PORT ANGELES — The Northwest Cup downhill mountain bike races concluded with exciting races at Dry Hill earlier this week.
“The pro final times were extremely tight,” Northwest Cup co-director Scott Tucker said.
Tanner Stephens of Concord, Calif., won the men’s pro division with a time of 2 minutes, 37 seconds. The next 10 finishers were within 2 seconds of that time.
The second- and third-place racers were within hundredths of a second: Mitch Ropelato (Ogden, Utah) finished in 2:37.96, and Luca Cometti in 2:37.99.
Jill Kintner of Seattle won the women’s pro race by more than 17 seconds, finishing in 2:50.81.
“We had about 500 riders from all over the country,” Tucker said.
“Everything went super-smooth and people love coming to Port Angeles. Not just for the tracks, but also the town.
“The race is a three-day event, so there were a lot of people around all weekend.”
Several North Olympic Peninsula riders, mostly from Port Angeles, competed in the various divisions at last weekend’s races.
The highest finish was by Port Angeles’ Bryan Campbell, who placed second in the Category 2 Men’s 30-39 division.
That race, in fact, was dominated by Port Angeles riders: James Kauffman took fourth, Cooper Lange fifth, Dante Ruiz sixth, James Gardner seventh and Alton James eighth. Sequim’s Chris Niclas came in 31st.
Kristi Niclas of Sequim came in fifth in the Category 3 Women’s Open race.
Other area finishers, all from Port Angeles:
■ Category 2 Men’s 15-18: Ezra Northern, eighth; Christian Middleton, 23rd.
■ Category 2 Men’s 50+: Will Stevenson, 10th.
■ Category 3 Men’s 11-14: Oscar Ruiz, 11th.
■ Category 2 Men’s 0-14: Matthew Mangano, 12th.
■ Category 1 Men’s 30-39: Glen Wade, 13th.
■ Category 2 Men’s 19-29: Samuel Stevenson, 14th; Jesse Hoch, 24th; Thomas Cole, 29th; Matthew Groves, 38th.
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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
