The 28th edition of the Downieville Classic mountain bike race took place over the weekend. As always, the towering Sierra Buttes provided a dramatic backdrop for this legendary 2-day mountain bike race. It was hot and dusty, and a stacked field of pro and amateur competitors showed up to push their limits on the XC and DH courses, while vying for the coveted All-Mountain World Championship title.
What is the Downieville Classic?
The Downieville Classic is one of the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship’s biggest fundraising events and a mountain bike race like no other. The two-day event consists of a point-to-point cross-country race on Saturday, followed by a downhill race on Sunday. Riders can opt to race the XC only, or can enter the All-Mountain and race on both days (you must race the XC to race the DH). Winners are crowned separately for both races, but the All-Mountain title goes to the rider who performs most consistently both days — based on a points system.
The catch? Riders must ride the same bike both days, with no modifications. Bikes are weighed each day to ensure that riders haven’t made any component changes in search of an advantage on either day. This leaves many puzzling over the perfect setup that’s light and fast enough for an XC race, and durable enough for a long and fast downhill run.
The Courses
The Downieville XC course is far from a typical cross-country race. The point-to-point course is 26.5 miles with ~4,500 feet of climbing, and it starts in Sierra City with a 2,500-foot climb straight off the starting line. It ascends to the crest behind the Sierra Buttes, before dropping into some of the area’s iconic trails, including Sunrise, Pauley Creek, 3rd Divide, and 1st Divide, ultimately finishing in downtown Downieville.
The DH follows a route that has become known, not surprisingly, as the “Classic DH.” Riders start on the Sierra crest at Packer Saddle and drop down Sunrise, Butcher Ranch, 3rd and 1st Divides, finishing in downtown Downieville 15 miles and ~5,000 feet of descending later. While the course is mostly downhill, there’s ~600 feet of climbing mixed in, along with some flat sections requiring some serious fitness for the fastest times.
All-Mountain Scoring
If you are competing in the All-Mountain, points are based on your placement within your category. The points from both days are combined, and the lowest score wins. For example, 1st place gets one point, 2nd place gets 2 points, and so on. In the case of a tie, which happens more often than you’d think, the DH score always gets priority.
Downieville XC Results
In the women’s XC race, multi-time Canadian National Champion and Olympian Haley Smith rode away from the field to a decisive victory in her first Downieville Classic with a 10-minute margin. Also racing in Downieville for the first time was former Life Time Grand Prix U23 Champion Ruth Holcomb, taking the second step on the podium, and Michelle McGee holding it down in 3rd.
In the men’s race, Andrew L’Esperance made his first Downieville Classic cross-country one to remember. The Canadian rider dominated on the XC course and managed to take the win by nearly a minute — with a stop to plug a flat tire. Rolling in in 2nd place was Tobin Ortenblad, matching his performance from 2025 and making it three Downieville XC podiums in a row. Just 5 seconds later, Justin Peck took the third step on the podium and showed that he’ll definitely be one to watch in the coming years.
Downieville DH Results
I chatted with Haley Hunter Smith briefly after her XC win, and she said something along the lines of, “we’ll see how it goes in the DH; Ruth is super fast downhill.” Well, turns out she was right. Ruth Holcomb laid down a blistering DH run, taking the win with a 50:26, two full minutes ahead of 2nd place. She was followed by Canadian mountain/gravel racer Hannah Simms, with Haley Smith just 2 seconds behind in 3rd.
In the men’s DH race, EWS racer Marco Osborne put together a clean and incredibly fast run, making his mark and putting the XC riders on notice. Osborne had an average speed of 20.3 mph and a time of 44:11 — the fastest since 2023 — taking the win by 21 seconds. Tobin Ortenblad kept it consistent with an absolute heater to stand on the 2nd step both days. Rounding out the podium, Andrew L’Esperance grabbed the 3rd spot, just 11 seconds back.
Downieville All-Mountain Results
With a 2nd place in the XC and 1st in the DH, Ruth Holcomb earned herself the title of All-Mountain World Champion. That put Haley Smith in 2nd place, with Hannah Simms in 3rd.
With 2nd place both days and the DH score breaking the tie, Tobin Ortenblad earned himself his first All-Mountain World Champion title. Ortenblad has raced Downieville many times, finishing next to and on the Pro All-Mountain podium before, but the top step has eluded him until this weekend. Andrew L’Esperance capped off his successful race weekend in 2nd place, with Justin Peck taking 3rd.
Interestingly, both of the 2026 Downieville All-Mountain World Champions were riding the brand-new Santa Cruz Blur 5. In fact, Tobin Ortenblad and Ruth Holcomb were the Santa Cruz athletes featured in launch photos, which also happened to be shot in the area. Regardless, it was certainly a successful weekend for Santa Cruz racers and seems like a strong endorsement for the new bike.
You can find full results from the Downieville Classic here. You can learn more about the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship, its mission, past, present, and future projects, and events here.
