Ultimate Guide for Racing the Downieville Classic Mountain Bike Race | All Mountain

When you imagine a mountain biking race, post race party, small town feel, weekend festival, and all around great time, the Downieville Classic the epitome of that event. With a race that, admittedly, kicked my ass, and had downhill sections that shouldn’t be anywhere near an XC course, I’m still smiling when I think about it weeks later. After racing the Downieville Classic this past year, I cannot recommend signing up for this race weekend enough, even if you’re not into wearing skin tight Lycra, because this event is so much more than that. The namesake race is actually a Cross-Country style point-to-point race on Saturday followed by a Downhill point-to-point race on Sunday with both races ending right on Main Street in town. And in this post, I wanted to lay out, not only the epic race details, but also the logistics on how to get here and other tips I gathered from the weekend.

Signing Up

First off, all races begin when you get that confirmation email that you’ve successfully signed up for the race. That gets the ball rolling and the training plan in motion. For the Downieville Classic, you have two options: the cross country race and the all mountain. Choosing cross country will sign you up only for the 26.5 mile, 4,000ft vert race from Sierra City to Downieville. Or the all mountain option, which will sign you up for both the cross country race and the downhill race the following day which is a 15 mile course from Packer Saddle to Downieville that has 5,333ft of descent and 1,010ft of climbing. Note, you cannot sign up just for the downhill race, and the major crux is that if you sign up for the all-mountain, you must compete  on the exact same bike for both races. This forces you to make a choice, go uphill with ease on a lightweight XC bike, and bear the pain of a chunky, rocky descent with your 100mm of travel, or take a heavy big bike uphill, and dominate the descent, while having a smile on your face. Either way, you’re in for one helluva ride.

Lodging and Camping Logistics

If you’re reading this post to get up to speed on the Downieville Classic, then I can assure you that it’s too late to book lodging in town. There are 3 different Inns located in town: Carriage House Inn, Downieville River Inn and Resort, and Riverside Mountain Lodge.  Great options, but there are 700+ riders each year, plus volunteers, so those rooms go quick. For everyone else, the options are slim. Most people camp up in Sierra City along the road up to Packer Saddle, or anywhere else in the National Forest. The nearest major towns/cities are over an hour or more away, in Nevada City, Truckee, or as far as Reno. Options aren’t great, but it’s all apart of of the Downieville experience. One alternative that my wife and I took advantage of, was the volunteer option. If you volunteer, for any length of time, you are given parking passes to camp at one of 3 different lots within the town of Downieville, making most of your logistics so much easier! Best of luck, but don’t sweat it, you’ll find somewhere to stay.

Downieville Town Layout

The town itself is an old gold mining town that came into its own in the around 1850s. As the boom and bust cycle of the gold rush came and went, the town has held on to its charm through another cycle of logging, until where it stands today as a outdoorsy tourist town. A once booming town of 5,000 people, now sits under 300 year round. Centered around the bridges that cross the Downie River and the North Yuba River, the old mountain town has 5 or so restaurants, a small grocery store, and small homes that line the few streets that climb up the hills around the town. The main street itself is awesome and comes alive during the Downieville Classic weekend, filled with bike vendors, beer stands, and clothing. Admittedly, the town is absolutely overwhelmed during the weekend, but that’s also a part of the fun. The cell towers definitely cannot handle the influx of a thousand extra people on the weekend so be aware that cell service is very spotty and limited to just in the center of town. And also, parking is almost non-existent. So be aware that you will like have to park outside of town and walk in (or ride your bike).

Pre-Race and Bib-Pickup

Pretty much the only thing you NEED to do before the race is pick up your racer packet. To do this, head to the highschool on Friday, which is the obvious big building above Main Street. Inside you’ll sign a waiver and head to your bib # table to pick your packet up. Inside will be your race plate that you have to zip-tie to your bars and also the timing chip that you need to fasten to the right side of your fork. Don’t loose this, otherwise you’ll owe over $100. There is another bib pickup on Saturday morning at the race start in Sierra City if you can’t make it on Friday. Last thing you’ll need to do, if you’re competing in the All-Mountain Category, is get your bike weighed prior to the XC race on Saturday to ensure that your bike will weigh the same prior to both races (ensuring you’re racing the same bike).

Cross Country Race Day

The Cross Country Race starts on Butte Street in Sierra City before climbing up the road, transitioning to the double-track, and eventually cresting Packer Saddle and off into the woods for the remainder of the race. Note, it is your responsibility to get to the start of the race. Most get dropped off at the start or park along the road on Route 49 and taking a free shuttle after the race to pick up your vehicle which runs the following day too.

The race itself is no-joke, and is an absolute blast. The climb isn’t a technical one, but it never lets up. 8 miles and 3,000 feet up to the Saddle. After you reach Packer Saddle and finish the last bit of climbing, most of the race is downhill after that, with the exception of punchy climbs and a few climbs in the saddle that total another ~1000 vert. The descents are absolutely stunning, with quite litterally a mix of everything. Technical rock features, massive baby heads, gravel roads, loamy singletrack, and full open sections of moon dust. And don’t worry, throughout the race, at about every 4-6 miles there is an aid station fileld with amazing volunteers that have water, electrolytes, bathrooms, and sometimes snacks. 

Finish the race isn’t the flat out descent through the finish line that I thought it would be. Instead, it somehow ends with pedaling, climbing, and sneaky descents that will have you dropping every last ounce of energy to push it to the finish line. And that finish is an amazing one, entering right down on Main Street among all the festivities! From there, it’s time to party.

Post-Race Saturday Party

On-par with the epic weekend of racing, the partying is almost just as fun, and it’s for everyone. After a scorching race, due to the pace and the July heat, you have to head down to the chilly river to cool off. But that’s not the highlight, because later on in the afternoon, crazy riders will jump off the massive kicker ramp, fly 20+ feet into the air, and into the river for the bike jump contest. 20 riders compete for the crowd’s approval as they do flips, launches, and salutes with the most epic style possible. After one rider is crowned the victor, everyone heads back up to main street where the log pull event. In typical Downieville fashion, the event is weird in its own way, and perfect. The participants will all ride the same rigid BMX bike that has an 8ft log attached to the bike, with a beer secured to the far end of the log. The rider must pull the log, 40 yards down the street, between the crowd, until they reach the end where they have to jump off, extract the beer, and chug it as fast as possible. This event crowns another winner, and is the perfect transition to the concert at the main stage to cap off the night!

Downhill Race Day

The champion of the Downieville Classic makes their name here on the downhill course the following morning. First, they do need to get to the starting line. Most racers will drive themselves up to Packer Saddle, which is not for the faint of heart even though these forest roads are all paved (the most California thing possible). Other options would be to camp up near the saddle and ride your bike to the start. Once at the start, going off at your predetermined start time based on bib #, you start off with a flat-out sprint, slightly uphill, before descending into some of the gnarliest terrain ever seen on a race course (excluding dedicated DH courses). The downhill course, upper half, is different than the XC course from the day before, so it’s all new but it flows super well. And by flow, I do not mean smooth, because it is anything but smooth and easy. I just meant that the trails are really, really well built and you can hit every single feature blind with enough speed and confidence.

The terrain is very chunky for the upper half of the race, with minimal “high-consequence” features, allowing you to really send it and let the bike eat up the terrain below you. Throughout the race you cross countless stream crossings which is a nice break to cool the legs off as the water sprays up, but there is little rest and reprieve throughout the course. And halfway down, you link back up into third divide, where the the course links back up to the XC course. And at about this linkup, you hit the one and only aid station on course, but you will likely not need to stop if you have a water bottle with you. The race finishes in exciting fashion, just like the day before, on the crowded main street with everyone ready to celebrate before heading home for the weekend.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a fantastic race weekend. No matter if you’re going out for a category Top 10, your PR, or just out to have a good time, the Downieville Classic just can’t be beat. From the people, the town, the course, and the party, it’s such a memorable weekend. Go Sign-Up today! If you need more motivation to go experience this for yourself, check out the film, “Dirt Magic” that Patagonia put together since that is what got me stoked on this back in 2019.