(Vail)--The Athletic Club at the Westin Mountain Bike Town Series will wrap up its 2015 season Wednesday with the Beaver Creek Blast. The Beaver Creek Blast races will begin at 5:30 p.m. underneath the Buckaroo Express Gondola near the Hyatt starting with the Larkburger Youth Series for riders ages 8 to 14 and all adult race categories at 5:32 p.m. Following the race, an after party will be hosted by the Beaver Creek Resort Company and The Dusty Boot and the much anticipated announcement of both individual category and team winners of the series will take place. This is the final race of the seven race series, which is presented by East West Resorts, Anthem BlueCross BlueShield, Summit Ford and The Dusty Boot.

Individual race costs are $25 for preregistration or $35 on race-day. Registration is available by going to www.vailrec.com. Preregistration for individual races ends at 5 p.m. tomorrow and day-of registration will end at 5:15 p.m. Venture Sports, the official bike shop of the Beaver Creek Blast, will be onsite to provide neutral support for racers with last minute mechanical issues.     

Coming into Wednesday's competition, many individual standings will be determined with only 10 points separating racers for first and second in their respective categories. Here's who to watch:

• Larkburger Youth Series racers Aidan Duffy and Jack Eastabrooks are tied for first with 470 points in the Boy's 14 category and Finn Larson and Lucca Trapani are separated by just 15 points in the Boy's 17 category.
• Men's Sport rider Sam Brown is edging out Nolan Herzog by 10 points and Ian Greene by just 15 points.
• Geoff Soelter leads Tim Halbakken by 10 points and Adam Kowalski by 15 points in the Men's Vet Sport category.
• Paisley Frischolz is just 15 points ahead of Heather Sappenfield in the Women's Masters category.
• Men's Grand Masters Ron Gruber and JC Norling are separated by just 25 points.
• Clydesdale Tug Birk leads by 30 points to Cameron Douglas and following closely behind is Robert Moehring.
• It will also be the battle of the "Js" with Men's Pro rider Josiah MIddaugh leading by 35 points over Jake Wells, followed closely behind by Jay Henry.

 

The race will include an after party at Dusty Boot in Beaver Creek with a free keg of beer provided New Belgium Brewing Company and dinner provided by the Beaver Creek Resort Company. In addition to series prizes, prizes also will be presented after the race to the top three finishers of each category, as well as a raffle prize drawing featuring products from race sponsors, area merchants and national companies. Parking will be available at the Ford Hall or Villa Montane parking structures on a first-come, first-served basis. Once parking fills, racers and spectators will park at the bottom of the mountain and either ride up to the start area or take the free shuttle to the top. Racers are encouraged to arrive early to leave time for parking.

 

Following the Beaver Creek Blast, the VRD will host two cyclocross races in September. Cyclocross races will take place Sept. 2 at Maloit Park in Minturn and Sept. 9 at the Eagle County Fairgrounds.

In addition to the Athletic Club at the Westin, East West Resorts, Anthem BlueCross BlueShield, Summit Ford and The Dusty Boot, sponsors of the 2015 race series include Vail Valley Medical Center, Town of Eagle, The Steadman Philippon Research Institute, The Steadman Clinic, Central Rockies Mortgage, Vail, Beaver Creek, Apex Dental, New Belgium Brewing Company, POC, Avon Liquor, Optic Nerve, Outdoor Tech, Yeti's Grind, Yellowbelly, Honeystinger, Vail Honeywagon, Venture Sports, The Kind Bikes and Skis, Mountain Pedaler, Pedal Power and KZYR 97.7. The 2015 Youth Series is presented by Larkburger and KidSPORT.

Registration, course information and start times are available by visiting www.vailrec.com/sports/mountain-bike-racing/mtb-race-series or calling 970-479-2280. For information on all other VRD programs and activities, visit www.vailrec.com or call 970-479-2279.