The US National Championships!

This year's US National Championships were held at a new venue: Sol Vista Bike Park in Granby, Colorado. A relatively new park for gravity racers and enthusiasts, however the terrain, atmosphere and vibe did not disappoint! Some claim this was the best US National Champs in 10 years! There was a lot of hype leading up to the event, as it would be a World's qualifier for junior mens' and womens' categories. Most racers made the trek out from California, however some as far away as Alaska and Maine also made the journey according to Matt Thompson, director of the park and former pro racer. This race was invaluable experience for junior racers who are indeed looking for that World's spot, and also for pro racers looking to get an edge in on the competition before the two Canadian world cups. This race also marked the media hype return of Shaun Palmer (although he raced the weekend before in Fontana and got 2nd), who has been out of the scene for a decade. A 2nd place at the World Championship at Cairns, Australia in 1996 marked the blast-off of what soon would be an impressive, but short-lived career in world cup racing. Even though his focus is snowboarding for the 2010 Olympics, it is still good to see "Napalm" back racing bicycles.

Point One Racing had some of their fastest men and women at the event, seeing how they would stack up against the best of the US.

Katie Holden was on fire all weekend. Most of the Women's Pro field was not hitting the massive 50+ foot jumps on the course in the beginning, but progression led some to hit two of the jumps and even a few ladies hit all three, very impressive! All the women there deserved to be there. Katie pulled a podium spot, just a few seconds off of 4th place, awesome job!


Alex Amaral has been lightning quick this whole season and has gained a lot of experience racing outside of California. He described the amateur course as really fun to ride, but hard to race fast. He still did not disappoint, the Junior X class is a stacked field of the nation's best. Alex managed an impressive 18th place, just a mere five seconds out of the top 10.


Keith Morelan, although his last year in the Junior X class, put up an amazing time showing everyone that he is ready to turn pro. With a 5th place finish, it is time to go big time.


Graeme Pitts is sky king when it came to the pro jumps. After hurting his shoulder shortly before the US Open, you can tell by the photo they he is back on form! Racing against the best in the US for the newly turned pro is not easy, and although a 55th place might seem off the back, he is still right there!


Forest Belluzzi and Alex grew up racing together and it goes to show that they are on the same page! Forest also had an impressive time and finish, just two spots ahead of Alex.


Evan Turpen had a top 10 qualifying spot, however a mechanical during his race run unfortunately kept him out of competition, there will always be next race!

Congratulations to our team and all those who raced!

For full results, please click here.
Photos by: Nathan Podshadley
Katie Holden photo by: Long Nguyen