The Downieville Classic took place over the weekend, and Katerina Nash cemented her status as the Greatest Of All Time in that race with her 7th All-Mountain victory. To be fair, she had already achieved GOAT status when she surpassed Carl Decker’s record of five victories with her sixth All-Mountain win in 2023. This latest victory, however, steps it up a notch and will be even more difficult for anyone to ever top.
If you happened to see Geoff Kabush’s bike check article from yesterday, then you’ve probably got a good idea what the Downieville Classic is all about (if you didn’t know already). If you missed that, you should give it a look, but here’s a quick rundown of what this unique event entails. The Downieville Classic is a unique bike race and festival put on by the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship that is one of the group’s largest fundraisers of the year. It started in 1995 and has run nearly every year since, deservedly earning a reputation for being one of the hardest and most fun races in the U.S.
The two days of racing starts with a 26.5 mile point to point cross country race with roughly 4,500 feet of climbing. The XC is its own race, but riders who sign up for the All-Mountain category line up to race again the next day. Day two consists of a 15-mile “downhill” with 5,000 vertical feet of descent that’s run in a time-trial format. Using a points system, the combined results from both days determine the All-Mountain winners. The catch? All-Mountain racers must race the same bike both days, and there’s a weigh-in each morning to check.
Adding to the challenge is the fact that these trails are super rough, rocky, and very fast, plus it’s usually super hot and dusty. To perform well both days, riders must choose a setup that’s light enough to be fast for XC but durable enough to withstand the punishment these rough descents dish out. Having raced the Downieville All-Mountain six times myself, I can tell that it’s not as easy as you might think.
Mountain bike and cyclocross legend Katerina Nash is no stranger to the podium. She’s topped it 7 times in this event alone, and I’m pretty sure she’s been on it in every other appearance. Not to mention her long and super successful racing career leading up to this point. Katerina is a five-time Olympian, having raced in cross-country skiing in 1998 and 2002, and mountain biking in 1996, 2012, and 2016. Here’s a wild statistic to consider: she finished 19th in the mountain bike XC in the 1996 Olympics, and then, 20 years later, finished 5th in 2016.
Outside of her Olympic appearances, Katerina is a highly decorated cross-country and cyclocross racer. She took home numerous Czech Republic National Championship titles and was a force to be reckoned with in World Cup events in both disciplines for many years. She stood on many World Cup XC podiums over the years, including 1st place at Mont-Sainte-Anne in 2013. Interestingly, that victory came a week after her second Downieville win, and she told me, “I think this race is a perfect event to prepare for World Cup racing, and it certainly helped me to be a better technical rider.”
At 47 years old, Katerina has moved on from World Cups, but is maintaining a healthy race calendar. Similar to Geoff Kabush, she’s still racing at a very high level and doing well, but her focus has shifted to fun events that catch her interest. For example, she took 2nd at the BC Bike Race earlier this year. One of those other events happens to be the Downieville Classic. I’ve been crossing paths with Katerina at this race and other nearby gravel events since 2016, and I can tell you she’s just as fast — and nice — as ever.
Katerina Nash’s S-Works Epic 8
Bike racing requires lots of fitness and skill to be successful, but the All-mountain at Downieville requires a great bike setup, too. Katerina has been racing the event on and off since 2009 (I think), so she’s got experience on her side, too. For context, when she started racing this event, 26-inch wheels were still the only game in town. As an elite-level bike racer, she’s also acutely aware of the differences that choosing the right components for the job can make, and it doesn’t hurt that bikes and equipment have never been better.
Let’s take a look at the build she rode to the XC, DH, and her 7th All-Mountain victories last week.
Katerina is currently riding a Specialized S-Works Epic 8 in a size small. She calls it Epic Snowflake, a name given after a late spring snowstorm in her hometown of Truckee, CA, earlier this year. She says, “The Epic 8 is the fastest bike I’ve ever ridden at Downieville, and it makes me wonder what time I could set on this bike during my fittest years.”
The Epic 8 gets 120 mm of travel, and Katerina uses a Fox Float SL Factory shock. That’s paired with a Fox 34 SL Factory fork at 130 mm of travel. The Epic 8 is intended for use with 120 or 130 mm of fork travel, and 130 mm is the obvious choice for the rough Downieville descents. Katerina says, “the new fork is the reason everything felt so plush this season.” She’s also using a 3-position handlebar remote for the shock and fork, to make damping adjustments on the fly.
Like Geoff’s bike, Katerina is running a full Shimano XTR group. That includes the latest XTR Di2 wireless drivetrain and all the associated components. She runs 165 mm cranks and uses a 34-tooth ring up front, paired with a 10-51 cassette. For brakes, she’s using the new XTR 2-piston XC brakes with the standard XTR levers.
Katerina knows as well as anyone that a flat tire can ruin your race run in an instant, and tire setup is one of the toughest pieces of the Downieville setup puzzle. She said, “I went with bigger tires this year. August trails were quite beat up, and I had a feeling these conditions wouldn’t be good for record-breaking, so I set up on the safer side.” For her, that meant Maxxis Recon Race 2.4” tires front and rear with CushCore XC inserts. “My XC pressure was 17.5 PSI front and 18.3 PSI rear tire. For DH, I went with 18.5 front and 19.5 rear tire.”
Katerina was also running the new Shimano XTR wheels, which she got only a couple of days before the race, but she says they “performed well for me.” Katerina breaks the XTR mold with her choice of Crankbrothers Eggbeater pedals. “As a true cross racer, I love these pedals and I only use the Eggbeater 11 for racing.”
Beyond that, Katerina runs a lightweight Race Face Next SL handlebar with bright orange file tread grips that match the Fox fork. At the back of the bike, the Fox Transfer SL Factory helps keep the weight low and the Specialized Power Mimic saddle where it needs to be. In the SWAT box were a lightweight tube and a little cash from some post-race ice cream in Downieville. Race weight ended up at 24 pounds on the nose.
“I had a really smooth run both days, and my bike did great. The suspension was very balanced, although the little XC shock was definitely heating up and working hard. The peak power in my legs is no longer there, but the advances in bike/tire technology are helping me stay fast and relevant. My upper body felt strong, and I had no problem ripping trails. A summer of racing and riding in BC helped me handle rough terrain.”
Staying fast indeed. Congrats on your 7th Downieville All-Mountain victory (and 8th DH win), Katerina. Hope to see you out there again next year.
