Race Report: Northwest Cup Round 1 & Pro GRT Round 2
And with the blink of an eye, the Northwest Cup 2019 race season has officially arrived. As always, the season kicked off at the always sunny Dry Hill in Port Angeles, Washington. Being that it was both round one of the NW Cup and Round 2 of the Pro Gravity Tour, riders from all over the country, and even from Canada, flocked to the rainy northwest to compete. With no surprise to the Port Angeles seasoned riders, the weekend was full of cold rain and a lot of mud. From sun and perfect dirt on Friday to heavy showers and large puddles on Saturday and then back to the sun on Sunday, the riders, and spectators were in for quite a weekend.
Port Angeles local Matthew Mangano excelled in his race run and finished in the top 15 of Junior Ex Men. His time was 00:02:43.57. (Cat 1 Men 0-18.)
Finding herself in the two spot, Kristen Faris put down a smoking time of 00:03:44.30. (Cat 2 Women 19-39)
Many practice laps later, David Karasek was less than a second off of the podium. His time was 00:03:01.98. (Cat 2 Men 15-18.)
Only .7 of a second behind her competitor, Alexis Fite finished with a 00:03:26.93. (Pro Women)
Even media folks want a chance to race. Ross McDonald from Mountain Bike Mania finished with his race run with a 00:03:13.07. (Cat 1 Men 19-29)
At under 10 years old, Crosby Zimmerman put down a quick time of 00:05:10.01, only .5 seconds behind his competitor. (Cat 3 Men 01-10)
After aging out of Cat 3 11-14, Alex Roberts took on his first ever Cat 2 race and finished with a time of 00:03:12.38. (Cat 2 Men 15-18.)
Event Coordinator, Scott Tucker took a turn at being a course marshal.
With 12 riders in this category, racers had to push it to the limit to get the result they wanted. Donald Riggs finished with a 00:03:53.86, only .21 seconds off the rider in front of him. (Cat 3 Men 19-39)
Dominating her category with a 00:03:46.50, Connor Shae James was over two seconds faster than the rider behind her. (Cat 1 women 19+)
With 33 racers in his category, Jesse Starr had tough competition. Unfortunately missing a podium spot, Starr put down a 00:03:33.20. (Cat 2 Men 30-39)
It's safe to say that seeding on Saturday was a muddy one.
After a bad crash on Cat 3, the EMTs, a photographer, race official, and other volunteers assisted in carrying down the injured rider.
With a small category it can be difficult to come out on top. Anna Brinkerhoff finished her race with a 00:03:51.75. (Cat 2 Women 0-18.)
Unfortunately, with that much mud and that many puddles, and at the high speeds that riders race at, brutal crashes were almost inevitable. Some major injuries included, a compound fracture, cracked ribs, a partial pneumothorax, dislocated shoulders, broken wrists, and more. Saturday was a busy day for the EMTs and ambulances. Some riders were fortunate enough to recover and find a way to ride but others weren't as lucky. Nevertheless, the racing continued and the injured riders stayed among everyone's thoughts.
Before suffering a compound fracture during Saturday Pro practice, Dillon Flinders practiced throughout Friday to find his lines. (Pro Men)
This rider wasn't the only one to clip their handlebar on the tree.
With a crash this hard, Pro Men rider Trevor Attridge was unable to race and resulted in a DNS.(Pro Men)
No matter the weather or the injuries that resulted from it, one thing remained true all weekend. The first race of the season, while hectic, is the best one because it reunites the NW Cup racing community. Through wind and rain and cold, racers, spectators, officials, families, and friends, stuck it out to support one another, have fun, and gain some points for the overalls. Of course, two things made the weekend a bit easier to handle, umbrellas and the fire.
Riders like Tommy Zula and Daniel Wolfe talked line choices while warming up next to the fire and trying to stay dry under an umbrella.
Those new race plates sure do stand out, even when they are caked in mud.
Finishing two seconds faster than the next rider, Junior Ex rider, Lucas Cruz finished with a 00:02:32.18. (Cat 1 Men 0-18.)
The bad weather never stopped the riding though.
Cat two racers, David Overman (rear) and Charlie Shivel (front) took practice laps together on Saturday. This paid off for Overman when he finished with a 00:03:20.50, putting him in the number three spot. (Cat 2 Men 50+ and Cat 2 Men 40-49)
Just clinching the number one spot, Bailey Goldstone came down as the fastest junior women in both seeding and race with a time of 00:03:11.38. (Cat 1 Women 0-18.)
Junior ex ladies patiently waiting for their seeding times.
Harrison Ory finished in the top half of pro men with a time of 00:02:39.00, less than .2 seconds off than rider above him. (Pro Men)
After practicing all weekend, Charlie Doherty was, unfortunately, unable to finish his race run and received a DNF in the results. (Cat 1 Men 30-39)
Absolutely crushing the competition, Anna Suroweicki finished with a 00:03:25.74, nearly 19 seconds ahead of the competition. (Cat 2 Women 19-39)
Even the dogs want to have fun.
After returning from Rotorua, Pro women Kialani Hines finished in the top spot with a time of 00:02:55.71. Hines is one of two women to finish under three minutes. (Pro Women)
With the fastest time on the hill in both seeding and race, Pro Men, Charlie Harrison's time of a 00:02:28.40 was just over a second faster than the rider behind him. (Pro Men)
Just missing the podium with a time of 00:03:16.23, Ryley Lynn will have to make up some time before round 2. (Cat 2 Men 0-14)
Racing must run in the family.
Leaning into the last corner of the hill, Andrew Farrell put down a time 00:03:18.85. (Cat 1 Men 30-39)
Continuing their support as they did in previous seasons, Fox Head generously donated a helmet to the NW Cup. Awarded to the rider with the ugliest, or in this case most broken helmet, it was no surprise that Pro Rider, Trevor Attridge won. If you remember, Trevor was the rider photographed above hitting the tree face first at full speed. The cracked helmet was just enough to win him the new Proframe helmet.
For the full results, click here.
Quick Facts:
> Round 1 of the Northwest Cup
> Round 2 of the Pro GRT
> Dry Hill, Port Angeles, Washington
> April 4-6, 2019
> 465 total racers
> Cat 1 and Pro rode King Diamond to Recluse to Chunder Dome to the finish
> Cat 2 rode White Knuckle to Double Bypass to Lower White Knuckle to the finish
> Cat 3 rode White Knuckle to Double Bypass to Bobcat to Cake Walk to the finish
Dry Hill mountain biking trails
Junior Ex Women Podium (Left to right): Sydney Haberman, Dixie Owens, Bailey Goldstone, Ella Erickson, Taylor Ostgaard.
Junior Ex Men Podium (Left to right): Milton McConville, Matthew Sterling, Lucas Cruz, Austin Dooley, Dante Silva.
Pro Women Podium (Left to right): Lucy Shick, Claire Buchar, Kialani Hines, Caroline Washam, Jordan Scott.
Pro Men Podium (Left to right): Austin Warren, Kirk McDowall, Charlie Harrison, Remi Gauvin, Magnus Manson.
For all photos from the race, click here.
Author Info:
Member since Nov 6, 2008
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But maybe I'm biased.
Also, shout out to Chelsea, #289, in the photo with me who got second at her first ever race!