Mark Weir participated in a back-to-back weekend of benefit events in October, finishing with more than his usual impressive results in both. After completing Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge GranFondo ride that benefitted local Santa Rosa charities and the city’s bid for a stage of the Amgen Tour of California, Weir traveled to the Northstar at Tahoe resort where he placed third in the Race for Tara. Getting on the podium for the downhill competition was a greater achievement, knowing he was supporting the continued care and recovery of Tara Llanes, who survived a horrific crash at the 2007 Jeep King of the Mountain finale in Beaver Creek, Colorado.

Llanes was left with no feeling from the waist down after enduring a seven-hour surgery to her back and spinal cord. Race proceeds will be allocated to the Tara Llanes Road to Recovery Fund and the Christopher Reeve Foundation to find a cure for spinal cord injury.

Weir was grateful for the opportunity to take part in the event that packed a good race with good people and an incredible vibe that was enhanced due to the nature of the cause—supporting one of mountain biking’s own.

“Tara is an incredible person who is surround by great people who not only care about her and her foundation, but also about keeping mountain biking a very family event that’s fun and exciting for all levels,” Weir explained. He added that the race track was very good and the most well balanced course he thought the US has ever had. “It had guys like Adam Craig running to get full gear and a DH bike to feel comfortable,” he said.

With the podium stacked with all DH bikes except for one guy (Weir), who opted for the bike he brought and the one he likes to ride the best—his Santa Cruz Nomad. “I always like a course that has DH guys saying the pedaling is killing and XC guy’s scurrying around for more travel,” Weir explained. “It seems to me that Tara and Northstar pulled off something that the NORBA or national series has yet to do—make a real balanced enduro course.”

As their first effort at Northstar at Tahoe, the race was not without some flaws. However, it didn’t matter much to the participants who were completely consumed with getting themselves down the hill in one piece, and preferably without flatting.

Prior to the race, Weir said he spent a few moments second-guessing his call to run a short travel bike due to how beat the course was. In the end, he was pleased with his decision and credits his bike set-up for a large portion of the staying in “one piece without flatting” part that was a challenge for so many in the race. He went with a Fox coil suspension and the new Weirwolf 2.3 All Mountain TCS tire with Inner Peace sidewall protection, and dual compound, which was perfectly suited for the course.

In terms of the race, Weir explained, “I had come down first with a time of 9:58 and I was sure it would not be fast enough. After 10 to 15 other racers came down, I was still on top until Even Turpin nudged me out by less than three seconds. Then to everyone’s surprise, Craig came down with the fastest time of the day, 9:51.” Weir warned against letting the fast times fool you, adding again that the course was really tough and although it was physically demanding, it still had very good balance. Yet, some questions still remained unanswered to him, such as why the intervals between the men and the women were just a minute apart.

Weir described some difficulty when he was only second to start in the pro class yet he ended up catching two women (one of which was Craig’s girlfriend) and sucking thick dust most of his run. He lost valuable time when he had to come to almost a complete stop to pass one of them. Was this Giant team tactics? Was this all part of their scheme to have Weir sucking dust so a high poster could take the win? Conspiracy theories aside, in the end it really didn’t matter because all proceeds, even the pro purse, went to Tara and her foundations.

“That’s why we came to support her,” Weir said, adding that in doing so, she is supporting us with one of the best events and most balanced courses the US has ever had to offer. Weir’s final sentiments about the race included a sincere thank you to Tara. “You are an inspiration and we know you will never give up,” he said.