THE DOWNIEVILLE CLASSIC TURNS 25

Celebrating a quarter century of good times with good people

By Kurt Gensheimer

How do you summarize the impact the Downieville Classic has had on the sport of mountain biking since its first running in 1995? The hardest part about writing an article celebrating 25 years of the Downieville Classic is figuring out where to begin, as the stories from this legendary mountain bike event tower as high as the Sierra Buttes themselves, and the line between myth and reality as intertwined as gold in quartz.

In the history of mountain biking, no other event has captured the essence of pleasure and pain on two wheels better than the Downieville Classic; it is the granddaddy of all mountain bike events for good reason. As one of the only pointto-point mountain bike races left in existence, the Downieville Classic features a 27-mile crosscountry event starting in Sierra City and finishing in Downieville, opening with a grueling 3,000 vertical foot climb to Packer Saddle before plunging 5,500 vertical feet on trails originally cut during the Gold Rush, laden with every kind of rock imaginable.

But what’s made the Downieville Classic most legendary is the All-Mountain category, combining the cross-country event on Saturday with a 17-mile downhill race on Sunday, starting at 7,000 feet elevation at Packer Saddle and careening 5,000 vertical feet down Butcher Ranch trail to Third and

First Divide trails before finishing in the heart of town. Downieville is the origin of the All-Mountain World Championships, an event testing the true mettle of every participant. To win the All-Mountain requires the ultimate balance of fitness and skill with a little bit of luck peppered in.

For most mortals, finishing the downhill in under an hour is something to be proud of. That’s right, an hour-long descent at full speed. And for good measure, there’s 500 feet of climbing to really burn the memory into the lungs and legs as much as the brain. On the bucket list of mountain bike events, the Downieville Classic ranks at the top, as no other event tests the mental and physical fortitude of its participants more thoroughly. Seven-time winner Mark Weir summed it up in Dirt Magic, a Patagoniafunded documentary about the history of the Downieville Classic.

“If someone underestimates it, they better be really fit, or serves them right,” said Weir. “Freaking hardest race I’ve ever done.”

In addition to pushing the limits of participants, the Classic has also pushed the sport of mountain biking itself. Due to the unique combination of warp speed and abundant rocks, Downieville’s trails have claimed countless broken wheels, frames and handlebars over the years, and shred unworthy tires with delight. The term “Downieville Tough” is a thing, as it’s been the ultimate proving ground for Downieville Classic title sponsor Santa Cruz Bicycles, testing product durability and advancing suspension design since the early 1990s.

The magic carpet-like suspension we enjoy on modern trail bikes can be credited in part to the trails of Downieville, as the riding experience today is worlds different than when the event started in

Opposite page: Pro riders prepare for a 3,000 vertical foot climb from the start line of the Downieville Classic in Sierra City (SBTS). This page, clockwise from top: Riverfront spectating at Ron’s House of Big Air River Jump at the confluence of the Downie and North Yuba River (Ken Etzel); Handups at Packer Saddle before the big descent (SBTS); Nevada City artist Bob Crabb has illustrated for the Downieville Classic since its first running in 1995 as the Coyote Classic (SBTS); Smiling through the pain with the Sierra Buttes towering high above (SBTS).

1995 as the Coyote Classic. Back then, on steel hardtails with cantilever brakes and 80 millimeters of elastomer suspension, racing the Downieville Classic was more about white-knuckle survival and not rattling teeth from your skull than anything else. Today the Classic is more about fun and pushing personal goals instead of pushing the bike to its functional limits.

Beyond the rugged, raw and historic trails, what makes the Downieville Classic so special is the environment of the Gold Rush-era town, little changed from its founding in the early 1850s. Today, throngs of spectators sit along the North Yuba River watching the Ron’s House of Big Air River Jump contest, just like in the early days of the Gold Rush when throngs of prospectors sat along those same river banks panning for gold.

Today’s population of Downieville is barely 200 year-round residents, when in the 1850s it ranked in the thousands. Considering the Downieville Classic