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What is the Pro Gravity Tour?
The Pro GRT is widely seen as the most prestigiousseries in North American and one of the most prestigious in the world! Top domestic and international professional
riders test their skills on some of the toughest downhill mountain bike tracks
the United States has to offer!
The objectives of the Pro GRT are to provide a sequence of international-caliber events for elite gravity racers, to recognize the best gravity athletes competing on U.S. soil, to spotlight America’s top races that have made a commitment to host high-level events and ultimately to raise the level of competitive gravity racing in the U.S.
With the development of the ProGRT, the series looks to showcase the country’s strongest gravity venues bringing the elite riders together to compete against the best on the country’s top courses and ultimately crown the season’s preeminent gravity riders.
The Pro GRT encompasses two of mountain biking’s most
exciting & prolific disciplines – “Downhill” and “Gated” racing. The term “Gated”
is used to group the Dual Slalom and Four Cross (4X) genres into a similar
field.
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CATEGORY
DESCRIPTIONS
Pro: The highest ability
category for both men and women in mountain bike racing. All MTB PRO racers
must qualify & be approved by their country’s sanctioning body, and purchase
an International Racing License.
Category 1 (Expert): A
mountain bike category where racing skills, strength and stamina have reached
an exceptional level; racing is very competitive. Riders must have a racing age
of at least 15 to race as a category 1 in an endurance discipline.
*Category 2 (Sport): A mountain bike racing category that reflects improved
skills and developed strength and stamina. A Category 2 rider must advance to
Category 1 as described in the upgrade section.
*Category 3 (Beginner): A
mountain bike category designed for the entry-level rider. Category 3 races
help the rider understand the subtleties of the sport allowing one to
experience the thrill of mountain biking. A Category 3 racer must advance to
category 2 as described in the upgrade section.
*events are not a part of the Pro GRT points system
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Downhill will be included at each stop on the GRT
calendar, while each event will decide which of the Gated disciplines to
include: Dual Slalom, 4X, both, or neither.
The event points, however, will include only the discipline(s), at the particular
event, registered in the overall points structure.
Practice typically starts on Friday (if not earlier),
and proceeds until race day. Typically
Gated events are raced on Saturday, while DH is raced on Sunday.
Practice allows riders to learn the best & fastest lines over the various, rugged
terrain. This is a great time for spectating, as riders attempt various line
choices. Spectators will be able to see
riders flying over huge jumps, scream down the steepest trails (that are
practically un-hikeable)… not to mention some spectacular & jaw dropping crashes!
Each discipline is structured to have timed qualifying or seeding
run and then race run. Events vary whether qualifying and finals are held on
the same day.
The Gated events offer easy access for viewing the full
length of the course (most of the track can be viewed from one spot). As riders advance into the next round(s),
offering spectators a number of chances to view some great head-to-head races!
In the Downhill discipline, riders fire out of the start gate
every 30 seconds (length of time may vary for top seeded riders during the
finals), racing against the clock. It's
only one race run so it really is do or die for the riders!
Racers are categorized by racing age, and gender in the Amateur GRT categories. For 2010, the AM GRT will only offer points
to the Category 1 (Expert) class.
However, there WILL be racing for Category 2 & 3 (Sport &
Beginner) racers. You can expect to see
both male and female riders of a variety of ages race down the hill.
The pit area is packed with retails booths with all the
latest biking gear, several leading manufacturers displaying their latest range
of bikes and equipment. As well as the Pro Teams mechanics tuning their bikes
for that essential race run.
Spectating is FREE to all! You are more
than welcome to walk up next to the course and catch the real action right in front
of your nose. You can enjoy refreshments, an expo, live timing and commentating
along with all the thrills and spills of watching Downhill & Gated Mountain
Bike racing at it's finest!
We look forward to seeing you trackside!
USA Cycling's Rules & Regulations
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