The Thrill of the Hill

By Gary Hyndman

One enthusiast compares it to the thrill of auto racing. Critics deride its participants as "shuttle monkeys."

Regardless of perspective, the long-neglected sport of downhill mountain bike racing is making a comeback. And a couple of local sportsmen are aiming, quite literally, for big air.

The second annual Paris Mountain Downhill was held in October, with Geritt Beytagh, the 2008 U.S. National Champion, winning the men’s pro/elite division in a time of 1 minute and 57 seconds. It marks the return of the sport to this area after an absence of years.

“It’s just fun,” says Brad Allen, a twenty-year veteran of mountain biking. “Downhill is the best part of mountain biking.”

“Downhill racing is the Formula I (auto racing) of cycling,”adds Cecil Linder, a former pro downhiller who partnered with Allen to organize and promote the Paris Mountain event.

In reality, it may actually be more akin to downhill skiing. In fact, ski slopes often double as downhill mountain bike courses in the off-season. The sport is enjoyed around the world and is especially popular in Europe.

Like its cold weather counterpart, downhill mountain biking is a gravity-induced, time trial race that rewards speed, strength, daring and skill. Cyclists must avoid obstacles, land jumps and negotiate tight turns on their adrenaline-filled, high-speed descent down a mountain.

Downhill racing can be hazardous, of course. Linder, a Greenville native, hasn’t competed since last year’s national championship when a plunge off a 25-foot rock face left him with three broken ribs and a punctured lung.

Yet the accident failed to muzzle his enthusiasm. “I want togive back to the sport now,” he explains. It’s not about taking. . .It’s about helping the sport grow for me now.”

Linder grew up as a “BMX junkie,” racing in its junior division. He took up cross-country mountain biking in the 90s and – at the encouragement of some fellow cyclists – eventually gravitated to downhill racing. By 2002, he was traveling the country competing at the professional level.

As such, he experienced the sport in transition as its once major corporate sponsorships, cable television coverage and lucrative purses dried up. There are numerous theories about why, everything from the ascendance of road cycling to the bad economy.

Beytagh, who lives in the Asheville area, blames USA Cycling, its national sanctioning body that he contends has failed to adequately promote the sport or raise prize money. A medal and a title were his only reward for winning the prestigious national championship.

“(Prize money is) what attracts the top guys,” he says.

Jeremy Raney, a Campobello downhiller, notes that the sport was eclipsed by the prominence of road cycling—particularly after American Lance Armstrong began winning his seven consecutive Tour de France championships.

Raney says downhill has also suffered across the topographically challenged Southeast from a lack of training venues and races.But Paris Mountain State Park and the commitment its staff has made to development of mountain bike trails is a regional exception.

When Allen, a Boston native who now lives in the Upstate,approached Linder about organizing an event, Paris Mountain, the peak visible from virtually anywhere in greater Greenville, was the logical location.

Together, they partnered with the local chapter of the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association, St. Francis Sports Medicine, Greenville County Recreation District and park officials to sponsor last fall’s inaugural event that featured races in various divisions for men, women and youth.

This year they raised about $4,400 in donations to cover expenses while attracting 84 riders and a couple of hundred spectators.

Beytagh says the race was well organized. And he acknowledges the $600 first prize money he won makes his return next year likely.

Raney, who finished sixth in the men’s pro/elite division,helped improve the Paris Mountain course this year, and he’s come to appreciate the grassroots approach now that downhill is deprived of funding via large sponsors. “If we want a better course, we build it ourselves,” he says. “No excuses.”

Linder’s vision is to grow the Paris Mountain race into an annual cycling festival that includes cross country and road racing events,while helping bridge division among the various cycling disciplines. He appearsto have support with big-name firepower.

Steve Baker, who works with George Hincapie, says the Tourde France veteran and current U.S Pro Road Cycling Champion is an avid mountain biker who regularly rides Paris Mountain’s trails during his off-season.According to Baker, Hincapie has expressed interest in lending his name to promote the sport at Paris Mountain.

Baker says he and Hincapie plan to meet soon with Linder and Paris Mountain officials. “I would love to see a festival like that, a celebration of all things cycling,” he says.

Visit parismountaindownhill.com for more information about downhill racing.