PORT ANGELES — The Northwest Cup mountain bike downhill races on Dry Hill this past weekend lived up to its billing.
A record number of competitors and spectators showed up for the national championships, which was the second round of the six-event NW Cup series.
The first three races are at Dry Hill, then the races switch to the Skibowl at Mount Hood in Oregon for the next two events, and then concludes for the finals at Steven’s Pass.
Round three is May 11-13 in Port Angeles.
The good news is that the shuttle service for spectators will continue at the next race in two weeks and the food and coffee vendors are expected to be back.
The bad news is, well, there is no bad news. Even the rain held off until Sunday night, long after the last person left Dry Hill.
“It was as close to perfect weather as we could have asked for,” Dry Hill co-founder Scott Tucker said.
That set the table for a wonderful banquet of world-class riders and appreciative spectators.
There was a record 464 racers in attendance, and that included 20 to 30 World Cup riders.
Surprise riders
Even a few world-class riders that Tucker and fellow co-founder Casey Northern weren’t expecting showed up.
There also was a record number of 700 to 800 spectators and riders on the hill at any one time Saturday and Sunday.
“Overall, the caliber of riders and the feedback from those riders was very good,” Northern said.
“The riders were having a ball and having a good time on the trails.”
It was also interesting to come off the hill in the evening and seeing the onslaught of riders all over Port Angeles, Northern said.
“It was exciting to see the riders take over the town,” he said. “Everywhere I went, I saw vehicles with bikes on the back of them at restaurants every where.”
And for the second straight race, the Canadians, at least the Canadian men, showed that they truly are world-class when it comes to downhill mountain-bike racing.
A Canadian won the men’s pro competition again as Steve Smith of Namaimo, B.C., was first in 2:30.69 while Aaron Gwin of Temecula, Calif., was runner-up in 2:32.43.
Rounding out the top five were Mick Hannah of South Fork, Colo., in 2:33.57, Josh Bryceland of Cheshire, England, in 2:33.92 and Neko Mulally of Reading, Pa., in 2:34.73.
On the women’s side, Jill Kintner of Seattle won in 2:54.70 while Miranda Miller of Garibaldi Highlands, B.C., took second in 2:56.79 and Holly Feniak of Sechelt, B.C., captured third in 2:57.28.
This event wouldn’t be possible without the good will of both Green Crow — the Port Angeles timberland company — and the state Department of Natural Resources, which has allowed the building of the bike trails and the racing on Green Crow property, both Northern and Tucker said.
“We thank them for allowing us to do this,” Northern said.