PORT ANGELES — Hundreds of mountain bikers will converge on Port Angeles again this weekend for the second leg of the Northwest Cup to be held at Dry Hill today through Sunday.
More than 450 racers from all over the world came to the Olympic Peninsula at the first leg of the NW Cup on April 8.
The April and May races are part of the eight-race downhill mountain biking series that travels around the Pacific Northwest.
Hundreds expected
The first two races are held at Dry Hill a few miles west of Port Angeles while most of the other races are held at ski areas.
The April race was also part of a national downhill mountain biking circuit.
While the races this weekend will count only toward the NW Cup, standings Scott Tucker, one of the race organizers, said a similar number of riders is expected.
There will be practice runs today, more practices and seeding races on Saturday and then the serious racing on Sunday beginning at roughly 9 a.m. and going until late afternoon.
Tucker said the weather is cooperating and the track is looking good. Dry Hill organizers had to scramble to get the track usable for the April races because there was such a heavy snowfall in February that caused a lot of problems, especially on the upper reaches of the track.
“We’re up there every day weed whacking and raking,” Tucker said.
April’s races had some light showers that caused some muddy conditions and a few wrecks. However, the forecast is near-perfect for this weekend — sunny with temperatures in the 60s.
The races will primarily feature mountain bikers from all around the Pacific Northwest, including a lot of racers from Canada. There’s also a growing number of local riders participating in NW Cup, including a Cat 2 division champion, Mathew Mangano, from last year, who has now moved up to the Cat 1 elite class.
Tucker said attendance for the downhill racing has been growing about 10 percent to 12 percent a year.
“It’s still going strong and hasn’t leveled off,” Tucker said.
Tucker said that more kids getting involved with downhill mountain biking is happening in conjunction with the growing popularity of the BMX track at Lincoln Park in Port Angeles.
“I give credit for what they’ve done at the BMX track. It’s awesome to see kids getting out and doing things. If you give them something to do, they will do it,” Tucker said.
As part of that growth, there is even a mountain biking club — the North Olympic Mountain Bike team — that’s been formed for area teens to join.
After Sunday’s races, the NW Cup next moves on to the Mount Hood Skibowl in Oregon on May 24-26.
If people attend the races at Dry Hill up Walkabout Way, they should be aware that parking is limited on Sunday and they should arrive early and make the effort to carpool.
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Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or plabossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.
