Race Report: Fontana City National, Fontana CA March 25, 2012
The Fontana City National was held the weekend of March 24th and 25th in Fontana, California. The weekend's schedule consisted of cross-country, four-cross, super-D, and downhill races, bringing hundreds of racers from all across the country to the quiet Fontana suburbs. The events downhill race was held on Sunday and the days forecast was a 100% chance of rain. The only question was when would the rain come? McKenna's practice began at 10:00 and she was in the first shuttle to get to the top of the hill. Her first practice run was a difficult and slow one, as there were many sections which were very challenging for her. Her confidence took a blow, as she thought many of the rock drops were too difficult for her to ride. After hiking up the hill several times, and working on sections over and over again, practice ended with McKenna knowing all her lines, and gaining a certain amount of confidence in her ability to ride everything.
Racing got underway at 12:30 and this race the Sport and Beginners would go before the Experts and Pros. Mac caught the shuttle to the top and was visibly nervous because the course was so technical and the rain was on its way. As one of the last Beginner riders to start, McKenna had plenty of time to watch the skies darken and the wind increase. Finally it was her turn, and still no drops falling yet. The starter said "Go" and McKenna rolled off the start box and into the first turn. She pedaled when she could, tried to keep her fingers off the brakes, and kept her feet on the pedals the entire run. Take a ride down the course here:
McKenna crossed the finish line with a time of 4:01, good enough for second place. She was extremely happy with her race run and felt she couldn't have ridden the technical sections any better. McKenna wants to give a big thanks to everyone along the course who screamed for her and shouted "Go Mac!", it help her tackle the steep and tricky parts. Also thanks to Don Jackson and the whole Southridge crew for such a great event. Next up for McKenna is the So Cal BMX Nationals and the US BMX National Championships, in Chula Vista, CA. Keep it tuned here for complete coverage.
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