“With this decision, the future of mountain bike racing in state of Oregon has a somewhat brighter outlook.”
— Park Chambers, owner of Fat Tire Farm
A lawsuit many feared would have an ominous ripple-effect on mountain bike race promotion in the state of Oregon has been withdrawn.
As we shared earlier this month, Lisa Belair-Sullivan filed a lawsuit against a race promoter and sponsor after she crashed and injured herself on a log that had fallen across a trail. Belair-Sullivan was warming up for the Dog River Super D mountain bike race in May. Her lawsuit contended that event promoter Petr Kakes of Hurricane Racing and Park Chambers of Fat Tire Farm (a shop who was the title sponsor of the event) created a safety hazard that she was unable to avoid.
On January 9th, we confirmed with Belair-Sullivan that she withdrew the case. While she has yet to make an official public statement, Park Chambers issued one on January 23rd. We’ve pasted the statement below in its entirety:
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Petr (Hurricane Racing) and I (Park-Fat Tire Farm) would like to thank the cycling community as a whole for coming together on this issue.
Fat Tire Farm (FTF) and Hurricane Racing (HR) have learned that the lawsuit filed against them at the Multnomah County Court has been withdrawn by the plaintiff. With this decision, the future of mountain bike racing in state of Oregon has a somewhat brighter outlook. FTF and HR are looking forward to the upcoming season and will soon announce future plans to continue to support competitive riding.
No one likes to see accidents happening during events. Mountain bikers, race organizers and promoters work together diligently to avoid such situations. However, all of us who ride bikes competitively have fallen before and we know crashes are part of the activity that we love and chose as participants. Unfortunately, gravity supported riding involves falls as part of the sport.
Let’s recognize, for the future of competitive mountain biking events, that there are inherent risks involved. Our hope is that each participant makes the right personal choice and takes appropriate responsibility in exercising judgment during events or while mountain biking. Personal responsibility while riding is paramount to the sport, trail access and the continued well being of competitive mountain biking for the racing community as a whole.
Park Chambers
Fat Tire Farm
21st Ave Bicycles
Hood River Bicycles
2714 NW Thurman St
Portland, Or 97210
CORRECTION: The original version of this story said the lawsuit was “dismissed.” It was actually withdrawn. Sorry for the mistake.