Race Report: NW Cup Round 7 - Whitefish, Montana

On its 11th year, the Northwest Cup is still making its way to new locations and providing riders with a new experience each year. In this case, the new location was the beautiful Whitefish Mountain Resort in Whitefish, Montana. Home to 32 thrilling trails, a total descent of 11,037 ft, and an endless view of the glaciers surrounding it, it's no wonder the Northwest Cup chose to take it over. Going into the weekend, the talk among the riders was "what about the smoke?" because much of the PNW has been engulfed by fires and thick smoke for the past month. Event coordinator, Scott Tucker, responded with "as long as the lifts are running, the race will continue." Fortunately for racers, the smoke was hardly an issue throughout the weekend. However, come race day, the weather gave riders quite the surprise. When the lifts began running at 8 am, the recorded temperature at the top of the mountain was a bitter 40 degrees and the endless wind made it feel even colder. Then when the podiums began, heavy rain added to the cold temperatures.








The animals of Whitefish proved they weren't scared of anything that walked by.











Cat 2 riders such as Erika Scholz were faced with the decision to take the drop or the "easy way out" on GNR. Either way put the same amount of time on the clock and gave the riders an opportunity to ride so freshly watered dirt. (Cat 2 Women 40+)



A new location means many of the racers have to learn and race a new trail. Although this isn't true for the mountain natives who came out for the race, it is for most of the Northwest Cup racers. When racing a new trail, often times the first thing that riders see is the course previews. The course previews can make a major difference in how the riders think the weekend will go. However, the riders can't simply rely on course previews. New trail also means more practicing and more discussion among riders. What line is the fastest? What PSI should they run? Which bike are they gonna ride? And many, many more. Obviously, there is no one right answer because everyone prefers different setups. When it comes to lines, pressures, tires, it is mostly the same. And at most races, which bike they will ride is the nearly the same, except for this weekend.

For all riders among all categories, there wasn't one bike that was significantly chosen over the other. Whether it was a trail bike or a downhill bike, times were tight. For example, the Pro Men rider, Nikolas Clarke raced on a downhill bike while the second place Pro Men rider, and Montana native, Damon Sedivy raced a trail bike. Ultimately it came down to comfort and which bike felt the best.

















For full results from the race click HERE

• Round 7 of the NW Cup
• August 24, 2018 – August 26, 2018
• Whitefish Mountain Resort, Whitefish, Montana
• Cat 1/Pro rode Runaway Train to the finish
• Cat 2 rode GNR to Kashmir to Freebird to the finish
• Cat 3 rode Kashmir to Freebird to the finish
• 233 riders

Whitefish Mountain Resort mountain biking trails



For more photos from the race click HERE