The 2011 USA Cycling Mountain Bike Gravity National Championships started Friday in Beech Mountain, N.C. An overnight rain made portions of the course slick and very difficult to race, but as the day continued and sun shone brightly, conditions improved.
The opening day featured the categories 2 and 3 amateur downhill competition. Six of the 15 winners reside in the host state of North Carolina.
Category 3
In the men’s 15-18 competition, Kyle Supple (Greensboro, N.C.) earned the top prize by 14 seconds over silver medalist Gavin Gargiulo (Colorado Springs, Colo.). In the men’s 19-29 competition, local rider Brad Blackwell (Banner Elk, N.C.) won by just over 30 seconds after riding a cautious, but aggressive ride  … More