Georgia State Championship series (GSC) #6

It has been a tradition that the last round of the GSC series happens in Helen, Ga and this year was no different, it also seems to be a tradition for the weekend’s event to have to deal with rain at one time or another, this year it came down right after the start of the first wave making an already challenging course even tougher. This historic trail that was used in the 1990’s to host national profession races is considered a climbers course and although the route that was used was only 6.5 miles it packed a punch and oh yes there was a creek crossing which this year served the riders well as it gave them a chance to rinse some mud off the bike before heading up infamous 3 sisters climb.

The lap times were understandably slower than previous years due to the slickness but the racers dug deep with many championship implications on the line. In the end it was Matt Dockins taking the men’s top spot from defending series champ Jesus Martinez (Jesus would win the war however as he claimed the 2021 GSC series title) and it was Simone Berger topping the women’s field and she also would take the series championship. The series overall awards banquet was held later that afternoon at the Unicoi lodge to a packed house and it was Douglas Gambarota awarded the most improved rider, Shannon Himstedt the most improved junior, Madison Wall the most improved female and David Norman the sportsmanship award. Congrats to all.