Words: Brice Minnigh
Following the success of the two previous St. Patty’s Day Feast races at Bootleg Canyon in Boulder City, Nevada, the organizer is upping the ante with a new pro-am race in January that is promising a $20,000 prize purse.
The new race, the “Dam Cold Downhill,” is designed to give local pro racers and amateurs a rare opportunity to race against some of the world’s fastest professionals. Many top pros spend much of the winter in southern California to train in the temperate weather, and several have verbally committed to race in the inaugural event, which is scheduled for January 16-17, 2010. Among those expected to participate are the likes of Sam Hill, Cedric Gracia and brothers Gee and Dan Atherton.
“Gee and Dan [Atherton] have told me if there’s a $20,000 prize purse then they will definitely show up to race,” said organizer David “Crash” Collins, a former pro downhiller who has organized the previous St. Patty’s Day Feast races at Bootleg Canyon. “Being a pro-am, it will give amateurs the opportunity to be on the same course with the pros and compare their times with the likes of Sam Hill.