2012 Underworld Cup in Photos
May 1, 2012
With too many different race titles this weekend event organizers have decided to simply call this event the "Underworld Cup", and what an event it was. The NW Cup, ProGRT, and US Grand Prix of MTB event saw what could have been a record turnout of fans coming to see their favorite World Cup racers competing in the Pacific Northwest. The vibe was incredible, but mellow at the same time. A special thanks needs to go out to Scott Tucker, Casey Northern, Dylan Dean, Mike Estes, and all the others who helped make this event happen. This also includes all the shuttle drivers, course workers and event sponsors. I would personally like to thank Gypsy Coffee for keeping me well caffeinated, the BBQ guys for feeding me, and Red Lion for hooking many racers up with a great place to stay at a great rate. Oh, and Lacy Kemp for the S'mores... Also all the great spectators that helped out by keeping me well hydrated on course, you know who you are and you rock!
More information on the Northwest Cup Series can be found on their website
http://nwcup.com/ |
 Dylan Dean: this man bleeds DH racing. Gravity racing fans in the USA right now - at least as far as a National Series goes - owe Dean a collective thanks; were it not for his tireless work following the demise of the NORBA series, we wouldn't have a National DH race series. Awesome job, Dylan; we - the racers and the fans - truly owe you a big thanks! |
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| Morning ritual, and throughout the day as well. Java Gypsy coffee keeping everyone on track... |
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| Lars Sternburg, taking the edge off the chill of a damp, cold morning with a pull on a bit of a local flavor just serves to underscore the party-like atmosphere of racing here in PA. |
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| With racers allotted only a single training run on race day, but with up to 5 hours of waiting before their race run, it was time to plug in head phones and chill in the pits. |
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| Some racers need to go into a quiet place to get ready for murder; Logan Binggeli just needs a camp chair and good people watching in the pits. |
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| Race day prep at the professional level means every part is lubed and running smooth. Of course, if you've really done your job as a mechanic, that means lubing up your personal bike vs. your rider's bike. Eli Woody taking the down time on race day to get his trail bike in order. |
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| Remember that 5 hour wait for the pros? Lars Sterberg and Duncan Riffle take a pre race nap. |
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| Title sponsor Diamondback's own Kyle Thomas rests and preps for Sundays race. KT won the NW Cup series overall last year, will he repeat and keep his #1 plate? |
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| And then it was time to party! |
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| a Cat 2 rider gets his fare share of pro worthy heckling. Lots of American flags and Dr. Dre blaring out of the ghetto blaster. |
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| Locals raised heckling to new levels in PA; on a single run, a racer could conceivably be chased down the track by a screaming fan, air horned multiple times, cowbelled, mooned, and helicoptered. |
 | The naked guy thankfully had his back to me, but it was at a really slow part of the track, so definitely a distraction. - a female pro rider |
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| Cody Kelley, Brendan and the boys decided it would be fun to mess with him pre-race, took him a few seconds to realize it was drawn on a tear off and not on his goggles... |
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| Cody Kelley, 8th place in Jr X |
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| Local boy Big Tree Bikes rider Kevin Littlefield finished 2nd today and is another young gun to look out for... |
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| Transition Bikes Sam Burkhardt. You know those little warning stickers on your lawnmower about wearing proper footwear, this is why! |
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| Joanna Petersen |
| The dirt here was simply amazing, and the track was good fun. - Jo Petersen, sometime World Cup DH racer. |
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| Sunshine Coast local Holly Feniak qualified 2nd and was hoping to improve on that result. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way, 3rd on race day, 2.5 seconds behind Jill Kintner. |
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| Miranda Miller, another globe trotter with a local pedigree, is looking forward to time at home to knock down "Full Nelson" in Squamish this coming weekend. 2nd place here in PA. |
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| Northwest local Jill Kintner taking the win by a solid 2 seconds... |
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| Cove Bikes Mikey Sylvestri took an early lead and held onto the hot seat for almost 10 minutes until Greg Minnaar took it away from him. 7th place at the end of the day, an awesome result for Mikey! |
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| Kyle Thomas parting the red, white, and blue curtains in the waterfall line. This is the spot where Brendan went down after gapping the whole thing top to bottom... |
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| Logan Binggeli |
| I think this year the biggest thing I noticed was the fans. People coming to this event realizing that it's a sick venue, a sick organizer and a sick track. For a lot of people it's the third year around and I think people are recognizing that this is a great place to come race. It's bigger than a national race, it's like a Norba back in the day. - Logan Binggeli |
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| Not his best result, but Minnaar was genuinely enjoying the track, as were most racers. Pinkbike wasn't able to catch up to the current World Cup leader after the race, but in conversation on seeding day, Minnaar was relishing the low key attitudes at the venue as well as the flow of the track. |
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| Luke Strobel railing into one of the final corners of the track aboard his Pivot Phoenix. |
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| Bryn Atkinson is almost a local here, and 8th place proves he's in contention this season... |
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| Aaron Gwin, fastest American and 2nd place overall. |
| The fans were awesome, course was awesome. I think the whole scene in the northwest is pretty killer. Too bad it rains so much or I might consider a move! - Aaron Gwin |
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| Your winner Steve Smith! |
| The dirt here is the same as what I have at home, and it hooks up so well. It was just endless grip. And then the fans were so loud... They were louder than any World Cup I've been at. Must be a bit of American pride. - Steve Smith |
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| Brendan Fairclough was having a lot of fun here until his seeding run. A minor mistake put him into the trees and he smashed his shoulder into a tree. Bruised but not broken he'll be back next year. |
| This was my first time here and for sure I'll be back. The tracks awesome, it's the perfect mix between downhill and like moto ruts and little jumps everywhere. I had such a good time. It's a shame about injuring my shoulder but apart from that I had a great time and I'll be back. I think they've got a good scene going on here. - Brendan Fairclough |
