PORT ANGELES — There weren’t any Canadians yet, but more than 500 competitors returned to the Olympic Peninsula this weekend for the renewal of the popular Northwest Cup downhill mountain bike races at Dry Hill west of Port Angeles.
“It was pretty perfect. There were plenty of participants,” said Scott Tucker, Northwest Cup co-director.
Tucker said conditions were perfect with good weather over the weekend and a good track. The track was dry, but not too dry.
“There was just enough moisture,” he said.
With the solid conditions, there were few crashes or injuries.
The Northwest Cup returns as a six-race event that goes from May until September, with races at Dry Hill this past weekend, from June 4-6 and from Sept. 10-12. There are also races at Tamarack, Idaho, from June 25-27, at Whitefish, Mont., from July 30 to Aug. 1, and at Stevens Pass from Aug. 6-8.
Tucker said while the full Northwest Cup had to be canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, downhill mountain bikers were able to race in a couple of events in Idaho last summer.
Dry Hill is very popular with Canadian riders as British Columbian mountain bikers would converge on Port Angeles in past years. Unfortunately, there weren’t any Canadian riders at the May event as the border is not open yet due to COVID restrictions.
“You could definitely tell they weren’t there,” Tucker said. “It was still awesome.”
Tucker is hopeful that by the September race, B.C. mountain bikers will be able to compete at Dry Hill.
Mountain bike riders from as far away as North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Montana attended the race with one pro rider listing Lillehammer, Norway, as her address. A total of 22 Olympic Peninsula riders participated against some of the best downhill mountain bike racers in the nation.
Racers were separated into Cat 3 (novices), Cat 2 (experienced), Cat 1 (experts) and pro riders. Pro riders came from all over the United States. One change this year is a lot more age categories were added for the younger ages.
The best local finisher was Steve Johnson of Port Angeles, who came in third in the Cat 3 Men’s 50+ category. Jeffrey Catton of Port Angeles also did well in the more difficult Cat 2 30-39, finishing fifth while Michael McGuire of Port Angeles came in sixth in the Cat 2 40-49 and Ronan McGuire finished sixth in the Cat 2 13-14 race.
There were a pair of Cat 1 expert local riders who are veterans of past Northwest Cups. James Gardner of Port Angeles finished 10th in the Cat 1 30-39 men’s race, while Talon Northern finished 33rd in the Cat 1 boys U18 race.
Below are each category’s winner, plus local finishes.
Northwest Cup
Race 1, Sunday
Dry Hill
Cat 3 Men
Boys U7 — Horton Brody, Snohomish, first, 5:08.32.
Boys 8-10 — Wyatt Christensen, Kingston, first, 4:07.59.
Boys 11-14 — Bentley Moore, North Bend, first, 3:50.35; Henry Haxel, Port Angeles, 15th, 4:21.12; Ethan Barbre, PA, 20th, 4:37.66.
Boys 15-18 — Claudio Ceron, Aurora, Ill., first 3:37.15.
Mens 19-39 — Alec Lawrence, North Bend, first, 3:45.18.
Mens 40-49 — Grant Riggs, Bend, Ore., first, 4:11.58.
Mens 50+ — Whitney Koeberle, Kirkland, first, 4:05.58; Steve Johnson, PA, third, 4:12.96.
Cat 3 Women
Girls U10 — Samantha Botts, Ashland, Ore., 4:34.06.
Girls 11-18 — Claire Kushnick, Seattle, first, 4:00.89; Taylor Coleman, PA, ninth, 5:06.78.
Women 19-39 — Carina Piscitelli, Issaquah, first, 5:12.68.
Women 40+ — Jennifer Watterson, Enumclaw, first, 4:47.36.
Cat 2 Men
Boys U12 — Travis Maliska, Tehachapi, Calif., first, 3:09.11.
Boys 13-14 — Cash Shaleen, Acton, Calif., first, 2:53.21; Ronan McGuire, PA, sixth, 3:10.35; Finn Thompson, PA, 17th, 3:25.62; Anthony Jones, PA, 18th, 3:26.58.
Boys 15-16 — Jacob Tayler, Draper, Utah, first, 2:55.87; Peter Zelenka, PA, 14th, 3:10.93; Win Jones, Sequim, 30th, 3:29.44; Cash Coleman, PA, 32nd, 3:39.27.
Boys 17-18 — Terjal Decker, Whitefish, Mont., first, 2:56.43; Oscar Ruiz, PA, 11th, 3:11.34.
Men 19-29 — Scott Scamehorn, Bellingham, first, 3:00.47; Joshua McElrath, Port Townsend, 12th, 3:14.59; Henry Manza, PT, 13th, 3:14.81.
Men 30-39 — Alex Nelson, Redmond, first, 3:02.87; Jeffrey Catton, PA, fifth, 3:13.98; Spencer Larsen, PA, 14th, 3:25.87.
Men 40-49 — Johnny Blair, North Bend, first, 2:57.23; Michael McGuire, PA, sixth, 3:20.60; Jared Scott, PA, 11th, 3:28.90; Leland Gibson, PT, 16th, 3:33.13.
Men 50+ — Jason Gibb, North Bend, first, 3:07.13; Ron Riggs, PA, ninth, 3:28.61; Will Stevenson, PA, 18th, 3:40.35.
Cat 2 Women
Girls U 18 — Chloe Bear, North Bend, 3:21.75.
Women 19-29 — Madeline Button, Bellingham, first, 3:37.48.
Women 40+ — Lindsay Chutas, Spokane, first, 3:50.10.
Cat 1 Men
Boys U18 — Ryan Pinkerton, Aliso Viejo, Calif., first, 2:31.90; Talon Northern, PA, 33rd, 2:53.10.
Men 19-29 — Brett Donohue, Bellingham, first, 2:36.69.
Men 30-39 — Spencer Baldwin, Bellingham, first, 2:46.03; James Gardner, PA, 10th, 3:02.89.
Men 40+ — Scott Kemp, Olympia, first, 2:46.56.
Cat 1 Women
Girls U18 — Taylor Ostgaard, Selah, first, 2:55.02.
Women 19-29 — Julie Baird, Portland, Ore., first, 3:18.85.
Women 40+ — Agnes Sauvage, Seattle, first, 3:29.12.
Pro Men (top 3)
Cahrlie Harrison, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., first, 2:21.19; Demetri Triantafillou, Salt Lake City, second, 2:23.91; Austin Warren, Alpine, Calif., third, 2:24.56.
Pro Women (Top 3)
Frida Helena Rønning, first, Lillehammer, Norway, 2:45.52; Kailey Skelton, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., second, 2:48.42; Rachel Pageau, Knoxville, Tenn., third, 2:49.24.
