The 2012 U.S. Gravity National Championships were held last weekend at Beech Mountain, North Carolina. The fastest racers in the country came together in the southeast for the biggest race on the U.S. mountain biking calendar. Beech Mountain Resort would be the host for a weekend of dual-slalom and downhill racing, and the event would conclude by presenting the winners with the Stars and Stripes National Championship jerseys. McKenna traveled to Beech Mountain to contest her first ever National Championship. She would be competing in both the downhill and dual-slalom race, and was very excited about going up against the country's best.
Practice got under way first thing Thursday morning, and McKenna would have a very busy four days, filled with practice and racing in two disciplines. The dual-slalom course was very well built, and flowed from top to bottom. After a short while, McKenna got comfortable on both the red and blue course, and was looking quick. Qualifying took place on Friday afternoon, and McKenna being the youngest in her category (by far), qualified in eighth position. This would mean in the final she would meet the #1 qualifier in the first round. Racing started in the early afternoon on Saturday, directly following a brief but intense downpour. McKenna got a good snap on both lanes, but was little match for the much bigger 24 year old, top qualifier, and was unable to advance.
Dowhill practice was held for several hours each day, and McKenna had ample time to figure out the extremely technical and challenging track. The course had three seperate wooded sections which were littered with slick roots and slimey rocks. The dirt in the woods stayed a squishy peanut butter the entire weekend. These sections were what McKenna found most difficult during practice, causing numerous crashes, and multiple trips to Shimano to get her brakes repaired. Once exiting the last of the woods, the course wound its way down the hillside with many great turns and super fun jumps. McKenna was loving the massive table-top jump near the finish line. She got comfortable enough with the course and was looking forward to Sunday morning's downhill race. Take a ride down the course here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIMrQxt-CcA
Sunday morning came bright and early, and the mountain was covered in a thick mist. McKenna loaded the chairlift to the top for her race run, as a light rain began to fall. She was at the start in plenty of time for her warm-up and to visualize the course, and her run, in her mind. Being one the first riders down the course, she would face the wettest and stickiest track of the day. Pedalling off the start ramp, McKenna hit the first rock roller with good speed. She entered the first wooded section, hitting all her lines, but slipped in the goopy mess and went down. She was able to stay with her bike, so quickly and easily was up and going again. She handled the next two wooded sections very well, with a foot down here, and a dab there. The steep drop of an exit on the last wooded section was handled with ease. All that was left was the fun turns at the bottom, the big table-top, and the drop to the finish line. McKenna was going noticably quicker than in practice as she rolled off the rocks and dropped to the line. On the very last grass slope, instead of rolling, McKenna jump off it for the first time, and flipped over the bars as she touched down. Her bike slid across the finish line, and McKenna immediately jumped up and ran across to stop the clock. The crowd erupted in shouts and applause, and the announcer begin calling her the hero of the weekend. A cut and bruised hip and a sore neck were the extent of her injuries.
McKenna was able to stop the clock at 05:03, good enough for the win, and now she is the 2012 U.S. National Champion in the 10 and under Girl Category. She was all smiles as she made her way to the top step of the podium to receive her gold medal and Stars and Stripes jersey. Her smile got even bigger when she got to stand on the box between the pro winners, Aaron Gwin and Jackie Harmony. McKenna had a great weekend and an awesome time, and would like to extend some thanks to everyone who helped to make it all possible. First off, thank you to her Uncle Dean and her Grandmother who came up from south Florida to watch and support her. Tyler and Jamie at Shimano for fixing her bike so many times. Her sponsors; Soul Cycles, Troy Lee Designs, X-Fusion Suspension, and Kore Components, for their ongoing support. And lastly, everyone at USA Cycling and Beech Mountain Resort for putting on such a great event. Watch this to see all that happened at Beech Mountain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zofg9WRmzAU
