Well, I’d have to say that this was one of the most competitive “grassroots” races I’ve ever attended.
(Ride the course with Griz from Decline)
The weekend of racing started with the dual slalom on Saturday. The men’s pro division saw a repeat of round one, with Fluidride/Virtual Descent riders Lars Sternberg and Casey Northern taking the top two spots. Ethan Mutoli (Rotec) and Ben Storar (Cannondale) rounded out the top four. Leanna Gerrard (Cannondale) took top honors in the womens division, besting Katie Holden (Katieholden.com) for the top tier of the podium.
While the Dual Slalom served up plenty of action, it was the downhill which really made the weekend exciting. 270 riders signed up to do battle in the second round of the Fluidride Cup downhill, while only 257 made it to the starting line. Most of the 13 non starters were victims of “Justice” a new section of trail which took riders down a very steep chute of broken shale mixed with slippery rocks and roots. The Fluidride Cup format started all 45 pro/elite riders with a seeding run at the beginning of the day with the pro final taking place after all amateurs had made their way down the hill. The format allowed the hundreds of spectators and amateur riders a chance to make their way up the hill for the amazing race which was about to unfold. Fans had air horns, whistles, cowbells, noise makers made of old bike parts, and were all screaming as riders made their way down the hill. In the end, Lars Sternberg (Fluidride/Virtual Descent) repeated his top placed seeding run posting an amazing time of 2:41 to take the win over Canada’s Andrew Mitchell (Cove/Sram). Bart McDaniel (Center Cycles), Richard Mukai (TLD/Rotec) and Sean Mc Clendon (Griz America) rounded out the top five in the Pro division. Fluidride/Virtual Descent rider Casey Northern was having a smoker of a run and ended up in 6th place after hitting a tree and going down hard.
The womens division was dominated by Katie Holden (Katieholden.com) who won the event by 19 seconds with a stellar time of 3:15. Leanna Gerrard (Cannondale) and Joy Mutoli (Speedy Beavers) rounded out the top three in the Pro Women’s category.
Every class was very competitive and times were close. The elite men and Junior expert riders served up some pro times with riders Colin Tobin and Kyle Marshall winning their respective categories.
I’d like to thank all the riders and spectators who took the time to come out to Dry Hill for this amazing event. Thanks also go out to Petr and his Hurricane racing crew who kept the times in check, and to N’Dub Productions (Lars Sternberg and Casey Northern) for all the work put in to make this event so memorable. Thanks also go out to the medics who had a few chances to practice their skills, and to the many volunteers and race sponsors who made this all possible. Special thanks also go out to Scott Tucker and Shawn Sinskie for their hard work in making the race such a success, and to Greg Norman, for his tireless efforts in keeping the Fluidride/Virtual Descent team and many other riders’ bikes working smoothly. A big thanks also goes out to Brad from Shiloh Cycles for the amazing raffle. Thanks Guys!
We’ll hope to see you all again for round three of the Fluidride Cup which will take place on Mt Hood July 12th and 13th. Bring your friends, and let’s see if we can break the 300 rider mark! Racing is alive and well thanks to thanks to the hard work and combined efforts of the NW gravity cycling community.
See you all soon,
Simon Lawton/Fluidride
Here are the results.
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