Keeping the Momentum: Silver Star BC Cup/NW Cup
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 Troy Brosnan, Britney White, Aaron Dobie, and Ben Yeager collect their race plates. |
The last time we all assembled at Silver Star Resort was for FrostBike back in March, when we headed to the mountain on Saturday morning the temperatures didn't feel all that much different. After driving through a hot and smoke filled Kelowna where the city was desperately fighting forest fires on Friday, the torrential downpour the next day was a welcome relief for everyone but the racers. Most found that the course was slippery with some tackiness in surprising areas, however paying attention to the wet lines while dialling in their practice runs that morning had little value as the sun was out by noon and the course was nearly dry by the end of the day. Unfortunately the weather was as unpredictable as Britney Spears during her head shaving years, and the wind came up; course tape billowed, trees threatened to fall, and only part way through the timed practice runs the mountain had to shut the lift down. The high winds were also responsible for the cancellation of the Whip Off contest. Race organizer, Stephen Exley, funnelled the prizes earmarked for the contest to giveaways at rider meeting which proved to encourage attendance and pack the Saloon.
Sunday morning again started off with some soggy practice runs but the sun came out in time for the race start and conditions were dusty by the end of the day. With over seventy Americans in attendance, and red, white and blue race plates paying homage to the BC Cup/NW Cup partnership, there were some friendly rivalries on the track. At the end of the day Luke Stobel (2:55) and Dean Tennant (2:57) won fastest American and fastest Canadian respectively. It was Troy Brosnan, the current World Cup points leader, who took the top step with a time of 2:46. And Claire Buchar who won the Elite women's category with a time of 3:21.
 | I loved the dusty conditions, it felt like being at home. It was great to compete and get some racing in to find my edge again. All in all the event was run really well and I had a great time. It's always fun when Brett Tippie is there! - Troy Brosnan |
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| 291 racers registered for the event, including over 70 from south of the border. |
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| Tippie was onsite and on the mic, giving away prizes and being awesome! |
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| Tippie and Liam Exley get busy selling raffle tickets for this Intense 951 EVO frame. All proceeds go to the Love for Lola fund. |
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| After the torrential downpour during practice on Saturday came the fog. |
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| The race course followed Dag's Downhill trail, the same as last year but with a revamped lower section for spectators. |
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| The course was tacky with some slippery sections post rain. |
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| Flats are no ones' friends. |
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| The whoops section at the bottom of the course was often more awkward and scary than it was fast for the racers. |
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| Claire Buchar during practice laps, she took the top step in Elite women. |
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| Trevor Thew from Vancouver Island pops over a rock section. |
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| Skipping over the chunder. |
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| Holding his line through a mid track rock section, Isaac Marangoni placed third in Junior Expert Men. |
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| Finding a little style coming out of the trees. |
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| Eben Kiehl flies takes the smoothest route; through the air. |
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| There was a brief time on Saturday where the sun came out and the lifts were still running. |
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| The winds got a little crazy on Saturday, eventually causing the mountain to close their lift and cancel the seeding runs. |
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| The weather was all over the map this weekend; from forest fires to cold rain. |
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| The last of the practice runs on Saturday. |
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| This was likely the best attended Riders' Meeting in the history of BC Cups, I'm sure it had nothing to do with all the $1100 worth of prizes that were given away, but things got weird when Tippie offered up prizes for the worst/best flesh wound. |
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| Practice runs started up again at 10am on Sunday allowing racers to make up for the laps they missed out on the day before. |
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| Luke Miller picking his lines during practice. |
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| Victor Smith of Team Freehub was one of the many 'mericans who made the trek to Silver Star this weekend. |
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| Troy Brosnan gets some love from the ladies on his practice run. |
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| Alex Wynakos showing Canadians how to ride their own trails. |
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| Josh Stadnyk turning his back on the ride around in favour of the rocky and steep route through Fraggle Rock. |
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| Nic Rodgers attacks his practice run. |
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| Nate Cheyene boosting out of a wooded section on course. |
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| The race course threads in and out of treed areas that connect rocky steeps and straight away peddle sections. |
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| Phil Mowatt (CCN Bikes) and Scott Tucker (North West Cup) swapping trade secrets and improving relations between our great nations. |
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| Jay Louden giving and getting the love, offering neutral support in the pits. |
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| Adriano Digiacinto mentally preparing for his race run. |
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| Stephen Langrell drops in at Fraggle Rock. |
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| Max Scharf took first place in Junior Expert Men. |
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| After the high winds caused trees to fall on the mountain on Saturday, racers were motived to get through this section quickly. |
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| Cameron Sorensen worked tirelessly to clear over a dozen fallen trees out of the bike park before they opened on Sunday morning. |
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| Broken during pre-runs, this kid hiked up the hill to spectate. |
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| Jessie McAuley sprinting to the finish. |
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| Nathan Harvey throws some style into his race run just meters before the finish line. |
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| Sam Tomkins gets some encouragement from a mini sized crowd. |
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| Nic Rodgers railing the berm in his race run and earning fourth in Junior Expert Men. |
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| Britney White, just coming back from a broken hand, travelled all the way up from south of the border and ended up with a flat on her race run. Luckily someone had a consolation beverage ready for her track side. |
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| Danice Uyesugi came in 2nd in the Elite Women's category. |
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| Ben Yeager gets some encouragement from some rowdy spectators. |
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| Troy Brosnan on his winning run, putting in a time of 2:46:94. |
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| Aiden Greanya and his mom helping clear the course. Aiden was one of three pre-runners (under 13). His dad who was also helping clear the course tape took 3rd place in Masters 40-49. |
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| The next generation. |
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| Bryden Rigets collected from CCN Bikes with the fastest time through their speed trap. He beat Troy Brosnan's speed of 64.6 kph narrowly with a speed of 64.7 kph. |
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| The Intense 951 EVO frame that was up for grabs. |
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| The winner of the Intense 951 EVO! |
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| Racers and spectators were challenged to get creative with a crowd judged sign contest. The winner took home a set of Gemini night lights provided by Dunbar Cycles. |
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| Luke Stobel (2:55) and Dean Tennant (2:57) won fastest American and fastest Canadian respectively. |
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| Flavor Flav, or rather Momentum, inspired medals. |
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| Elite Women's Podium; Adrian Hopkins (3rd), Danice Uyesugi (2nd), and Claire Buchar (1st). |
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| Elite Men's Podium; Kirk McDowall (5th), Nick Grim (4th), Dean Tennant (3rd), Luke Strobel (2nd), and Troy Brosnan (1st). |
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| Luke Strobel and Troy Brosnan get into the champagne. |
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| That's a wrap, onto the Golden next weekend for Provincials at the Western Open. |
Silver Star Results:
As with all the SE Racing organized events, things ran smoothly despite mother nature's meddling. The community vibe and love for the sport was evident with everyone involved, from coaches, to the 3 under 13 pre-runners (a first for BC Cups), to the families who raced and volunteered. Most important was the continual dialog about improving and growing the racing scene, supporting youth and finding new ways to introduce newbies to racing. As we wrap up in Silver Star with a day of timing-free park laps, we can't wait to move on to the next BC Cup in Golden. If you haven't registered yet, don't miss out!
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Wc riders always participate in random cups and races, lots of them spend time in BC during breaks because well, its the peak of the season and the riding is amazing there. keeps them fresh for the restart of the season.
Good to see him riding well. Keen for the next round.