Bradford and Brutsaert win the Super D

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Aaron Bradford (Onsite Ultrasound) and Elke Brutsaert (Durango Devo) won the Super D national championships in Granby, Colorado. Both adopted the winnng strategy of getting to the front before the downhill portion of the Super D, where passing was nearly impossible. The course started with a very brief run uphill, and the rest was all downhill.

"It was hectic," said Bradford of the start. "The run, which took about 15 or 20 seconds, was wild. Everyone was shoving everyone. The bikes were so clumped together, people were running all over each other."

Bradford beat Mike West (Maverick) and Ross Schnell (Trek / Oakley / Crank Bros) to the line for his first national title. His best previous result was a second to Carl Decker (Giant) at the Sea Otter Super D earlier this year. Jon Wilson (Northstar / Giant) and Eric Carter (GT Bicycles) rounded out the podium.

Defending champion Adam Craig (Giant) was 11th, ending an era of his domination of the national championship Super D. "Dudes were pushing and running and shoving. I got pushed a half dozen times while running and as I was picking up my bike, someone shoved me. I don't mind a mostly downhill Super D, but we need to tell these guys to have a start that will sort things out and make it less dangerous. There was nowhere to pass unless you took huge risks." Craig was not willing to take those risks - which kept him upright and safe so he could go on to win the short track later in the day.

Retired pro Brutsaert made an appearance after a friend asked her to come along out for the week. "The start was super unbelievably hard. I've never done a LeMans start. You're trying to catch your breath the whole way. I managed to go into the singletrack first."

"I love old school racing," she said. "It's not about the bike, but about racing smart and being kind of fit." Brutsaert retired from a pro career after the 2001 World Championships in Vail, Colorado, and was just racing for the day. When asked if she would also race the downhill in the afternoon while she was here, she said, "Did you see those jumps up there? I'm not racing that! I like to stay on the ground."

Jacqueline Harmony (Vixen Racing/Loeka/All Mountain Cyclery/Hayes) was second by just one second. Kelli Emmett (Giant Bicycles) finished third at seven seconds, and Krista Park (Incycle / Magura / NoTubes) and Kyia Anderson (Hidden Bay Sports / Cannondale) were fourth and fifth respectively.

2008 Super D women's champion Rachel Lloyd was not present to defend her title.

Race note

- Willow Koerber finished 14th officially after a shoe incident ruined her chances at the top.  Near the start, someone stepped on her shoe and it came off and went flying into the woods.  By the time she retrieved it and put it back on, her race was over.