2012 Underworld Cup in Photos
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/
DH Results Overall Results 2 Complete2
More information on the Northwest Cup Series can be found on their website http://nwcup.com/
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 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 |
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DH Results Overall Results 2 Complete2
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40 Comments
- 8 0
Forest-Gnome
(May 1, 2012 at 14:26)
Rule no.3 is the most important, in my opinion, and should be respected in every other race event.
- 6 0
dylansherrard
(May 1, 2012 at 14:24)
Sam Burkhardt has one of the best beards in MTB, glad to see it displayed in this article!
- 1 0
Stinkyboy8
(May 2, 2012 at 7:17)
I want to see an article on richie rude, or more about him at least
- 6 0
global747
(May 1, 2012 at 16:47)
Can we talk about Fairclough hucking the chute?? rad!
- 3 0
nlitworld
(May 1, 2012 at 19:44)
I sat right there and watched "the huck". Truly awesome in every aspect until about 15 feet further down the trail where his front wheel slid out and made an emergency right turn into a tree. 1,000 mph to 0 instantly. Bummer to see him out, but he still had a big smile on when he sat at the same spot to watch the finals.
- 1 0
highstreet
(May 1, 2012 at 21:49)
I got pictures of him hucking the waterfall but didn't catch the crash. Check out the picture www.pinkbike.com/photo/8060562 and check out the album for more pictures of the race.
- 1 0
ralbisurez
(May 2, 2012 at 10:11)
shot of Brendans huck before he hit the tree. www.pinkbike.com/photo/8050887
- 4 0
nouser
(May 1, 2012 at 17:58)
So what about that double enforced "no spectators inside the tape rule"? (refer to picture 12 )...
- 1 0
scottrallye
(May 1, 2012 at 22:32)
Two years ago TWO (yes, TWO) racers hit spectators on the course during their race runs. One photographer lady got NAILED right at the bottom jump. Needless to say, they are adamant about keeping people OFF the course.
- 1 0
xenophile
(May 2, 2012 at 2:03)
People should face the consequences if they're on the track while racers are riding it. You'd expect the same at an F1 event....
- 1 0
scottrallye
(May 2, 2012 at 6:54)
Except that while they may deserve to get nailed, it still ruins someones race run that they have dedicated a ton of time, money, effort, travel and smelly gear to do.
- 3 0
bobsten
(May 2, 2012 at 8:16)
I'm not a spectator. Rules do not apply.
- 1 0
ebxtreme
(May 2, 2012 at 16:30)
Valid point, Bobby.
- 1 0
scottrallye
(May 12, 2012 at 8:57)
Bullhorns automatically exempt you from spectator rules.
- 3 1
c25porter
(May 1, 2012 at 15:11)
So sad that I chose work over this, Sure there was an awesome VW show in Bellevue and I made money instead of spending it, but definetly sad I missed this.
- 1 0
Pininator
(May 1, 2012 at 23:52)
I was there from Friday thru Sunday and it was one of the best weekends I've had there to date. I've been there close to a dozen times now and they just keep raising the bar!
- 3 0
jm1234
(May 1, 2012 at 14:17)
Now that is heckling, good effort!
- 4 0
machaut
FL (May 1, 2012 at 22:50)
Helicopering is when u spin your dick around like a propeller right?
- 2 0
IanHylands
(May 2, 2012 at 10:32)
right....
- 3 0
SHARK555
(May 1, 2012 at 17:05)
Dr Dre! that cassette must be worth a fortune!
- 1 0
bebemonk4ever
(May 1, 2012 at 18:03)
FOR SURE THAT WAS DOPE!!!!!
- 2 0
shredds
(May 1, 2012 at 18:19)
hahaha look at Sam Burkhardt with his camera and his hat and his glasses and his plaid tee-shirt and his backpack.
- 1 0
aspenracer07
(May 1, 2012 at 19:20)
This was the best race I have ever been to. And watch out for Alex Willie 5th place Jr Cat 1!!!!
- 1 0
mtz666
(May 1, 2012 at 16:18)
SOOO about that dirt league, i think i made the right choice in having jared graves and mick hannah while they were cheap 
- 1 0
MmmBones
(May 1, 2012 at 23:54)
Best race I have ever been to. Track was dope, people were cool, racing was hot, so was Lauren Daney.
- 4 3
mtbgrant661
(May 1, 2012 at 14:14)
Hmmm I wounded if your allowed inside the tape??? 
- 3 0
bebemonk4ever
(May 1, 2012 at 18:04)
well... you could try... but its in america i wouldnt risk trying that
- 3 0
kwilliams420
(May 1, 2012 at 18:31)
That is how you end up in Guantanamo.
- 2 0
bebemonk4ever
(May 1, 2012 at 19:53)
or hospital with a cowbell atached to your head and a botle of bear up in your ass ...
- 5 0
IanHylands
(May 1, 2012 at 21:29)
They put bears in bottles now?
- 2 0
machaut
FL (May 1, 2012 at 22:51)
I got so trashed off that bottled bear last night, must of been a bad batch of bears eh
- 2 0
trailchef
(May 2, 2012 at 0:19)
Ian has two badges beside his name, cool.
- 1 0
DirtMcGirk
(May 1, 2012 at 17:12)
Man, I miss living in Washington now! Such an awesome scene up there.
- 7 8
caiocrz
(May 1, 2012 at 16:43)
I would be pretty pissed if I got a flat from a broken glass bottle in the middle of a race. That dude running behind the racer in an idiot.
- 1 0
parisgore
(May 2, 2012 at 14:21)
your obviously not familiar with good ol' American Heckling from Bobby Stenson himself.
- 2 1
BrandonGreenawalt
(May 1, 2012 at 14:21)
Will says more cowbell!!
- 1 0
bebemonk4ever
(May 1, 2012 at 18:05)
i say more cowbels too!
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