42 riders showed up for Saturday's Gravity East Dual Slalom at the newly-opened Vertical Earth Mountain Bike Park at Pennsylvania's Blue Mountain ski area. The Neko Mulally-designed course was universally praised.
"The dual slalom course is just the best I've been on this year," said women's dual slalom points leader Karen Eagan during a break following qualifying.
The section became spectator central as word spread that Neko Mulally had tripled the section in practice. Sure enough, Mulally not only tripled the combination in the second round, he pumped the back side so hard that he gained a four bike-length advantage on that one element to the collective "whoa!" of the crowd. Two heats later Alejandro Ortiz also tripled the section, essentially throwing down the gloves. Even though he didn't triple the element, Jason Beckley threw his hat in the ring with a unique line that appeared to be nearly as fast.
Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews. She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.
