Race Report Northwest Cup 2019 - Round 3
Northwest Cup round 3 was one for the books. Wind, rain, fog, snow, and the tiniest bit of sunshine made for a variety of conditions and events. With an unbelievable downpour on Friday, limiting riding or even sending riders away, the trails became a mud pit. Unfortunately, the rain did not let up on Saturday and even turned to snow. By seeding time, the Junior Experts and Pros were treated to just under an inch of snow before the last man dropped. It's safe to say it was a cold, wet weekend. That is until Sunday. The clouds burned off, the sun shined, and the blue sky popped. Although the clouds weren't gone entirely and the rain hit for a brief moment, the bottom of the trails was able to dry and the sunglasses were brought out.
In his first race of the season, Weston Potter seeded first then finished second in his race run with a 00:03:31.69. (Pro Men)
With his second win of the season, Jobe Androckitis finished with a 00:07:17.08. (Cat 3 Men 15-18.)
Riding for Sweetlines Junior Racing, Emma Artz finished her race with a 00:05:49.86, putting her in fifth place. (Cat 2 Women 0-18.)
In only his third race ever, Justin Ruth finished in the top ten with a 00:05:23.83. (Cat 2 Men 30-39)
Although struggling with vision issues, Nikolas Clarke seeded fifth then made up time in his race run to put himself in third. He finished with a time of 00:03:32.36. (Pro Men)
This weekend, the Cat 3 Men 0-10 category had more riders than pro men with 17 riders total making for some stiff competition. Jake Stegall raced a 00:04:38.62, 10 seconds faster than the rider behind him! (Cat 3 Men 0-10)
With how much rain we had this weekend, washing the mud off the bike and gear was a necessity.
One of the few riders taking advantage of practice on Friday, Jacob Guthrie finished with a time of 00:04:04.22. (Cat 1 Men 0-18.)
Taking after his dad, Braden Delzer put down a quick time of 00:04:55.62 which put him in the top ten. Cat 2 Men 0-14 was one of the biggest categories in the race with 25 riders in total. (Cat 2 Men 0-14)
Peter knew the quickest way to an emergency.
Unfortunately, two turns after this, Jeremy Mings crashed on the rock drop and suffered a badly broken leg. (Cat 2 Men 19-29)
Once the injured rider was off the hill, the medics took the time to thank volunteers for the added support.
After struggling in his run, Jagger Bucy finished with a 00:11:15.23, nearly five minutes slower than the rider in front of him. (Cat 2 Men 0-14)
After making up time from his seeding, Jason Eiswald won his first race of the season with the fastest time on the mountain, a 00:03:28.57. His time was just over three seconds faster than the rider behind him. (Pro Men)
Absolutely dominating the Pro Women category in both seeding and the race, Claire Buchar finished 30 seconds ahead of her competitors with a 00:04:12.29. (Pro Women)
Fighting the snow along the side of the course, Sofia Miranda finished in the middle of her category with a 00:09:01.41. (Cat 3 Women 11-18.)
On his personalized DVO fork, Kirk Linder finished with a 00:05:22.97. (Cat 2 Men 50+)
Finding time from her seeding run, Sydney Haberman finished with a 00:04:40.17, which put her in the number one spot, by just over a second. With only four Junior Ex girls at the race this weekend, the times were tight. (Cat 1 Women 0-18.)
Aaron Thompson was able to put down a clean run and come out on top by nearly 2 seconds. His time was 00:07:37.75. (Cat 2 Men 19-39)
Ryan Stern finished in the middle of the pack with a 00:04:19.29. (Cat 1 Men 40+)
Coming in first by only 0.5 seconds, Shannon Lell got her second win of the season with a 00:09:31.07. (Cat 3 Women 40+)
The rocks sure were slippery on Sunday. Unfortunately, Ella Erickson was unable to hold on to the top spot in her race run and finished in second with a time of 00:04:41.85. (Cat 1 Women 0-18.)
Getting her first win in Cat 2 after a clean sweep of Cat 3, Aletha Ostgaard finished three seconds faster than the next with a 00:05:19.41. (Cat 2 Women 0-18.)
Rounding out the top 3, Scott Kemp crossed the line with a 00:04:09.37. (Cat 1 Men 40+)
Coming in fourth place and just missing the podium, Anthony Tangalin finished his first ever race with a 00:08:17.93. (Cat 3 Men 40-59)
The only glimpse of the mountain we got till the very end of the weekend.
While Wyatt Mckenzie didn't finish his race run, Gavin Stanton made it down in 00:05:13.06. Stanton just missed the top ten but with 25 riders in the category, 11th is still impressive. (Cat 2 Men 0-14)
After an error in his seeding run, Ethan Lieb took on with his eyes on the prize. With a time of 00:03:44.58, Lieb was 6 seconds faster than the rider behind him. HIs time would have put him in 8th place in Pro Men. (Cat 1 Men 0-18.)
In only his second NW Cup, Ethan Whittaker found himself on the podium and in the number two spot with a time of 00:07:45.27. (Cat 3 Men 15-18.)
Although unable to put a perfect run together, Heidi Seefeld got down the hill in one piece and with a time of 00:07:16.59. (Cat 2 Women 19-39)
With a 00:06:31.32, Erika Scholz scored herself a spot on the podium and went home with the bronze. (Cat 2 Women 40+)
After aging out of Cat 3 0-10, Dixon Owen was able to hold his own and get himself in the top ten. His time, 00:08:09.27, was good enough for seventh place. (Cat 3 Men 11-14)
When it has already rained all weekend, you give up on trying to avoid it.
In his first year of Junior Ex, Jonah Brinkerhoff just missed the podium by 2 seconds. His time was 00:04:00.08. (Cat 1 Men 0-18.)
With a possible crash in his race run, Steve West was unable;e to make up the time and found himself at the bottom of his category with a 00:05:52.94. (Cat 2 Men 30-39).
Quick Facts:
> Round 3 of the Northwest Cup
> Mt. Hood, Oregon
> May 24-26, 2019
> 292 total racers
> Cat 1 and Pro rode Top of Upper Bowl to Ridge Trail to Canon Ball to High Road to Pro Line Trail to Bottom Fire Hydrant to the finish.
> Cat 2 rode op of Upper Bowl to Fireball to Canon Ball to High Road to Upper Gnar Gnar to Fire Hydrant to finish or Cat II Trail to Bottom Fire Hydrant to finish.
> Cat 3 rode Top of Upper Bowl to Sunrise Trail to Sunset Trail to Upper Gnar Gnar to Fire Hydrant to finish.
> Cat 3 10 and under rode Top of Lower Bowl to Sunset Trail to entire Gnar Gnar to finish.
Skibowl Bike Park mountain biking trails
Junior Ex Girls Podium (Left to Right): Taylor Ostgaard, Sydney Haberman, Ella Erickson, (Not Pictured: Rebecca Sasten).
Junior Ex Boys Podium (Left to Right): West Palmer, Blake Rausch, Ethan Lieb, Jacob Smith, Riley Plummer.
Pro Women Podium (Left to Right): Claire Buchar, Jamie Rees, (Not Pictured: Autumn Parham).
Pro Men Podium (Left to Right): Torsenn Brown, Nikolas Clarke, Jason Eiswald, Weston Potter, (Not Pictured: Mitch Ropaleto).
West Coast Racing took home the award for best rain cover this weekend.
For more photos from the race click HERE
Special thanks to the sponsors of the Northwest Cup: Specialized, Shimano, Dialed MTB, Icicle Brewing, LIB Tech, FSA, Evil Bikes, Fox Head, Transition, Northwest Riders, Schwalbe, Pinkbike and Nuun!
Author Info:
Member since Nov 6, 2008
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