2012 Clemson Freeride Downhill Race

The first race of the 2012 season for the GROMs is in the books. What a great day of racing and catching up with friends that haven't been seen during the off-season. The guys at Clemson put together a well organized race with few if any glitches. 

GROMs traveled down on Friday night to Anderson and stayed at the Fairfield Inn & Suites (just like last year). The staff at the hotel was so helpful. As a courtesy, they provided storage for our bikes to protect them from the bad weather that was expected. This was much appreciated as we had a huge thunder storm on Friday night. After a big order of wings from Wild Wing Cafe, the GROMs crashed for the night. 

Saturday AM brought overcast skies and lots of water standing around the hotel. After breakfast at the hotel, we headed out for the Clemson Freeride course. Registration was easy and fast with lots of familiar faces excited about a day of riding and racing. By 10:00 Ben, Eric and Jay had a run in and were comparing info on the course. A new structure at the top of the course (whale tail) and a new starting gate were nice enhancements over last year. All the structures were in great shape. Thanks to a steady breeze, the structures were drying quickly. 

A good number of runs were completed and then some lunch. The sun was out and the day was warming up nicely. Race pants were traded for shorts and lost of water consumed to prepare for the warmer than usual afternoon. A race meeting at 12:30 gave all the details: best of two runs, in addition to the overall winner, the fastest hardtail time would be recognized as well. 

After the first run, Ben was 3rd and Jay was forth. With both riding hardtails, they were in the running for that prize as well. Both had good first runs but Eric had dropped a chain on his run; no injury to bike or Eric but it prevented him from some pedal strokes on the flat sections. Course strategy was discussed and all looked for areas to pick up some speed and cut their times. 

GROMs had better second runs and were anxious for the times. While times were being finalized, GROMs had a few minutes to visit with some younger riders in attendance. It was good to see several riders new to the sport with the youngest out with his dad at only 8 years old. 

Times were posted quickly and it was up to the shelter for awards. Ben, Eric and Jay all rode in the elite class which put them competing with some strong competition and older racers. Ben was called as the 3rd place finisher, Cecil Linder in second, and Jay finished first. Next the hardtail finishing: Jay first, Ben second.

Within just a few minutes, Ben Eric and Jay were back on the mountain sessioning the tabletop and wallride. Check out the video here on www.gromracing.com.

Many thanks to the Clemson team for putting on a good race. The weather turned out to be near perfect and the course safe and dry by race time. It was a great way to start the 2012 GROM season.

See you at Beech Mountain on Saturday, March 10 for some Dual Slalom followed by skiing.  

Clemson Freeride's Downhill Race

by GROM Racer Will O'Brien

I had the opportunity to attend the Clemson Downhill race held in South Carolina and really enjoyed it. The fun track and good atmosphere made for a great warm-up race for the upcoming season. We arrived at the race with lots of our new gear: Specialized jerseys and gloves, Troy Lee Design pants and helmets, and Smith goggles- so we definitely stood out on the track. I had never ridden the course before, which was full of high-speed berms and 25 foot tables to keep things interesting. It was a one day event, so we got just a few hours of practice before racing with the two run format. My first run was fairly fast, but I ended up stuck in the tape after clipping a tree. However, I was able to redeem myself during the second run, taking 3rd place behind teammate Luca Shaw. All-in-all, the race was a fun introduction into the new season, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season!

GROM Racers Podium at Clemson

Where: Clemson Freeride's Downhill Race

When: Saturday, February 27, 2010

What Happened: GROM Racers Luca Shaw, Will O'Brien, and Lauren Daney were all seen on the podium. Luca and Will took second and third places, respectively and Lauren finished second in the Women's class.

What Else: (from Coach Joh)

GROM Racing team had their first race of the season this past weekend Saturday February 27^th at the Clemson free ride course in the University’s experimental Forest.

The team has a lot to be proud of with several podiums and team spirit out on the course. Most everyone on the team made it down to this race, except for Sam Pensler who was preparing for the SATS, which is a good reason to be excused.

It was a great start to the season with a team gathering at Chris and Joh’s house to distribute gear. Also allowing the team members and coaches to get to know everyone a little better, and enjoy Belgian waffles before the race!

We started the day off early on Saturday allowing ourselves to get the pit area set up. Thanks to Specialized, Industry Nine, and Cane Creek we had many tents to have a large pit area. This also gave us enough time everyone to get enough practice runs before the race. Everyone did a good job of helping set up and before we knew it the team was riding together sharing knowledge of the track! Tim Price, one of the coaches, was helping the kids out with line selection and riding techniques. And all of the racers looked great with their matching Specialized jerseys, Smith goggles, and Troy Lee Designs pants and helmets. It had many people talking as the kids were whizzing by. We were also able to share an area with Sycamore Cycles another one of our special sponsors.

But more than everyone looking very professional, the GROMs had positive attitudes about racing and most importantly they were all smiling! The team made a huge impression on fellow racers and race promoter for their first race and will continue to do so as the season progresses.

Click Here to view GROM Racers taking on the Clemson course.

Click Here to check out photos of the event posted by Brandon Barber (thanks Tubby for collecting the evidence).