Race Report: NW Cup Round 5, Stevens Pass Bike Park
Demetri Triantafillou was one of the many riders that kicked up a massive cloud of dust after sliding out in one of the final corners of Berserker. In his race run, Triantafillou missed the top spot by 1/100th of a second. (Pro Men)
Words and Photography: Osmithracing.
The Northwest Cup returned to Stevens Pass Bike Park for round 5 of the series. Although Stevens is under new ownership of Vail Resorts, many things have remained the same. The trails, the people, and the weather. Each year, riders return to Stevens expecting hot weather and dusty trails. This past weekend, the average temperature remained at 77 degrees. With hot weather and no rain, trail conditions became rougher each day. Along with the sun and the heat, spectators and riders were faced with brutal mountain mosquitos. Although bug spray was highly used, the bugs didn't stop.
Taking the outside line around the tree, Saylor Jackson followed the same line as the rider in front of her. Unfortunately, Saylor struggled during her race and finished in the bottom of her category. (Cat 2 Women 0-18.)
Cory Yalowicki was able to put down a clean run and crossed the finish line with a 03:25.45 putting him second place. (Cat 2 Men 30-39)
After taking the win in Round 4 at Silver Mountain, Tyler Villopoto struggled to put together a clean run. Villopoto missed the podium spot by 5 seconds. (Cat 1 Men 19-29)
Dave Heinbach sat on the side of the trail with Taylor Ostgaard after she went over the handlebars.
Justin Maliska throws a whip on one of the table tops on Slingshot Wookie. On race day, Maliska finished with a time of 03:30.46 putting him in the three spot and on the podium. (Cat 2 Men 0-14)
Jesse Ransavage recovered after sliding out in the corner before. Ransavage said even though he crashed in the corner during practice, the fastest he made it through the corner was during his race run. (Pro Men)
Unfortunately, Jacob Cadman faced a flat during Saturday practice and was forced to walk down the rest of the trail.
Nori Klein took practice laps with Sweetlines coach, Kat Sweet on Saturday. Klein placed second in her category with a 06:00.36. (Cat 3 Women 0-10)
Cat 2 riders rode the wooden berm on Slingshot Wookie before continuing down to the bottom.
Chayce Williams stays inside on the left-hander before taking on the right-hand corner in front of him during practice. Williams finished with a 03:29.98 in his race room putting him in the top 10 of his category. (Cat 2 Men 15-18.)
The All Out Racing boys wait on the lift before taking their last practice lap of the day on Saturday. On race day, all three pro men put down a clean run. Dylan Brown finished in 7th with a 02:26.72 Bailey Villalovos finished in 15th with a 02:30.19, and Kody Clark finished in 17th with a 02:31.38. (Pro Men)
Daniel Brixey leans into the corner before hitting the first table top on Slingshot Wookie. (Cat 2 Men 40-49)
Riders gather at the bottom of the hill to talk about their seeding runs.
Matt Orlando faced a weekend ending crash in seeding when his rear tire hit a rock and kicked him off the bike. Orlando held on to the handlebars and remained clipped in until he bounced over the bars and landed on his head. He hit the ground so hard he had knocked himself out and did not move. WIth a concussion as bad as his, he had no recollection of the race run he had just done. His teammate, Demetri Triantafillou ran out to help him up as event coordinator grabbed his bike off the trail. After racing was finished, the team Transition team gathered to discuss what had happened.
Dalton Webb leads Jimmy Schwend-Cloherty over a jump during Saturday practice. Although Webb failed to put down a quick run, Schwend-Cloherty earned himself the top spot in his category with a 03:08.97. (Cat 2 Men 19-29)
Bryce Kans sends it over the shark fin on Berserker during practice on Friday. (Pro Men)
Riders wait in line during practice. The line grew longer and longer as the riders came down to practice.
In one of the biggest categories of the race with 34 people, the riders faced a major challenge. Dylan Schwenk battles on Saturday but finished with a 03:43.90, nearly 33 seconds behind first. (Cat 2 Men 15-18.)
Although Kristen Faris did not start her race run, she had practiced all weekend on Slingshot Wookie to prepare. (Cat 2 Women 19-39)
In his first downhill race of the season, Jason Eiswald dominated during seeding and took the number two spot behind his brother, Carson Eiswald. With a couple mistakes in his race run, Eiswald added some time but remained on the podium with a 02:20.87 putting him in 5th place. (Pro Men)
After moving up to Pro Men, Bryan Crum struggled to put down a clean run with a 02:42.23. (Pro Men)
Junior Ex racers Spencer Ervin and Gideon Bender sit and watch the screen as the seeding times come in. (Junior Ex Men)
Jack Hill sends it over the rock drop on Berserker during practice. In his race run, Hill finished with 02:42.65. (Cat 1 Men 19-29)
Known for getting the most laps in each weekend, Michelle Macartney took another practice lap. The practice paid off this weekend though as Macartney finished in the number 2 spot with a 03:23.61. (Cat 1 Women 19+)
When it's nearly 80 degrees at the base, the riders need whatever they can to stay cool.
Before crossing the finish line, Frank Culhno adds some flare into his practice lap. In his race run, Culhno took the win with a 02:28.92. (Cat 1 Men 19-29)
Miles Lind, Jacob Schwend-Cloherty, and Jimmy Schwend-Cloherty took a full practice lap together on Saturday practice.
Although only 3 seconds behind the closest competitor, Kyle Jones, finished in the bottom of his category. (Cat 2 Men 15-18.)
Aletha Ostgaard takes her fifth win of the season with a time of 05:11.89. Nearly 49 seconds ahead of her competition. (Cat 3 Women 0-10)
Spectators do what they have to in order to watch the race runs in the best spots. In this case, pushing the stroller up the road was the only way to get to the top.
Marcus Brown passed Jestin Kroft on the final straightaway of the Cat 3 course during their race run. Brown finished with a 05:10.39 and Kroft finished with a 06:17.96. (Cat 3 Men 19-39)
Although Emma Artz wasn't the quickest of her category, Chane Dustin was able to take the win in his category with a time of 04:44.85. (Cat 3 Women 11-18 and Cat 3 Men 19-39)
Taking a break from the Cat 3 course, Enzo Rolfe had some fun on Slingshot Wookie. (Cat 3 Men 11-14)
Tyler Bommarito put down a quick clean run and was able to take his first ever win in Junior Ex. With a time of 02:25.73, Bommarito would have finished in 7th in Pro Men. (Junior Ex Men)
Taking her first win of the season, Kerstin Holster put down a solid run and finished with a 02:50.44. (Pro Women)
Fox Head kindly gifted another helmet to the rider with the ugliest and most beat up helmet. This weekend, the lucky winner of the new helmet was Pro Women rider, Elena Runyan.
After facing a flat in his seeding run, Weston Potter dominated during his race run and took his first win after returning from retirement. Potter had the fastest time on the mountain with a 02:19.24, only 1/100th of a second faster than second place. (Pro Men)
With the fastest time in women on the mountain, Autumn Parham finished in the top spot in both her seeding and race run. Her time, a 02:47.09, was 3 seconds faster than the top Pro Women. (Junior Ex Women)
• Round 5 of the NW Cup
• July 13, 2018 – July 15, 2018
• Stevens Pass Bike Park, WA
• 330 riders
• Cat 1 and Pro rode Berserker to the finish.
• Cat 2 rode Slingshot Wookie to PBR to the finish.
• Cat 3 rode Rock Crusher to Pirhana Bird to the finish.
Stevens Pass Bike Park mountain biking trails
For the full race results click here.
For more pictures from the weekend click here.
Junior Ex Women podium left to right: Sydney Haberman, Autumn Parham, Ella Erickson.
Junior Ex Men podium left to right: Dawson Young, Gideon Bender, Tyler Bommarito, Ethan Lieb, Chris Wharton.
Pro Women podium left to right: Chelsea Kimball, Kerstin Holster, Elena Runyan.
Pro Men podium left to right: Jason Eiswald, Carson Eiswald, Weston Potter, Demetri Triantafillou, Kasper Dean.
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*written from inside the AC looking at 115 degrees outside*