Specialized/SRAM Atheletes Take First PRO GRT/FR Cup #2

Curt Keene (Specialized/SRAM) and Katie Holden (Specialized/SRAM) continue to dominate the Port Angeles WA Dry Hill track taking the first North American Pro Gravity Tour stop wins in Pro Mens and Womens classes. Weather decided to play her 'rain card' on Saturday night making the track very exciting for all racers Sunday morning, but the sun dried it out and the racing was intense!

Photo's provided by Carl Warren Photography (unless noted). Video by Andy Tran of Syndrome Racing.Anticipating a race is one thing, watching it grow like an out of control entity is what the organizers of the Fluidride Cup have been doing since it started last year. Riders from all over Canada and the US continue to hear through the grape-vine that the Fluidride Cup is one well proven race to attend and the demanding tracks bring back racers time and time again.


Racing started Thursday afternoon with an open practice for all early arrivals. It was apparent that from the get-go there was amazing rider support from guys like Scott at Fox Racing Shox who was busily re-building and assisting every rider that had an issue or concern. He dialed everybody up, including my Fox 40 that Blind Bobby McMullen handed me as a gift. From that moment on, my ride was smoothing out all the braking bumps and making landings butter smooth. Thanks to Scott at Fox Racing!

Friday was a bit more organized and each class had a set practice time. Cat 2 & 3 had 8am to 11am to practice and it proved to be a wicked good time. I personally sat out for about 40 minutes after I clocked 5 runs, then ran 2 more with plenty of more time to spare. Pro's and Cat 1's got to unleash for 4 hours as well and several guys had to work out new bikes and parts, so it proved to be a nice long hot afternoon. My neck, oh my burning neck.


Friday night, there was a video premiere for All Out Productions 'Days of Dirt' but rumors where circulating that it was packed so I opted to take my family to dinner and just chill with a walk around the marina taking pictures. My wife read every single 'Twighlight' book and owns the recently done movie- so she got to visit the actual sets of the film which made it a nice family vacation.


Saturday, it was apparent that the days Pro Qualifiers will be a great end of day show. Practice was a short two hours to finalize your race lines for both Cat 2 (sport) & Cat 3 (beginners) and they began racing Cat 3's at 3pm. Only 27 total Cat 3 racers attended this race which was a bit of a shock to the organizers, but made for a quick race. Props to ODI for providing Gold Plated Grips for the winners and Rockstar for hooking up a full case to each Fluidride Champion as well. Junior Experts where the fist big class to do the qualifying run and when it was all said and done- Pinkbike.com's/Devinci's Kyle Marshall took the hotseat into the finals. Just to mix things up, organizers decided to let the Pro Men run before the Pro Women. Curt Keene was the man to beat after posting a 2:43 and Katie Holden posted a 3:08 to take their hotseats into Sunday's Pro Final.


Sunday mornings come too dam early, I can never seem to sleep the night before a race. I always seem to run the track in my mind and I can't ever seem to stop it. By 7am I'm loading up my bike and heading to the Dry Hill for racing- a 2 hour practice from 7am to 9am is underway and a few guys got more than one run due to low crowds in the first hour. Heavy rains hit the evening prior for about 3 hours making the track 'more interesting' but with blue skies and a rising sun- the day was looking sweet.

Cat 2 racers loaded up by 10am to start racing and I had to hand over the mic to Casey Northern (ODS) to cover the hosting while I headed up to the start. This race we had a 'HotSeat' and it added an exciting element to the racing. Matt Patterson of Dirt Corps was monitoring the times through a new program and was able to tell us who had the current fastest times. Next race I was told I will have my own screen to watch and see times get posted to run it again. Very excited about the 'HotSeat' for upcoming races as I wondered why for the last 3 years of racing NW DH's we haven't had one- now it's a reality. Wait till you all hear the whistles next race...full European style!

One cool racing tidbit- Shane Conwell, a young man racing the hardtail open, passed a DH rig on the inside of the fastest corners of the track infront of cheering Cat 1 racers to make a miraculous pass. To say the track was intimidating is like saying the Hulk dances like Tinkerbell, this track is tough and fast.

I can never leave out the Cat 1's. You all are nuts, I only say that because I plan a return to that level of racing someday. But this field is deep for all age classes. Most amazing is Jason Moon, after a re-run he beats Brad Watt a former Semi-Pro racer who is now making 40+ the most talked about class now. Project 529's Darryl Jamieson did claim the hotseat, only to have John Pitton dethrone him. Hotly contested class that Cat 1 40+ gang. Other notable podiums was Transition's entire staff dominating the Cat 1 30-39 class, notably Kyle Young taking 'First Loser' and Sam B was in the odd 4th spot for Cat 1 19-29 and off podium, although Sam's lovely lady Jessica Serdowich made up for him by jumping up there for her medal. Team SAMICO!

Junior Experts are coming down the track now, first crazy incident has officially happened to Monteray Bay's Alex Amarillo, he collides with a spectator crossing the track, so he earns a re-run, on that 2nd re-run he nearly hits a toddler who happens to wander onto the track. Alex is so heroic because he threw his bike and himself off the track to miss the youngster. Alex, from all of us at Fluidride, Hurricane Racing, N-dub productions, we want you to know how special of a racer you are and that you are a true hero and inspiration to us for making such a brave call in mid-race run. Kudo's to you Alex! When the dust settled, Mukai Racing's Luciano Worl edged out Kyle Marshall for the win as the top 5 Jr's where all separated by less than 4 seconds. Amazing racers from the north and south and it's only the 2nd race of the year.

Pro Women are next and one by one they descend down to the finish line to stake claim into the Kona Women's Pro Prize Purse. In the end, Katie Holden (Specialized/SRAM) took another 3 seconds off her qualifying time and takes the first Women's Pro GRT Leader's Jersey. Jamis Factory rider Kathy Pruitt (with Maple, her dog) grabbed 2nd and Oakley's Katrina Strand locked onto 3rd.


The Pro Mens' field was 75 riders deep and their goal was to grab the Pro Men's purse provided by Evil Bicycles. Several traveling privateers battled long hours behind the wheel, sleepless nights and some mechanical issues made some of them stress out a bit. Others just enjoyed a well ran race and basked in a great atmosphere. There were massages available, BlueFlame BBQ was hosting a mean grill of Beef Brisket Sandwiches and Steelhead, Mikes Bikes of Sequim WA had racer support going, while hundreds of people milled around grabbing up free Rockstar samples, scoping Corsairs' new bike line and wandering around collecting goodies from Kona and Evil.

Once the racing started, it was apparent that when a racer came out of the woods and the cowbell's started to bang, it was another pinner heading to the line. Canada's Andrew Mitchell (Sombrio) held onto the hotseat for a really long time- he camped there for over an hour which made us all realize we need to make it much more comfortable as the kid's plastic purple chair wasn't ass friendly. Sorry Andrew! One by one they came down the track, some clean, some dirty and others really muddy from a hard dis-mount. All pros descended in order of their qualifying time in 30 second gaps. Fluidride founder Simon Lawton was back on form after a huge crash in the first race of the year and while many other racers began to scope the timing boards for results. Noticeable Factory teams are coming down like the entire Yeti National and Regional teams, Evil/Fluidride and Project 529, the Eastern WA crew from Wheelsport East has the biggest posse of organized Pro racers as they all descend. Santa Cruz and All Ride Academy Guru Kurt Voreis was super pumped on the scene and vowed to return to nurture his stable of amazing riders like Michael Sylvestri.


Then the top 10 dogs are unleashed, Lars Sternberg and Casey Northern both dismount sending shock waves of news down to us. Last year's overall Pro Mens Champion Bart McDaniel, Phil Weiring, JD Swanguen and Ryan Condrashoff, Joey Shusler, Chris Boice, Keran Bennet, Amado Stachenfield and who I think deserves MTB Hall of Fame status Kurt Voreis all charge hard to the line. In the end- Curtis Keene (Specialized/SRAM) edges out Luke Strobel (Team Maxxis/Rockstar) and Ryan Condraschoff (Fusion/Intense) for a World Cup level podium.

All results are here.


Enjoy this video by Syndrome Racing's Andy Tran:

ProGRT Fluidride Cup #2 2009

by runwithscissor09

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Video from Goldstein Productions:

Pro GRT Round 1

by GoldsteinProductions

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Carl Warren's Photo Profile.

View all photos in the Fluidride Gallery here.

A huge raffle prior and following the awards was provided by Shiloh Cyclery in Gresham OR.

The 2009 Fluidride Cup is brought to you by:

Kona Bicycles
Fox Racing Shocks
Evil Bicycles
Fluidride Bike Shop Seattle WA

Shiloh Cyclery
Pinkbike.com
e.13
Dakine
Scott
Corsair Bikes
Transition Bikes
Mace
Rockstar Energy
Gravity
Brasher's Auto Auction
Stevens Pass
Jones Soda
WTB
Arrow Racing
SRAM
Lizard Skins
Pryme
661
Royal Racing Apparel
ODI
Clif Bar Energy Bars

With Special Thanks to the entire Olympic Dirt Society crew, N-Dub Productions, Port Angeles EMS, Coast Guard EMT's and Hurricane Racing.

-Mike 'northwestdhdad' Estes

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