The Nevada State Downhill Championships took place at Bootleg Canyon in Boulder City, NV just outside of Las Vegas. Bootleg Canyon has plenty of rough technical terrain that makes for a good early season race to test out new equipment and brush the dirt off from the long winter. There was a large contingent of over 200 racers at the event.

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[Full Event Results]

The event went very smoothly with plenty of shuttle trucks to get riders to the top for practice runs and quick results at the end of each race.

shuttle truck to the top

One of the only setbacks about Bootleg is the short push to the top of the mountain from the shuttle drop point. Thankfully the hike a bike trail is broken in from the traffic at Bootleg.

rides push up the last section of the mountain to the top

Once riders to get to the top they can see the epic terrain and beautiful scenery into and out of Las Vegas. The trails have a bit of everything including steep chutes, exposed off camber sections, and lots of rocks that give surprisingly good grip.

a rider crests the last steep roller of the

The weather during the event was great for riding. It was sunny every day and the course was treated to some heavy rain each night, prepping the course for the following morning’s riding. The rain gave the dirt a lot more traction than usual. There was little to no dust to deal with at all for the race.

riders were treated some uncharacteristic dirt conditions for the race

Bootleg has a few tricky sections in each of their courses. The race course has an infamous rock in the middle of an off camber section that always takes some concentration to navigate with speed.

Bootleg has some interesting obstacles to keep riders on their toes throughout the course

Those aforementioned tricky sections took their toll on riders often ending in a gasp inducing crash.

the epic and often tricky terrain of Bootleg did cause its fair share of crashes

Mitch Ropelato was the big winner of the event. He took the win in the Pro Men DH and the Chainless DH.

Mitch Ropelato took 1st in the Pro Men DH and Chainless DH

Mikey braved the Bootleg terrain aboard his Specialized Enduro.  He took second in both the Pro DH and Chainless DH race.

Michael Sylvestri took 2nd in the Pro Men DH

Bryson Martin got plenty of runs in and was rewarded with a third place at the end of the day.

Bryson Martin took 3rd in the Pro Men DH

Jacquelyn Harmony is no stranger to bootleg and she took the win for the Pro Women.

Jacqueline Harmony placed 1st in the Pro Women DH

Gabirella took second in Pro Women after a strong seeding run.

Gabriela Williams placed 2nd in the Pro Women DH

Tyler Immer, a new Yeti Factory Team rider, was looking strong during practice but couldn’t put it all together come race time.

Tyler Immer placed 6th in the Pro Men DH

Cam Zink took a chance to race some DH.  Usually he’s seen on the slopestyle course, but he can ride a DH bike as well.

Cameron Zink came in 8th place in the Pro Men DH

Ethan Quehl’s first outing to Las Vegas as well as his first race aboard his new Specialized Demo.

Ethan Quehl placed 20th in the Pro Men DH

Graeme Pitts take a leap of faith down the “poop chute”.

Graeme Pitts placed 25th in the Pro Men DH

Bootleg has some very unique terrain. You won’t see terrain like this in many places.

Cody Kelley placed 1st in Cat 1 Junior 17-18 DH

Navigating down the rocks has a certain risk factor that claimed some riders throughout the weekend.  It was feast or famine in some tech sections for most riders.

Douglas French placed 1st in Cat 1 Senior 19-29

Canfield Brothers sponsored a Single Speed DH event at the race. Jeff Frampton took the win on a 29’er of all things. Maybe wagon wheels do work well for DH? 29er DH class at Bootleg next year?

Jeff Frampton placed 1st in the Single Speed DH on a 29'er

Downhill Mike put on a great event. He really stepped up his game this year and had the event well organized. Racers had full results within about an hour of the end of the last race and awards were done quickly as a result. Everyone was able to leave well before the sun went down.  Awards were given to the top racers with prizes for top 3 in each category and the top three Pro men and women got paid.  It’s clear Mike has ran a race or two before given the smooth weekend and he’s always looking to improve where he can.

Downhill Mike announcing awards