Nevada State Championship at Bootleg Canyon

KHS Pro MTB rider Nik Nestoroff on track in Bootleg Canyon for the DVO Winter Gravity Series.

Unbelievable weekend at the Nevada state Championship race in Boulder City, Nevada hosted by Bootleg Canyon Mountain bike park. Bootleg Canyon has been on the map since the mid-80s and has always seen some of the best World Cup riders like Sam Hill and Steve Peat! It’s a one-of-a-kind terrain that is very rocky, loose and gravelly. It takes a very highly skilled athlete to navigate the treacherous terrain of Bootleg from top to bottom and put in a solid race run.

KHS Pro MTB rider Naish Ulmer on track in Bootleg Canyon for the DVO Winter Gravity Series.
KHS Pro MTB rider Naish Ulmer on track in Bootleg Canyon for the DVO Winter Gravity Series.

Friday was the first day of practice/training. It was no walk in the park, unfortunately weather conditions with over 45 mph winds that would make it very difficult for all the athletes to get down the hill. Everyone was trying their best to maintain lines and navigate the course. Saturday would be a better day of weather for the team. With bluebird skies and a high of 60° weather, they were finally able to have a great day at practice and dial all their line selections in for the finals come Sunday. Also, with Saturday highlights the Enduro category which would be held down by our athlete Naish Ulmer, he would put in a solid three stages with some of the best racers in the West Coast competing. Naish finished a solid six place in the pro men’s Enduro field representing our grassroots program at a higher level.

KHS Pro MTB rider Nate Kitchen on the Jr. podium at the DVO Winter Gravity Series.
KHS Pro MTB rider Nate Kitchen on the Jr. podium at the DVO Winter Gravity Series.

Sunday’s final Downhill event would start off with a super huge result from our newly signed athlete representing us in the Junior Pro division. At only 16 years of age, Nate Kitchen would take the win over a nine second gap. He was competing against some of the best junior riders in the business with factory riders from GT Racing and other top brands. We were very proud of Nate’s State championship accomplishments.

KHS Pro MTB rider Kailey Skelton on track in Bootleg Canyon for the DVO Winter Gravity Series.
KHS Pro MTB rider Kailey Skelton on track in Bootleg Canyon for the DVO Winter Gravity Series.

To keep the ball rolling it would be the professional women’s Downhill category with Kailey Skelton to come down last, which would create a lot of pressure on herself. Kailey was used to that kind of high-pressure situation and would come blazing across the line with a +30 second lead in front of her competitors. Kailey would also take the Nevada state championship in the pro women’s category, to add another title to her trophy set.

KHS Pro MTB rider Steven Walton on track in Bootleg Canyon for the DVO Winter Gravity Series.
KHS Pro MTB rider Steven Walton on track in Bootleg Canyon for the DVO Winter Gravity Series.

Last but not least would be Nik Nestoroff and Steven Walton representing the KHS Pro MTB team in the Downhill men’s professional category. They both had their work cut out for them competing against some of the best American Downhill racers in the business. With a very physically long demanding track it would be Nik Nestoroff who would claim first place by a 4 second margin. It would also be his fourth consecutive Nevada state championships, since Logan Binggeli back in 2015. That would make it KHS Bicycles 8th consecutive NV, State Championship. Steven Walton was still warming up to the season and under the weather with a cold, he would come in a solid fourth place to round out an amazing weekend with all competitors of the team on the podium.

KHS Pro MTB rider Kailey Skelton on the podium at the DVO Winter Gravity Series in Boulder City, NV.
KHS Pro MTB rider Kailey Skelton on the podium at the DVO Winter Gravity Series in Boulder City, NV.

Bootleg Canyon has always treated the KHS Pro MTB team very great, and we always appreciate all the respect we get from all the fans, family and locals. We want to thank all our sponsors who continuously dedicate their time and effort into keeping the team supplied with the best product in the market. We understand times are very tough and product is limited, we are always grateful to have some of the best equipment to support us through these professional races. Next week we will be at round two of the Southridge Winter Series in Fontana, California. We plan to keep the ball rolling and continue on the success!

KHS Pro MTB riders Nik Nestoroff and Steven Walton on the podium at the DVO Winter Gravity Series in Boulder City, NV.
KHS Pro MTB riders Nik Nestoroff and Steven Walton on the podium at the DVO Winter Gravity Series in Boulder City, NV.

Podium packed Weekend

KHS Pro MTB rider Nik Nestoroff on track for his race run at the third stop of the Northwest Cup in Montana.
KHS Pro MTB rider Kailey Skelton first place at the third stop of the Northwest Cup in Montana.
KHS Pro MTB rider Kailey Skelton first place at the third stop of the Northwest Cup in Montana.

What a mega weekend of racing for the team this past weekend. We had all factory riders and most of our grassroots athletes all competing in different regions all on the same weekend.

KHS Pro MTB rider Luke Whitlock riding the freeride jumps at the Landslide Music Fest in Cedar City Utah
KHS Pro MTB rider Luke Whitlock riding the freeride jumps at the Landslide Music Fest in Cedar City Utah

Starting off with factory rider Luke Whitlock and newest member to the grassroots program Dylan Cobern were both in Cedar City, UT at a mountain bike festival throwing down some big tricks and representing our freeride side of things at the highest level. Here’s what Luke Whitlock had to say “A music festival would be the last place you’d expect a mountain bike jam to come about, but that was not the case in Cedar City, UT at the Landslide Music Fest this past weekend.

KHS Pro MTB rider Dylan Cobern riding the freeride jumps at the Landslide Music Fest in Cedar City Utah
KHS Pro MTB rider Dylan Cobern riding the freeride jumps at the Landslide Music Fest in Cedar City Utah

With expected crowds of upwards of 5000 people Dylan Cobern and I headed up north to Cedar City to put on a show for the people attending the event. While dealing with the crazy weather that Southern Utah has to offer this time of year, we were still able to throw down some solid tricks and whips for the crowd in between rainstorms. This event was unique and special to us because we were able to reach a completely different industry and group of people and introduce them to freeride mountain biking, which is really awesome and rewarding to see, especially since the spectators were very engaged!”

KHS Pro Mtb rider Naish Ulmar on the podium in first place at the second race of the Utah Gravity Series in Pomerelle Idaho.
KHS Pro Mtb rider Naish Ulmar on the podium in first place at the second race of the Utah Gravity Series in Pomerelle Idaho.

Also, our other grassroots athlete Naish Ulmer was representing the team in the Utah/Idaho regional event coming away with double wins. Here’s what Naish had to say: “I raced the 2nd & 3rd stop of the Utah Gravity series in Pomerelle, ID. There was a double header race happening over the weekend and I was able to take both wins. I was super pumped to stay consistent and get the win for the team!”

KHS Pro Mtb rider Naish Ulmar on the podium in first place at the third race of the Utah Gravity Series in Pomerelle Idaho.
KHS Pro Mtb rider Naish Ulmar on the podium in first place at the third race of the Utah Gravity Series in Pomerelle Idaho.

While the freeride lads were holding in down for the team it was Steven Walton who was representing the team at the Strait Acres Dual slalom event happening in Big Bear California. This event had some of the best American athletes competing for one of the best Spector races of the year! Qualifying was on Friday evening with Saturday evening being set for the finals. Steven would be going head-to-head to make it to the top spot. At the end of the evening, he would place a respectable top 20th finish.

KHS Pro MTB rider Steven Walton on the dual slalom course at the Strait Acres all mountain event in Big Bear California.
KHS Pro MTB rider Steven Walton on the dual slalom course at the Strait Acres all mountain event in Big Bear California.

Sunday would be hosting the Pro men’s downhill race with some tough competition, basically all the top athletes competing in the Slalom race would be switching over to DH for Sunday. Steven would be racing the notorious famous DH track of Miracle Mile. This track has had some of the best DH riders from all the way back from the 80’s. Steven would give it 100% and cross the line in 2nd place!

KHS Pro MTB rider Steven Walton standing on the podium in second place at the Strait Acres all mountain event in Big Bear California.
KHS Pro MTB rider Steven Walton standing on the podium in second place at the Strait Acres all mountain event in Big Bear California.

All the way up in the Montana mountains you would find Nik Nestoroff and Kailey Skelton holding it down at the 3rd round of the Northwest Cup series! Nik and Kailey would be on the 4th consecutive race in a row keeping the focus sharp and race craft even sharper. This event brings some of the fastest racers from all around the West and Central areas. The athletes were really impressed with the track lay out and conditions they would be dealing with over the 3-day event. They would both be qualifying Saturday and racing finals Sunday. Qualifying would bring only the best results with both athletes taking the top spots. It would increase their pressure to lay it back down on Sunday’s finals and maintain the lead. Nik & Kailey would do just that and not let anything stray them from the wins! They would both have dominating race runs with 7-9 seconds leads on the completion.

KHS Pro MTB rider Kailey Skelton on track for her race run at the third stop of the Northwest Cup in Montana.
KHS Pro MTB rider Kailey Skelton on track for her race run at the third stop of the Northwest Cup in Montana.

The team did very well overall this past weekend with getting 3 podium positions and setting themselves up to continue their success on the National round 2 in Vernon, NJ at the famous Mountain Creek bike park. All the racers will be flying out Tuesday and preparing for Sunday’s finals. Kailey is currently sitting in 2nd place overall in the women’s Downhill National series. Steven in 4th and Nik in 5th for the men’s Nationals overall. The team will be reporting soon from New Jersey woods!

KHS Pro MTB rider Nik Nestoroff first place at the third stop of the Northwest Cup in Montana.
KHS Pro MTB rider Nik Nestoroff first place at the third stop of the Northwest Cup in Montana.