2016 NW Cup Round Five: Mt. Hood Skibowl, OR - Race Report

Downhill racing can hardly be considered easy, even under the most favorable conditions. Riders have to read the terrain, work the best lines, and push their limits while staying in control. They do this all while the racers ahead and behind do their best to fight to the top. That’s under the best conditions. Which is not what greeted racers at Mt. Hood Skibowl for round five of the NW Cup.




Skibowl has one of the gnarliest Cat 1/Pro courses of the series and a well-earned reputation for eating riders and bikes alike. The rain and heavy fogs that settled around the summit added to the race day challenge as the trail took on a peanut butter quality that was often obscured as riders struggled to see through the mist.




This was the NW Cup's second stop at the foot of Mt. Hood and the format ran the same as earlier in the year with seeding runs in the morning for Juniors and Pros. Followed by Cat 3, Cat 2, and Cat 1 races before the Juniors and Pros would once again take to the slopes in the afternoon.

The Cat 3 course included an additional section of trail that reduced the time spent on the road to almost nothing - this full helping of singletrack did come at the cost of some additional pedaling, giving trail bikes a possible advantage. In response to extra long times at round three, the Cat 3 0-10 crowd raced on a half course to keep times more reasonable. The Cat 2 course stuck true to Cannonball and kept the best bits of the Fire Hydrant trail before briefly ducking into the woods to take advantage of the roots and ruts. The Cat 1/ Pro course was unchanged and served up the expected speed and tech with added channels of mud.




Skibowl's operations extend past mountain biking, so it was with some surprise that racers learned there would be a three and a half hour course hold during Saturday's practice to allow for a wedding mid-mountain. The change in the schedule made for tight practices, but the lifts reopened for bikers from six to eight to allow for a few last runs before the light faded.




Jaime Rees, Luke Strobel, and Austin Lancaster each rode in with back-to-back wins and were on the hunt to make it three consecutive. With only two pro women competing, and a total of three wins under her belt, Rees' odds were looking good. Strobel is a quick favorite at any race, but he hasn't always taken top marks at Skibowl. Lancaster's recent successes put him at the front, but he was followed by several hungry riders looking to take the spot at the top.




The cloudy skies of Saturday gave way to the cold drizzle of Sunday — making for some particularly chilly lift rides and some surprising kit decision from several Juniors who taped extensions to their helmet visors. Juniors and Pros spent the start of their morning huddled beneath tents waiting for seeding runs to kickoff and the battle with the mist to begin.




Colton Weirsum's seeding time was the quickest Juniors' time of the day at 4:02:15 and he seemed ready for a spot on the podium. Weirsum was followed by Josh Gibb, Sylas Linnemann, Dylan Brown, and Declan Ervin. Austin Lancaster seeded 9th. Jaime Rees led Kerstin Holster. Nate Furbee set the Pro Men's pace by laying down a time of 3:36.72 with Kent Billingsley, Matt Orlando, Andrew Flaschenriem, and Kasper Dean spread behind. Luke Strobel flatted on the Ridge Trail and punched a DNF.




Fortunately, for the Cat 3 racers, the upper portion of their course afforded them some cover in the trees. The other categories weren't so lucky as the experience of plunging down Cannonball was intensified by heavy mists. Cat 2 braved the worst of this onslaught, with more than one call of "I can't see" being heard on the fast descent. The weather did begin an upswing in time for the Juniors to start dropping in, and there was even some sun mid-mountain for the pros to finish off the day.




Even with seedings just hours before race runs, the results can change pretty quickly. Colton Weirsum's bid for the podium slipped away as he dropped to ninth. Sylas Linnemann linked up a clean run that earned him his first Junior's win — which was properly anointed by Dylan Brown and Josh Gibb who took second and third. Austin Lancaster claimed fourth and Declan Ervin held his fifth place time to secure his first Junior's podium.

Jaime Rees settled the day ahead of Kerstin Holster for her fourth win of the season, both shaved several seconds off their seeding times. Also, back on top for the fourth time this year was Luke Strobel who led Ben Furbee by 4.47 seconds, ahead of Matt Orlando, and Andrew Flaschenriem. Nate Furbee got tossed from the course but was still impressively able to finish fifth despite his crash. Full Results Here.




The break in the weather held just long enough for the crowd to gather for a heart-felt dedication of Skibowl's skills area to the late Kelly McGarry, and to cheer on the day's podiums. Nobody hopes for trying conditions before a race, but severe conditions make for some of the best and most exciting memories, especially when shared by a strong community of racers and friends. The NW Cup heads to Stevens Pass Bike Park next for round six on August 5-7.

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MENTIONS: @ericashley

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