Team Rider Amias Gomez took a new bike that he had only ridden once before, straight to the Sunrise Ski Resort Downhill MTB race series last weekend. He might be good but still, how well can you expect to place on a brand new bike? Keep reading to find out!
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The Sunrise downhill race series is new, and it's an official USA Cycling (USAC) race series, which is a big win for Arizona. It gives up-and-coming riders a local opportunity to earn USAC points and move into the Expert and Pro ranks. Previously, the closest qualifying races were in Nevada.
Amias was the only rider racing in the Pro category this round despite large amounts of local talent, but hopefully in upcoming years we will see more riders moving up the USAC ranks.
Sunrise is Arizona's only lift-served downhill mountain biking destination, with high-elevation trails taking you down long mountain descents across rocky natural terrain. The race is held on pro-level trails that start around 10,700 feet and deliver ~1,500 feet of vertical drop. We asked Amias a few questions about the race:
Q&A with Amias!
What makes the Sunrise course challenging?
The course started out on the ski hill with a full-on sprint where we reached around 45–50 mph before dropping into Yard Sale, a proper double-black downhill trail. We also raced part of the jump line, which challenged jumping skills and timing. Between the high-speed sprint, rough technical DH terrain, and the jump line, the course tested riders in a bunch of different ways and required a pretty complete skill set.
Amias was riding a new Orbea Rallon from Airpark Bike Co. He's only had the bike for a few weeks, making Sunrise one of his first opportunities to put it through a full race weekend. So of course we had to ask about the bike.
How did you like the Orbea Rallon?
The Rallon has been a game changer for me. This is my first dual-crown DH bike, and leading into the race weekend I had really only ridden it once. Most of Saturday’s practice was spent dialing in the bike, but after about 4–5 runs I started feeling really comfortable and getting up to speed. I’ve raced plenty of downhill on enduro bikes, but the extra travel and capability of a full DH bike really handled the rough Sunrise terrain.
I’m excited to get back on the Rallon for the next race and hopefully spend a little more time figuring out the setup and getting even more comfortable on it.
How did the race go for you?
I did have a slide-out/crash during my race run, which can happen when you’re pushing the pace on a bike you’re still learning. Even with that, I finished only 23 seconds off the fastest overall time of the day. To me, that shows the speed is there to fight for the overall win as I get more time on the bike, which is something I struggled to find before getting the Rallon.
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So how well can you place on a brand new bike? The answer is, pretty well: Amias snagged the 5th fastest time across all rider categories including youth categories, Open, Novice, Sport, Pro, Expert and even e-bike categories. Congratulations Amias!
We're looking forward to Round 4 on September 5-6!
