Held at Snow Summit Resort in Big Bear Lake, California, for the first time, 700 athletes and 4,000 people from around the world gathered for the Fox US Open of Mountain Biking this past weekend. Spectators enjoyed a full slate of events. These included the Dual Slalom, GT Bicycles Enduro race, Red Bull Best Whip presented by SPANK bikes, Intense Cycles Downhill, Commencal Next Gen Downhill and an Adaptive Race.
The Fox US Open gives up-and-coming MTB racers a chance to step up and race against the pros in the Open class events from the Dual Slalom to Downhill. Event organizers upped the ante this past weekend with a US$10,000 first place prize for both the men’s and women’s Open Downhill.
As always, the amateur classes competed for bragging rights and prizes. A number of young racers had a shot to showcase their talents in US Open’s quickly growing Next Gen Youth Downhill event. With age categories for intermediate and expert racers under 15 years old, the organisers note that this event gives kids a real racing opportunity on a separate track.
Notable industry legends and talent in attendance included: Aaron Gwin, Loic Bruni, Neko Mulally, Luca Shaw, Greg Minnaar, Kyle Strait, Rachel Strait, Jill Kintner, Clare Hamilton, Tahnée Seagrave, Vaea Verbeeck, Camila Nogueira, Cole Picchiottino, Austin Warren, Mike Metzger, Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg, Jeff Emig, Axell Hodges, Tyler Bereman, Blake ‘Bilko’ Williams, Doug Henry and many more.
“Thank you to the entire global Mountain Biking community for backing this year’s Fox US Open of Mountain Biking here at Snow Summit,” said Clay Harper, Event Director of the US Open of Mountain Biking. “From the top pros to the next generation of riders, it was awesome to see this kind of turnout here in Southern California.”
On board as a sponsor, Fox was also joined by a roster of event partners including Vittoria Tires, GT Bicycles, Intense Cycles, Commencal Bikes, Flat Tire Defender, Five Ten, Shimano, Clif Bar and VisitBigBear.com.
