Mountain bikers with an interest in honing their skills got a lesson from one of the sports' best riders Sunday at the Marin Icycle Sports Mountain Biking Clinic.

The clinic was taught by professional rider Shaums March and featured three different sessions, which were all held at the F.H Collins Secondary School soccer field.

The varying levels included a course for beginners, intermediates and advanced riders. Each session was sized for 12 participants and all three were filled to capacity.

"It wasn't hard to fill and I think if we were able to take more we would have gotten more," said Devon McDiarmid, the general manager at Icycle Sports. "Whitehorse has a huge riding community and there are a lot of people just itching to learn more and more."

The clinic was a part of the Mad March Racing tour, which is based out of Squamish, B.C. Mad March Racing was founded in 1998 with the goal of teaching success strategies and techniques, which are geared at improving the abilities of their students in the sport.

The organization uses professionally certified instructors who teach in a more hands-on capacity.

Mad March Racing teaches more than 500 students a year and includes tours all across B.C. with stops in cities such as Whistler and Vancouver.

Mad March Racing camps place special attention, at all three levels, on the fundamental skills needed to be successful as a mountain biker.

March, who has been competitive in mountain biking since he was 19 years old, has more than a few accomplishments over the course of his career. His list of achievements range from being a two-time Masters World Downhill Champion to placing second overall at the B.C. cup series in 2004.

His Master World Downhill Championship wins occurred in 2006 and in 2007. March's title in 2007 came in Pra Loup, France. At the competition, March beat out a field of 97 riders in the men's 30-34 downhill contest. His time posted was 3:55.28 and he was the the lone American entered in the event.

The Whitehorse clinic was $75 to participate in, which included two hours of instruction for each of the three sessions and a variety of prizes that could be selected by all of the individuals who took part in the event. Among the prizes, were water bottles, T-shirts and hats.

Some of the differences in Sunday's clinic included a shorter time frame for each lesson and more individuals who participated. Usually Mad March Racing clinics range anywhere from two, to four or even six hours in total length.

A two-clinic would normally feature six to seven participants at the most for each of the three different skill levels.

McDiarmid said offering sessions for the different levels benefits both the teachers and students.

"You want to be able to teach within a certain level to keep it consistent," he said.

"If you had 12 individuals of varying levels it would be very hard for the coaches and it would also be very hard for the students. It's intimidating to be riding beside an advanced rider when you are just starting out for the first year."

The beginner courses for Mad March Racing centred on building up the confidence of the riders and teaching the techniques that would allow for participants to become more comfortable on the bike.

These techniques can include proper body positioning and weight shifting.

Intermediate classes are usually made up of individuals who have been mountain biking for a few years and hope to improve with some of the more difficult aspects of the sport, including carving and wheel lifts.

The advanced groups are normally people who have been riding for quite some time and are just looking for smaller incremental increases in their overall performance.

Some of the fundamental techniques that were taught on Sunday included having a neutral body positioning, proper breaking methods, gearing, looking ahead, timing and co-ordination, speed and bike body separation and how to properly move around on the bike.

Elladee Brown is a representative for Shimano and Marin cycling and assisted March at the Whitehorse clinic. She said it is important to teach the basic fundamental techniques at all three levels.

"All mountain biking skills are based off those fundamental elements," she said.

"Then from there you can move into more advanced skills, like bunny hopping or wheelies or more advanced technique, but they are all originate from those fundamental elements."

Brown has been involved in mountain biking for more than 20 years and this was her fifth time visiting Whitehorse. She said she was impressed with how the riders did and expects there to be more clinics held in the community in the future.

"It's gone off really well today," Brown said.

"(There's) a massive trail network, so it's pretty obvious this place has a lot of keen riders. People are looking to improve their skills and get better. From what I have seen from the last five times I have been here is every year there is a little bit more participation. There is a pretty high skill level here, there is no doubt about it."

Kaitlyn MacDonald has been mountain biking for three years and participated in the intermediate session on Sunday.

This was MacDonald's first clinic in the sport and she said she was pleased about taking part.

"It was definitely worth it," she said. "I just want to learn more skills. Just take in as much as possible from these guys."

MacDonald said she improved the most with her turning ability and plans on practicing some of the other techniques she learned at the clinic out on the trails.

MacDonald said if the clinic is held again next year she will take part and after how well the intermediate course went, she said she might even enter at the advanced level.

March, who has been a teacher in the sport for 10 years, said he was the groups did amazing on Sunday.

"We were watching the beginner program and just watching the beginners on their bike after we did the basics, they could just move around on their bike without being so nervous or sketchy," he said.

"They instantly had more control and confidence and that's the main thing that confidence level, of getting people's levels up. It really helps."