will have a massive climb then descend for miles back into Downieville. Here is the course description and a map. You can also check out Mark Weir's 2005 XC ride over at Motionbased.

Times: If you are contesting this year's race, you check out last year's results: XC, DH and All Mountain Pro.

More information:

• Check out dhRENO for wise tips for first time downieville riders.
• Coverage of last year's race

I am hoping that I will get a chance to pre-ride the race this week.