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Nearly 500 racers were stoked to head to the Green Mountain state this past weekend for our second Thule Showdown of the year. Killington is definitely a crowd favorite, with lightning-fast tracks and tons of party lap options, what’s not to like? Just because it’s a bike park doesn’t mean the racing will be smooth or easy, the Killington crew has laid out five of their most chunky and challenging trails for Stan’s Enduro racers. DH racers would take on the tried and true Goat Skull track, which has developed even bigger compressions as it’s been ridden in over the years. A little bit of wet weather kept things interesting, but nevertheless, an amazing time was had by all. Keep scrolling to see who took home the medals and goods from our sponsors.
Thanks for the extra bit of grip, Trail Crew. We hope you’re running Maxxis & Stan’s, it’s slick out there.
Vermont finest in the tank for David Verwys.
Similar to last weekend at Jiminy, the skies opened up early Saturday afternoon, leading to more wet and wild DH seeding runs.
Thankfully the rain had mostly cleared out by Sunday morning, but it was a windy night of camping with tents taking damage.
Stan’s Enduro
Morning Stan’s NoTubes Enduro riders meeting with nearly 200 racers stoked to hit the trails along with about 300 DH racers. Everyone was stoked the rain stopped.
Although there is some pedaling required between stages, riders would mostly rely on the lifts to power them to the top. First transfer was a spooky ride up the K1 Gondola to the first of five stages.
How do you win at Killington? Go fast and hang on for deer life!
Stan’s Enduro racers conquered some serious terrain, including this section of Low Rider we used to race DH on years ago. Who remembers gapping from beside the birch tree? Markus Dumoulin opts for the gnarly crevice line, he scored a stage win and third place in 20U, his best result to date.
Max Beaupre ditched the pedal assist this weekend and went for a ride with the Pro boys like old times. He was loving the chunky terrain, hooting and hollering the whole way down Funny Bone, ending the day in fourth place.
Speed control is everything. You don’t want to come into these sequential rock features too hot.
Mia Migliorino lets it fly into fourth place for the Pro Women, perhaps more pedal sections would have suited her better but the consistent podium results continue.
Owen Wilson twisting and turning his way through the lush Vermont forest. He was able to win the first stage of the day and go P4 in the highly competitive 20U class.
Third place for Tillie Lange as she puts the watts down to make it in time for her DH run.
First Stan’s Enduro of the year for Avery Ellis and she takes two stage wins on her way to second place.
Serefina Krajewska put together a stellar performance on these tough tracks, topping the Pro Women by over fourteen seconds to earn her first Pro win.
Stan’s Enduro Pro Women: 4th – Mia Migliorino, 2nd – Avery Ellis, 1st – Serefina Krajewska, 3rd – Tillie Lange, 5th – Kai Waldman
A consistent race day landed Adrian Hayden in third place among some fast company.
Isaac Allaire was not feeling 100% this weekend as he’s currently battling an arm infection with antibiotics. He was still able to muster up a stage win and second place on the day, about ten seconds back.
Tucker Shearer has become a regular on the Pro men’s class podium and for good reason, he racked up four stage wins this weekend to secure the fastest time of the day with 15:20 on the clock.
Stan’s Enduro Pro Men: 4th – Max Beaupre, 2nd – Isaac Allaire, 1st – Tucker Shearer, 3rd – Adrian Hayden, 5th – Alex McAndrew
Intense DH
One of the best turns on the whole circuit right out of the gate, Goat Skull is such a fun track to ride. Adara Williams was pulling double duty this weekend, finishing second in the Thule Showdown after a long day on the bike.
Tight racing in the Expert 16U class with Carson Morgan coming out on top by 1.92s despite only leading one split.
Emma Jarl is off to a great start for her first year with the Pro ladies, fifth place this and last weekend.
The 8U Brat class was back in action with Chase Ulmer taking the win and Hudson Nagy right behind him.
Matt Spain was flat out in the last woods section, catching the backside of each bump, propelling him to his first Pro top five.
First Maxxis ESC weekend of the year for many of our Canadian friends, including long-time Pro racer Maxine Bergeron. She earned third place in a stacked Pro women’s field, equaling her efforts from our last race down Goat Skull in October.
Tillie Lange is on a roll this year, racking up podium results on both the Stan’s Enduro and Intense DH side of things. She would land P2 with the fastest split time among the Pro Women, putting her on top of the Thule Showdown female results for the second weekend in a row.
It was Mazie Hayden who took top honors at her home mountain, besting the Pro Women by over four seconds with a total run time of 3:30. That’s three W’s in a row to kick off the season, let’s see if she can keep it rolling at Thunder in a few weeks.
Intense DH Pro Women: 4th – Sarah Hamlin, 2nd – Tillie Lange, 1st – Mazie Hayden, 3rd – Maxine Bergeron, 5th – Emma Jarl
Good to see Patrick Paré-Martin back in the states and going fast as usual, third place with the fastest third split among the Pro Men.
Dylan Conte put together a heater of a run but fell just 1.61s short of the top step.
Hugo Langevin is simply untouchable right now, earning his second win in a row with a 2:48. He’s got the whole Pro men’s class asking what’s in the water up there in Quebec?
Intense DH Pro Men: 4th – Nathan Sterckx, 2nd – Dylan Conte, 1st – Hugo Langevin, 3rd – Patrick Paré-Martin, 5th – Matt Spain
Thule Showdown: 3rd – Adara Williams, Jax Schmitz, 1st – Martin Kulhanek, Tillie Lange, 3rd – Michelle Guy, Nik Orlando
Signing off from Killington, have a fantastic 4th of July everyone! Stan’s Enduro racers will be shredding loamers at Arrowhead July 14th and Intense DH riders will be battling it out for another Thule Showdown at Thunder Mountain July 21st. See you there!
Words and photos: Andrew Santoro
Video: Seth Merritt