Here are results! More to come…Fluidride Cup 1 whistler

Whistler is epic as usual. We had a few rain showers today, but the mountain is still in excellent shape, with dryer weather expected tomorrow and Sunday. Pro/Cat 1 Junior Qualifiers are at 4:30 tomorrow after practice. All riders in these categories will qualify, so if you don’t make the qualifier, you will still race. We understand graduation is going on tomorrow night for Whistler’s rippers, so have a great time and we’ll see you Sunday morning! Also…be aware that BCC regulation require 2 practice runs, so if someone at the top of the track asks you if you are racing, say “yes!”. They will mark your plate for you. All plates will be checked prior to your race run, so be sure you have your 2 runs in and marked on your race plate. There is still room to register, so we’ll hope to see even more riders tomorrow. So far we have a very good turnout with riders representing more than 10 countries!

Online registration is now closed, but we’ll be opening registration in the morning. The trails were perfect today…actually super dry for this time of year. We are due for some rain tomorrow, then better weather each day throughout the weekend. Everything is lining up perfectly for a great event!

On Site Registration Hours: Friday 9am-6pm. Saturday 8:30am-4pm.

Special Lift Prices with proof or registration: $39 for Friday and Saturday, and $11 for Sunday. Tickets are good throughout the park from 10am-5pm.

Due to late season snow pack, we’ve made a couple of changes to the tracks. Here are the tracks we’ll be running this time around:

AMATEUR (minimal changes)

-       Angry Pirate (upper section)

-       Crabapple Turns

-       World Cup Singletrack (instead of Samurai Pizza Cut as it offers better flow for racing)

-       Ho Chi Min

-       Longhorn to the finish (located near the top of the Bone Yard under the chair lift in the wide open area)

PRO/Cat 1 (some changes)

-       Schleyer (instead of Upper Whistler DH )

-       Detroit Rock City

-       Stay on Detroit Rock city (what we used to call Lower National)

-       Exit next to the Joyride exit

-       Cross summer road to the same finish at the AMATEUR COURSE

There are tons of great deals on hotels in Whistler -  come on up to the Worlds premier Mountain Bike Park for some great racing!

Hello Racers! We’ve got the tracks for the race pretty much sorted. Pro/Cat 1 racers will ride Upper Whistler Downhill to Detroit Rock City to Lower Canadian Open, while Cat 2 and 3 riders will ride Upper Angry Pirate to Crab Apple Turns to Samurai Pizza Cat to Ho Chi Minh to Monkey Hands. These track choices are subject to possible change, so keep an eye out for updates closer to race time.

Registration: will be from 9am-6pm Friday May 28 in the GLC restaurant next to the Fitzsimmons Lift. Registration will go from 8:30am – 4pm on Saturday. Discounted lift passes will be available on Friday and Saturday for $39 each day, and for $11 on Sunday with proof of registration.

Practice Times -Saturday: The Pro/Cat 1 Track is open from 10am-4:15pm, with qualifiers starting at 4:30 for Pro and Cat 1 Juniors. Practice for Cat 2/3 is open from 10am-5pm.

Qualifier: Pro and Cat 1 Juniors will qualify on Saturday afternoon at 4:30pm.

These trails will be closed to the non racing public during official practice times. Racers are welcome to practice these trails even during non practice times, since the mountain will be open. This means you can practice as much as you like. Special rate lift passes ($39/day for Friday and Saturday and $11 for Sunday) are good on the whole mountain from 10-5, so you can ride any open trail, as well as the race courses. Please bring proof of registration to ticket window in order to purchase discounted tickets.

Race Day (Sunday the 30th): Lifts open at 10, with racing starting at 11am for Category 2/3 racers. Pro and Cat 1 Racing will begin at approximately 1:30. Look for exact times to be posted in the GLC restaurant Saturday evening after registration and qualifying end. There will be a 30 minute break between Cat 2/3 racing and Pro/Cat 1 racing in order to give us time to move timing equipment at the top of the hill.

We are offering a minimum Pro Purse of $500 for 1st place in the Pro Men’s category and $300 for 1st place in the Pro Women’s Category. Cash awards will go 10 deep for Men and at least 3 deep for Women.

See you in the park!

The first Fluidride Cup Enduro DH is now history, and racers are still smiling thinking about the epic singletrack they played on throughout the weekend. Fluidride Enduro DH races are part DH and part Super D – think Super D without the climbing, and Downhill without super technical cruxes. Dog River served up a perfect course for this type of racing, with a 12 plus minute single track run with less than 30 seconds of climbing. While technical skills were necessary, strong legs and lungs proved an equal part of the winning formula in all categories.

Friday’s practice was super fun, with riders rallying tons of long runs together under mostly sunny skies. Saturday’s race was interesting in all categories, especially in the Pro Men’s Category which saw Aaron Bradford (On Site/Ultrasound/Specialized) take a good lead over race favorites Nathan Riddle and Mathew Slaven by more than 12 seconds. Aaron was the only rider to break the ultra fast 12 minute mark on day one. In the Loeka Women’s Pro Downhill, Dawn Fidler (Speedy Beavers) took an early lead over the rest of the Pro Women’s field by breaking the 14 minute barrier with a very fast 13:50.

Sunday’s Race was very exciting, especially for the Pro Men. Nathan Riddle (SRAM/Rockstar/Fluidride) put on a show for the other riders setting a new course record of 11:46 to take the overall win. Aaron Bradford was a close second after a less than perfect day two, having made a few mistakes on his run. Matthew Slaven (Kona/Easton/Dakine) was third with super fast and consistent runs over both days of racing. Jarred Hobbs and teammate Jesse Jackson (both River City/Fox/Oakley/Viso/Specialized) rounded out the top five in the 13 rider Pro field. Dawn Fidler once again set the fastest time in the Loeka Women’s DH, taking the day and the overall over teammate Cassandra Stamm.

Men’s Category 1 30-39 racer Eirik Shulz summed up the way many riders felt about the weekend in an email saying “Well that was about the best weekend of racing I can remember!” Enduro DH racing is fast, fun and challenging. We’ll hope to see you all at race #2 in September on Mt Hood for more good times. Full results Here: Fluidride Enduro 1

Check out the Maxxis Post Race Video Wrap Up…

Want to ride the track? Take a pre race ride along with Fludride’s Simon Lawton

Fluidride Cup Enduro DH Round 1, 2010 – Dog River, OR from Fluidride on Vimeo.