This was my first time racing downhill at the Fox US Open.
I was super excited to come to Killington, VT, as I’ve heard many awesome things about it.
On our first day here, it rained all day. We did a track walk, and everything was a muddy mess. However, the rain died down that evening, and the sun came out for the rest of the weekend, which made for great conditions.
The first day of practice went well for me, I was learning my lines and getting more comfortable on my KHS 650. The track was a bit flat but also so much fun, plenty of rocks, roots, jumps and even a whoop section to make things interesting.
Day 2 of practice the track was getting even better, unfortunately I had a big crash that banged up my shoulder pretty good right before qualifying. I got it taped up and rested the best I could before heading up to qualify.
On race day I was pretty sore but it was nothing I couldn’t handle and was really looking forward to having a better run than I did in qualifying. The goal was just to have fun and the rest would follow.
I got to the bottom of the track with a fairly clean run that I can be happy about and ended up 14th overall against some super fast World Cup ladies.
I know my speed on the downhill bike is getting better and I’m really looking forward to spending more time on it this off season.
I’m really happy about this season with the KHS family, a lot of great things happened and I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to race my bike and proudly represent all the companies that support us all year!
-Bella Naughton
I had a great time at the Fox US Open and the last round of the Monster Energy Pro Downhill Series. It rained all day Thursday during our track walk, but luckily, the sun came out the rest of the weekend to dry up the race course nicely. The track was technical and flat, so it was physical and took a lot to keep your rolling speed and momentum up, but I loved the terrain and the different features it included, like rock gardens, slippery roots, big jumps, and a whoop section. In seeding on Saturday, I was a little too reserved in my run and did not hit my lines very clean, but I knew I could clean it up for racing. On Sunday, we got a few practice laps in before racing to dial in some final things, then went up for my race run. I had a perfect and smooth run and shaved thirteen seconds off of my time from seeding. I felt like I was pushing my limits, and I am really happy with my run. I finished in 25th against some of the world’s best with a run I am content with, so I can’t ask for more. That result also helped me take third place in the Monster Energy Pro Downhill Series. So incredibly happy to be able to stand on the podium next to such talented racers in the first year of this series and to end the season on a high note. Back to work for the off-season and get prepared for next year. Thank you to the KHS Pro MTB Team and all the team’s awesome co-sponsors for their support during this race and all year long. Already hungry for more.
-McKenna Merten
