NW Cup Round 2, Port Angeles - Race Report
Round 2 of the NW Cup was blessed with fantastic conditions once the misty fog on Friday burned off. The jackets were put away, and the shorts came out for the rest of the weekend. With a high of 64 on Saturday and 72 on Sunday, what more could the crowd ask for? As the sun shined, so did the riders. Due to the change in conditions of mud to dust, the riders had a lot to deal with. Nonetheless, the smiles were endless, and the weekend fun continued at the truly dry, Dry Hill.
Transition team rider, Matt Orlando soaring over the hip in Braeburn. Orlando moved up four spots in his race run, placing him in 6th place with a time of 00:02:37.51.
The sun shined through the trees as racers ride through White Knuckle. (Cat 2 Women 0-18.)
Celebrating with friends is Kellen Gary's favorite thing to do after a win.
The talk of the weekend was the young Canadian rider, Jackson Goldstone. At only 14 years old, Goldstone is taking over the series one race at a time. This time last year, Jackson was winning his way through Cat 2 0-14. Now he is finishing in the top spot of Junior Ex with times that place him 12th in Pro Men. A common phrase that was passed around the Pro’s this weekend was “you got Jacksoned.” People are shocked when they see Jackson flying down the hill merely because of his size. For reference, Trek created a custom extra small bike just for Jackson. But neither his size nor his age is stopping this kid from ripping up the competition.
Jackson Goldstone flew down the trail putting him in the number one spot. Goldstone's time of 00:02:39.37 was less than a second off the top 10. (Cat 1 Men 0-18.)
After many years, the NW Cup has added a new category, Junior Ex Women. The girls have long awaited for this season because up until now, they were in Cat 1 until they were old enough to compete in Pro Women. Now, the best young women can compete at the same level as the Junior Ex men.
Sometimes you just need to take a break...
Roosting the final corner, pro men rider Liam Smillie crosses the finish line during his seeding run. Smillie nearly held the number three spot from his seeding run but finished in 4th with a 00:02:33.73. (Pro Men)
Rocking a bright blue tutu, the Sweetlines riders stand out as both the riders and coaches who sport tutus during their race runs. (Cat 3 Women 11-18.)
Pro Riders, Kintner, Strobel, and Atkinson take a break from practice to spend some time catching up and talking about the trail.
Young ripper, Max Mckenzie let loose during practice. (Cat 3 Men 0-10)
Although Trevor Lewis didn't have the run he was looking for after a "rough weekend of crashes and mechanicals", the pro rider finished with a 00:02:45.68 and still had a great time this weekend. (Pro Men)
With a couple slip-ups in his race run, Mathew Groves came into the last corner with his eyes on the finish line. Cat 2 19-29 had a total of 28 riders competing this weekend. (Cat 2 Men 19-29)
Pro rider Kody Clark coached Jake Stegall after his dad had a gnarly crash at the last round which prevented him from riding.
2017 pro women national champ, Jill Kintner, returned to the PNW to compete this past weekend. Kintner took the outside line on the Lower Pro hip and kept it close to the ground. Placing first in her category with a time of 00:02:49.17, Kintner was ahead of the competition by nearly 3 seconds. (Pro Women)
Magnus Manson scrubs the large hip on Lower Pro. Manson finished with a nearly perfect run and the fastest time on the hill, 00:02:28.64. (Pro Men)
The list of the NW Cup sponsors is ever growing. From Transition to Schwalbe, Nuun to Specialized, every sponsor brings something to the table. Due to the generosity of their sponsors, the NW Cup provided riders with incredible prizes for an exciting raffle at the end of the race. Along with the raffle, Casey Northern and Scott Tucker put on the annual ugly helmet contest. With assistance from sponsor Fox Head, the winner of the ugly helmet contest won a shiny new Rampage Comp helmet. As riders placed their broken and ugly helmets up on stage, Casey held them up one by one. The crowd cheered louder and louder as helmets got eliminated. Down to the final two helmets, the crowd went wild. The winner of the helmet was the young ripper, Elliot Klein. How lucky is he?!
Riders crowded the stage as volunteers handed out tickets for the raffle.
Catching a glimpse of the ocean, West Coast Racing team rider Crabshack throws in a whip during practice on Upper White Knuckle. (Cat 2 Men 40-49)
After a rough crash during practice on Saturday, Cat 1 rider Andrew Boxold finished the race with a 00:02:48.16, putting him in the number two spot. The doctor later diagnosed Boxold with a boxer's fracture and he will be receiving surgery on Friday, May 11th.
The medics were busy as the conditions changed throughout the weekend. But they managed to have some fun in the mud before heading down the hill for the day.
At his second race ever, Johnny Pray finished with a 00:03:20.00, landing him the number 2 podium spot. (Cat 3 Men 15-18.)
For facts from the weekend see below and for all results from the weekend, click here
• Round 2 of the NW Cup
• May 4, 2018 – May 6, 2018
• Dry Hill, Port Angeles, Washington
• 419 riders
• Cat 1 and Pro rode King Diamond to Braeburn to Heckler’s Row to Lower Pro to the finish
• Cat 2 rode Upper White Knuckle to Double Bypass to Lower White Knuckle to the finish
• Cat 3 rode Muffin Top to Middle White Knuckle to Lower White Knuckle, to the finish
Dry Hill mountain biking trails
Junior Ex Women Podium (left to right) Sydney Haberman, Bryce Bassett, Ella Erickson
Junior Ex Men Podium (left to right) Chris Wharton, Seth Sherlock, Jackson Goldstone, Zach McCracken, Ethan Lieb.
Pro Women podium (left to right) Kerstin Holster, Kyleigh Stewert, Jill Kitner, Sarah Olsen, Kaytlin Melvin.
Pro Men podium (left to right) Liam Smillie, Demetri Triantafillou, Magnus Manson, Luke Strobel, Casper Dean.
For more photos click here.
Author Info:
Member since Nov 6, 2008
Must Read This Week
[UPDATED] Final Elite XC Results & Overall Standings from the Mairiporã XC World Cup 2024
42295 views
42295 views
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup
10 Comments
- 30 3
kingfish666
(May 10, 2018 at 7:21)
I like seeing race reports that have pics from every category, not just the pros.
- 8 0
knick
(May 10, 2018 at 9:14)
I was just thinking the same. Nice to include results/podium pics of everyone not just the pros!
- 14 1
PNdubRider
(May 10, 2018 at 6:50)
“you got Jacksoned”
- 3 0
dglass
(May 10, 2018 at 8:19)
That speed blows my mind.
- 2 0
n1ck
FL (May 14, 2018 at 20:19)
I'd hate to be one of those older kids on the Jr. Ex podium. Yeesh.
- 4 0
shedsidechuck
(May 10, 2018 at 9:59)
nice pics and report. great to see smaller sized dh events get some coverage.
i have to get my ass out to dry hill trails!
- 7 1
JDFF
FL (May 10, 2018 at 13:40)
Actually a pretty good sized dh event for North America.
- 6 1
pancakeflatted
(May 10, 2018 at 10:20)
ermmm....kids as redbull marketing pieces. gross.
- 3 2
Dhmiket
FL (May 10, 2018 at 4:21)
Nice race report and pics . Looking forward to racing at Tamarack !
- 2 1
backyardshredder
(May 10, 2018 at 8:12)
Great write up!
Login or Sign Up