Beytagh proves himself the man to beat in the East

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A record field of entries came to Champion Pennsylvania this weekend for the Seven Springs Downhill, round two of the 2010 Gravity East Series. The fast, flowing course at Seven Springs Resort is characterized by a series of berms and banked corner, putting a premium on cornering ability. The course was in mint condition throughout Saturday practice, and a light rain overnight only added to the tackiness of the surface for Sunday's race.

But while the rain improved traction on most of the track, conditions in the infamous rock garden went the other way as slick rocks caused multiple falls. As last year, you could hear the spectators in the rock garden cheering and ringing cowbells.

Pro stalwart Alejandro Ortiz (Morpheus/ Vertical Earth) didn't enjoy the atmosphere quite as much as the spectators, though. Ortiz took a nasty crash in the rock garden, resulting in a DNF and a trip to the hospital. Ortiz was released later in the evening; but as of Monday morning, the extent of his, if any, was unknown.

While Ortiz was dealing with the agony of defeat, Gerrit Beytagh (Morewood bikes USA) was experiencing the thrill of victory, with a very large exclamation point. Beytagh firmly established himself as the rider to beat on this year's Gravity East tour, taking his second win and remaining undefeated. The experienced Beytagh won by 1.3 seconds over Ethan Quehl (East Coast Gravity Pros) and another second in front of third place Gavin Vaughan (Giant/ HBG/ Troy Lee Designs/ Smith / Five Ten).

2009 Champion Dawn Bourque (Rocky Mountain/Chainline) returned to the Gravity East and showed that she hasn't lost any of her winning form from last year as she claimed her second win of the 2010 series. Bourque took the win in the elite women's class by over four seconds, followed by Rae Gandolf (Sierra Nevada Brewing) with Karen Eagan (Highland Mountain Bike Park) in third.

Gravity East continues to be the incubator of talent, as teenager Ritchie Rude Jr. (Specialized Allride Academy) finished fourth in the Pro Men’s class. But this year's teenaged "next big thing" appears to be 15-year-old phenom Lauren Daney (Grom Racing).

Daney won the women's category 1, the highest-ranked amateur class for women, by an astounding 25 seconds. Her time would have been quick enough for a solid second place finish in the elite women's class, a more relevant statistic at Seven Springs this year as all categories of riders competed on the same track. Daney not only rode faster than all but one other female competitor, her time put her well within the top half of all times recorded for the day and was faster than quite a few of the category 1 men.

It was yet another performance reminiscent of last year's "next big thing" and 2009 Gravity East Pro Champion Neko Mulally, who despite having not yet graduated from High School, heads back to the World Cup circuit this week after breaking his arm the 2010 Gravity East Season Opener in Massanutten.

Speed must run in the Mulally genes as Neko's younger brother Logan continued to show that he's an outstanding racer in his own right by winning the highly competitive junior men's category 1 class, followed by New Hampshire rider Alex Couture (Giant Bikes). Finishing in third was a new rider to the category 1 junior class, Damon Morin (Highland Mountain Bike Park), who showed that he, too, is a true contender for the Gravity East season championship.

The fans, riders and staff all enjoyed Seven Springs, and many commented that it is one of their favorite Gravity East venues. Series Director Dan McDonald confirmed that a return to Seven Springs in 2011 is already in the planning stages.

Following break of a few weeks, the Gravity East Series next heads into the wild red, white and blue yonder for the July 4th Independence Day races at Roxbury New York's famous Plattekill Bike Park.

The video below is provided by Von Cooper Productions.

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