It was an electric day on the mountain at Big Bear for the 2025 USA Cycling Gravity Mountain Bike National Championships and Round 4 of the Monster Energy Pro Downhill Series.
More than 100 riders took to the dry and dusty track for the pro downhill finals at Big Bear Mountain Resort. The elite and junior 17-18 fields were combined in the final, with every rider pushing their limits in pursuit of the coveted Stars and Stripes jersey. The spotlight was on the blazing-fast World Cup athletes and the SoCal locals who know this mountain and this terrain better than anyone.
Kailey Skelton (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.; Ari Factory Racing) looked confident all weekend, topping the seeding round with a time of 3:13.565. Meanwhile, Aletha Ostgaard (Selah, Wash.; Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) had a rough seeding run but had shown serious speed in training, leaving many expecting a strong comeback. When Ostgaard crossed the line with a 3:13.2, she was straight into the hot seat.
Matilda Melton (Bellinghma, Wash.; Commencal-Schwalbe By Les Orres) and Skelton were the final two riders to drop. Melton laid down a solid 3:14.5, just behind Ostgaard. Then Skelton dropped in. She had won the National Title twice before, but it had been two years since she’d been able to take back the sleeve. Determined to reclaim the title, she powered down the track and stopped the clock at 3:09.5, nearly four seconds faster than second place.
After winning her third Elite National Title, Skelton said, “I’ve been sick for the past week and a half after Solitude, so I’m so thankful to make it out alive, especially after all the dust from this round. This track is so fun and so fast from start to finish. I love fast tracks, so it was fun to represent on my home mountain!”
1. Kailey Skelton (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.; Ari Factory Racing)
2. Aletha Ostgaard (Selah, Wash.; Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team)
3. Matilda Melton (Bellinghma, Wash.; Commencal-Schwalbe By Les Orres)
In Saturday’s seeding round, Cole Suetos (Loudon, Tenn.; Insta360 ZFR) posted the fastest time with a 2:51.045, earning the final start spot in the finals. Early on, Dakotah Norton (Clinton, Tenn.; Mondraker Factory Racing) dropped mid-pack and laid down a blistering 2:49.1, setting the time to beat. Not long after, Luca Shaw (Hendersonville, N.C.) crossed the line just 0.3 seconds behind, narrowly missing the lead.
Few expected Evan Medcalf (Albuquerque, N.M.; Commencal USA, Bikeworks, TLD) to be the one to unseat Norton, but his aggressive riding earned him a 2:48.8—good enough for the top spot, for now. That was until Ryan Pinkerton (Aliso Viejo, Calif.; Mondraker Factory Racing) dropped in. With green splits all the way down, the crowd erupted as Pinkerton came into sight in the finish straight and crossed the line with a winning time of 2:47.8.
Suetos had an early lead on Pinkerton’s first split, but a mishap later in the run knocked him out of podium contention.
Pinkerton was in disbelief that he pulled off the win he had dreamed about. He said, “Laying down that run felt amazing. The win is great, but more than anything, I’m just proud of how I rode. On the way up, I saw Dakotah [Norton] throw down a 49 flat, and I told myself, ‘I can beat that.’ I was like I just have to do good and just give it everything I can, but I can beat him. That time I did, was the time I put in my head was a 47, and I did it. I’m just so pumped.”
1. Ryan Pinkerton (Aliso Viejo, Calif.; Mondraker Factory Racing)
2. Evan Medcalf (Albuquerque, N.M.; Commencal USA, Bikeworks, TLD)
3. Dakotah Norton (Clinton, Tenn.; Mondraker Factory Racing)
The junior women competed within the elite women’s race, and it was the juniors who showed their strength in the overall. Aletha Ostgaard and Matilda Melton, both just 17-years-old, claimed the top two junior podium spots. Samantha Porras (Los Angeles, Calif.; KoreNorth, Monster Army, SSB) rode a standout race, finishing fifth overall and earning bronze in the junior race with a time of 3:20.1.
After the race, Ostgaard said, “I’m pretty proud of the run and I’m just happy to put down a clean run after yesterday almost eating it three times in a row. I came out of the start gate just having a different thought process and having fun again. Yesterday was a bit of a struggle to do that, so I'm just happy that I did that today.”
1. Aletha Ostgaard (Selah, Wash.; Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team)
2. Matilda Melton (Bellingham, Wash.; Commencal-Schwalbe By Les Orres)
3. Samantha Porras (Los Angeles, Calif.; KoreNorth, Monster Army, SSB)
All eyes were on Junior Downhill World Champion Asa Vermette (Durango, Colo.; Frameworks Racing / 5DEV), who many believed could contend with the elite men. His 2:51.8 run placed him ninth overall—not quite the result he was aiming for, but it was more than enough to earn him the junior national title. Bode Burke (Rhododendron, Ore.; Commencal-Schwalbe By Les Orres) secured the silver medal with a time of 2:56.4 (15th overall), followed by Luke Mallen (Sandy, Utah; Outlaw Commencal Factory Development) just a second behind.
Vermette went on to say, “My run was smooth and conservative. I only had two days of rest after Red Bull Hardline and missed the track walk, so I really wasn’t able to learn the track quick enough. I knew the other guys were going to push hard. I’m still stoked to come away with the Junior National Title, and we’ll just keep learning.”
1. Asa Vermette (Durango, Colo.; Frameworks Racing / 5DEV)
2. Bode Burke (Rhododendron, Ore.; Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres)
3. Luke Mallen (Sandy, Utah; Outlaw Commencal Factory Development)
Find the complete results here.
Tomorrow marks the final day of racing in Big Bear where the Amateur riders will be racing for the Stars and Stripes jerseys.
