2023 ·
Aaron Gwin ·
Dakotah Norton ·
Downhill ·
IFR ·
Joe Breeden ·
M1 ·
Racing ·
Seth Sherlock ·
US Open ·
KILLING IT IN KILLINGTON: US OPEN
Photos: Ben Wilson
It was a great weekend for INTENSE at the Fox US Open in Killington, (Vermont, USA). First we showed the world our new M1 downhill bike, then Joe Breeden won the Dual Slalom, the following day INTENSE rider Nick Frazier won the Best Whip comp, and then to top it all off Dak Norton won the downhill with Joe in fourth. It couldn’t have gone much better.
It’s fair to say that Joe is not a dual slalom specialist, but on one of Shaun Palmer's old bikes, he got up on the gate and just basically went for it. There was a bit of confusion in the final about who had won (and a ‘missed gate’), but in the spirit of the event both Joe and his opponent, Luke Mallen, shared the win.
And what about Nick Frazier and his Best Whip win? As he put it, “it still doesn’t feel real!”. And don’t forget that he was up against some big hitters, including the super stylish Jackson Goldstone. Another great result for INTENSE.
In the downhill it was all looking good for Dak, but as we know, when it comes to DH racing anything can happen. Having won this race last year the pressure was on. After a good qualifying run he finsihed fastest almost 3.5 sec ahead of the rest of the field, which of course meant that he would be the last man down the hill come race day.
Going up against the likes of Greg Minnaar, Jackson Goldstone, Neko Mulally, young phenom Asa Vermette and his own team mate Joe Breeden, this race was definitely not a forgone conclusion. When Dak came down in his final run it couldn’t have been closer. Fractionally down on the first four splits he somehow managed to pull back over 1.5 seconds in the last 30 seconds of the track. Sprint to the finish for sure. Joe also put in a great run resulting in fourth place, just over 1.5 seconds back from the win, and less than half a second off second place.
It was a great weekend for INTENSE and the perfect preparation for the last two World Cup downhill races of the season. The first one takes place this Saturday (Sept 30th) in Snowshoe, with the final one week later in Mont-Sainte-Anne.
If you are a race fan you will already know all about Wyn TV. Check out the vid as Wyn catches up with riders after the event. If you just want the INTENSE content, Dak is at 27sec, Joe at 23min 15sec, Ryder Lawrence at 24min 53sec and at 26min 11sec Wyn talks to Nick ‘the whip’ Frazier.
