Finals Photo Epic: Slick Rock - Windrock Tennessee National 2021

Mar 14, 2021
by Dave Trumpore  


photo
Photo Epic
SLICK ROCK
2021 USA Downhill National Round #1
Windrock Bike Park
Words & Photography by Dave Trumpore

It wouldn't be a bike race without a little rain, and it definitely wouldn't be a bike race at Windrock with out a lot of rain. And while the dust was nice while it lasted, it was never really meant to be here in Tennessee.

What started as a sloppy morning ended with a super fast and rapidly drying track in the afternoon for the pro men and women’s races, allowing riders to attack at one hundred percent as they pushed the limits of grip in search of the fastest time. The racing was incredibly close in both classes with some podium places being decided by just fractions of seconds. But when the dirt stopped flying it was Tennessee local Frida Ronning on top for the women and California's Charlie Harrison amongst the men. Kailey Skelton and Mazie Hayden would round out the women's top three, while Dakotah Norton would miss the win in the men's race by just 0.08 to take second with Steve Walton in third. Sadly top qualifier Luca Shaw had a massive crash when a broken chain locked up his rear wheel over the triple jump just within view of the finish line.

Top 5 Results

Pro Women
1st Frida Ronning - 2:56.12
2nd Kailey Skelton - 2:57.48
3rd Mazie Hayden - 3:10.15
4th Caroline Washan - 3:11.00
5th Ella Erickson - 3.15.56

Pro Men
1st Charlie Harrison - 2:23.17
2nd Dakotah Norton - 2.23.25
3rd Steve Walton - 2:25.01
4th Aaron Gwin - 2.25.57
5th Nik Nestoroff - 2:26.46

The locals playing in the mud today too
The locals playing in the mud today too

The dust got a bit slippery to start the day
The dust got a bit slippery to start the day


Kids these days...
Kids these days... The grom squad loving the mud

photo

moody looking forest here in Tennessee
Moody looking forest here in Tennessee

photo

Ella Erickson
Ella Erickson

Neko Mulally
Neko Mulally

photo

hucking through the whoops
Hucking through the whoops

Kaira Jensen
Kaira Jensen

Junior Mens winner Chris Grice
Junior Mens winner Chris Grice

Dylan Conte
Dylan Conte

photo

Juan Manuel Velez Gonzalez
Juan Manuel Velez Gonzalez

Cole Picchiottino
Cole Picchiottino

keegan Riley with the leg swag over the final jump
Keegan Riley with the leg swag over the final jump

2nd for Dakotah Norton
2nd for Dakotah Norton

First win of the year for Charlie Harrison
First win of the year for Charlie Harrison

Steve Walton in 3rd
Steve Walton in 3rd

On the podium for Nik Nestoroff
On the podium for Nik Nestoroff

Dylan Maples
Dylan Maples

Caroline Washam
Caroline Washam

3rd for Mazie Hayden
3rd for Mazie Hayden

Ella Erickson
Ella Erickson

Pro Women s winner Frida Ronning
Pro Women's winner Frida Ronning

No missing that shirt in the dark woods
No missing that shirt in the dark woods

Daniel McMaster
Daniel McMaster

photo

Riley Miller
Riley Miller

Dante Silva
Dante Silva

Ben Richter
Ben Richter

Aaron Gwin
Aaron Gwin

Kailey Skelton ended the weekend 2nd
Kailey Skelton ended the weekend 2nd

tucking int the final jump
tucking int the final jump

Cameron Mader
Cameron Mader

Ride The Rock
Ride The Rock

Frida Ronning takes the pro women s win
Frida Ronning takes the pro women's win

Charlie Harrison on top for the pro men
Charlie Harrison on top for the pro men


Posted In:
Racing and Events DH Racing Photo Epics Aaron Gwin Caroline Washam Charlie Harrison Dakotah Norton Luca Shaw


Author Info:
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76 Comments
  • 44 0
 Yeeeeees! Racing!!!!
  • 3 0
 Chucky’s a boss.
Stoked for this racing
  • 25 0
 Luca’s crash was savage
  • 2 0
 I wonder what failed on his bike?
  • 4 0
 @mmayronne: article says his chain
  • 6 0
 @mmayronne: Chain snapped says on vital...and I heard he was 2 seconds up with only a bit left to go. Brutal crash video, cant believe he got up and is ok.
  • 2 0
 @yakimonti: Check out zone4.ca to see all of the timing. Luca Shaw was fastest through split 1. Just over 3/10’s in front of Charlie Harrison. Also, a decent amount of track between split one and where Luca Shaw fell so his lead could have been further than that.
  • 13 0
 600 racers at Windrock this weekend for DH & Enduro racing.

Just as a big boy shout out....all of you Enduro racers out there racing today, you are BEASTS for surviving those gnarly practice laps yesterday. The weather was not as kind to the enduro stages in the wet as it was to us in the DH.

Riders were coming down looking like they had been at Woodstock.
  • 5 0
 Not gonna lie enduro practice was WILD but fun. Race conditions ended being mint!
  • 2 0
 @kirny6: I'm actually happy for the enduro racers that it dried a bit. We all love some mud, but a good experience by all helps here and there. It can't all be goo and desperation. Beer
  • 1 0
 @cuban-b-can-blow-me: I have ridden in the windrock mud a few times one of them being that practice and the main thing it has taught me is how much faster you can go in the dry. It really does make you a better rider.
  • 8 0
 Hey, y'all feel free to cut off a sprig of that pretty ivy, we Southerners call Kudzu, and plant it in your yard when you get home. It'll cover up any bald patches, including cars, homes, hillsides, forests...
  • 7 1
 Dang the KHS boys are really taking this whole "looks like a session" thing to a whole new level...Can't blame them
  • 40 1
 I have to assume KHS is secretly a business for money laundering. I've never seen anyone riding their bikes on local trails, don't know of a single local dealer, and never hear "I really want that new KHS". But yet they somehow manage to stay in business.
  • 6 0
 @digitalsoul: hah.I said that out loud yesterday at the finish line. Money laundering.
  • 2 0
 @digitalsoul: lmao I bought one in 1992 but I'm with you on the laundering move
  • 7 0
 We had a KHS account at the shop I worked at. Sold tons of entry level kids bikes, cruisers and cheap road bikes. But used them most of all as a distributor of parts. Not sure if that’s changed, but at least back then their business was more as a distributor of parts than a traditional bike manufacturer.
  • 3 0
 @digitalsoul: sounds a lot like hyper except I've seen a few lucky 7's from khs and have never actually seen a hyper dh in person in my life a lot of bmx's though.
  • 1 0
 @mhoshal: saw a purple Hyper DH in person yesterday at Windrock. A little kid was walking it. No clue what that was about.
  • 2 2
 *and girls
  • 1 0
 Not since the 90's and 00's have there been KHS's on the trails that I've seen. Maybe this bike shortage we will see a resurgence as the bikes get pulled out from the back of the garages.
  • 1 0
 @femto505: it's implied but if we're going to be upset then we should use *non descript humans.
  • 4 0
 @femto505: actually the "girl" on the team is indeed riding a KHS frame so saying the KHS "boys" are riding Sessions is not excluding anyone based on gender ;-)
  • 7 0
 Chuck not keen to stick that new Trek up for public view on the podium ?
  • 3 0
 They had their pits as a single tent with black curtains around it.
  • 5 0
 as someone who worked at windrock, its awesome how photography can make the bleakest months actually visually engaging
  • 1 0
 It was great weather yesterday. Happiest March I've seen there. Smile
  • 4 1
 Lots of ESC racers featured here! Great to see the north east talent representing.
  • 5 0
 But the Californians......
  • 17 14
 i notice and appreciate the fact that you wrote women pro result and podium photo first and men pro result after.
  • 6 2
 Second that! These pro women are awesome!
  • 1 2
 Who tf down votes this?..
  • 3 0
 oh gwin hit a tree, who would have thought. go gwinner
  • 5 1
 yeah, he was on a heater too. without that and Norton's epic stack, it would have likely been a 1/2 for those two. Thus is racing though!
  • 2 0
 Soooo pumped for DH racing this year, really hope Whistler will be opening this year so I can shred on my Dah bike again!
  • 3 0
 Great photos crew!! Feels like it's back to normal, yay!!
  • 2 0
 Congrats to Charlie!!!!!! He looks like a young Fidel Castro with that beard
  • 2 0
 10 California guys in the top 15 and 4 So Cal guys in the top 5 in muddy conditionsSmile
  • 1 0
 Mens Cat 1 15-16 top 6 west coast, 5 out of 6 CA. Go west coast!
  • 2 0
 Dang, Harrison and Norton so close
  • 3 1
 kids rocking 800mm bars gripping the inner most part of grips.
  • 4 1
 Certain grips feel waaaay better like that (Deathgrips, Ergon)
  • 1 0
 70lb kid is rocking a gnarly gtr run and all you got is negativity?
  • 2 0
 Probuilds Racing getting so much love
  • 2 0
 That shot of Cameron is fire
  • 1 0
 @harmar: so dope
  • 1 0
 Great to see that place run rain or shine. The mud probably makes it even more gnar and fun
  • 1 0
 @davetrumpore good seeing you!!!
  • 1 0
 Sick picture of Jack Dichiara flying through the air
  • 1 0
 Yeah you did..kid was flying all weekend
  • 1 0
 Walton is killing it, 2nd time in a month he beat Guinn.
  • 1 0
 He's been doing well this season!
  • 1 0
 Look like a session.........off the hook
  • 1 0
 Great photo of Ben Richter!
  • 3 4
 KHS- "buy our bikes, but please look away while we paint KHS on a session as our Factory Team doesn't ride our bikes"
  • 4 4
 Might wanna go look again because it looks a lot more like a Mondraker then a Trek with the way the shock goes through the seat tube. I think it's funny how everyone automatically says session when they see vertical shock placements meanwhile Banshee did it way before Trek and so did a lot of other companies.
  • 2 2
 Pretty sure its an Astro catalog frame. Looking at their site though I never knew Astro was behind the Summum alloy 29er. The things you learn....
  • 4 1
 @mhoshal: Walton and Nesteroff are riding Trek sessions
  • 2 0
 @mhoshal: my good friend drove out there this weekend to race enduro and visibly saw it on the shuttle, but I’m sure you know more
  • 10 13
 Harrison, from SoCal, rides Trek. Walton, from SoCal, rides Khs. Norton, from SoCal, rides YT. Gwin, from SoCal, rode Trek and YT. Nesteroff, from SoCall, rides KHS. SoCal been breeding some fast riders!
  • 1 0
 Who would have thought with all that mud!
  • 24 0
 Dakota is not from SoCal
  • 2 1
 DN from SC are you sure bout that
  • 9 0
 @likeittacky: he's from Michigan
  • 1 0
 @joshwoodwardphoto: he is definitely from Michigan
  • 6 2
 And those KHS riders are actually riding Treks
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