Race Recap: Back-to-Back Wins for INTENSE
IFR’s Nate Kitchen is on a roll. After taking the top step at round 2 in Mountain Creek, he backed it up with another win at round 3 at the Solitude National, giving him back to back victories this season.
Nate's ride at Solitude began smooth, controlled and very fast but quickly got out of control and nearly cost him the win. He managed to recover well and minimize the damage to the clock and absolutely destroyed a turn after his feet came clean off the pedals. Three rounds in, he's proving that Mountain Creek wasn't a one off and it's a sign of where his speed is right now.
The rest of the team brought the fight too. Dante Silva qualified 1st and was the last man down the hill, a position he's familiar with. He led the race through the first two splits before two mistakes dropped him to 4th, that stings given how good the run felt early on for him.
Teagan Heap is quickly back up to pace from a long list of injuries and was flying with green splits. It looked like a podium, maybe even a win was in reach before a crash cut her run short. Making it even more frustrating is that it was in the same place she had a crash at the Mountain States Cup 2 weeks prior. She's taking the positives and building on them for National Champs next week.
Tyler Wagoner put together a solid ride on a track that's given him trouble in the past, but struggled to connect the dots on the sections that mattered and finished 8th in a heavy Junior men's class with a clear read on what to sharpen before Nationals.
Separate to IFR, The Outlaw team has been putting in work across the globe all season, with notable results delivered. Luke Mallen capped off round three of the Monster energy Pro DH Series at Solitude with a win in the Junior Men’s category, bouncing back after a runner-up finish at Mountain Creek in round two. Combined with his opening win at Ride Rock Creek, the result puts him among the strongest riders in the Junior Men’s standings through three rounds, with one round remaining before September's US Open finale.
Eli Bundy has also been on a tear this season. The Cat 1 15-16 Junior Men’s racer has gone three-for-three, taking the win at every round this season. What really sets his runs apart is how they stack up outside his own category — his times would have landed him on the Elite podium at every race except Solitude. For a junior rider to consistently run at that pace against the sport's top field is a strong signal of where his career is headed.
Next stop for both teams: National Championships in Big Bear.
