The first ever Monster Energy Pro Downhill Series took place this past weekend in beautiful Zirconia, North Carolina! With over 375 registered athletes and 1,800 spectators in attendance, it was an excellent start to this new series!

This series was created to provide an elevated outlet of National racing for up-and-coming athletes to showcase their talent and hone their skills before advancing to UCI-World Cups. USA cycling has recognized the Monster Energy Pro Downhill Series as the official US Mountain Bike Championship, meaning athletes have the opportunity to claim career changing titles at these events.

Ride Rock Creek Bike Park hosted the first ever event and provided athletes with one of the most challenging tracks the country has to offer. Monster Army had over 30 athletes in competitionand claimed 14 total podiums!

In the Pro Men’s division, Austin Dooley seeded 1stand ended up 2ndin finals!“Solid weekend out at the 1st round of the Pro Downhill Series. The field was so stacked, and the conditions were mint all weekend. Stoked to end it all off with a P2 and get to stand on the box with Dakotah and Luca.”– Austin Dooley. Following closely behind would be Ryan Pinkerton with a big 4thplace finish!

In the Pro Women’s division, new recruit Erice Van Leuven made the trek from New Zealandto finish with a huge 3rdplace finish and take home the SR SuntourHoleshotaward! In 4thplace, Abby Ronca posted a blistering time of 2:18.302 to finish off the weekend!

In a battle of young talent, the Cat 1 Jr Men 17-18 Division concluded with a full podium sweep for MonsterArmy team riders. Taking the win, 17-year-old LucasDedorafrom New York State finished in first place with afinal time of 1:54.024. Rising to second place, 18-year-old Gavin Tomlinson from Burbank, California, finishedclose behind with a 1:54.814 time. Completing the sweep, 16-year-old Ryder Lawrence from Menifee,California, took third place by finishing the track in 1:57.060.

Our Junior Women also made sure to have a huge presence on the weekend in both categories! Kallie Stewart claims a HUGE win in the 15-16 class followed by Mandela Santamaria in 2nd. In the 17-18 division, Sara Ligman takes home the gold with Addison Buckenberger close behind in 2ndplace.

Congrats to all our Monster Army talent on a great weekend!Next up, stay tuned for the second round of the Monster Energy Pro Downhill Series from May 24-26 at

Mountain Creek Bike Park in New Jersey, one of the longest-standing national race venues in the country.