April 10/06 7:02 am - Island Cup DH

Posted by Editoress on 04/10/06
 

Island Cup Downhill Nanaimo BC
Courtesy Robin Dutton

The Nanaimo, Island Cup Downhill mountain bike race, put on by Arrowsmith Bikes and the Nanaimo Mountain Bike Club, was not only the first in the Island series but also in the province and we had a surprising high turn out.

One Hundred twenty six riders came out to challenge the short fun course of Close Encounters and What's it's Name, with a majority of the rider being under the age of 20. It was great to see so much enthusiasm from the younger riders.... they are the future of the sport.

The racers were escorted up the hill in crew cab trucks provided by National Rental car. The shuttles started rolling at 9:00am, as riders were required to have at least one pre-ride under their belts. Racing started at 12:00 and had the riders leave at one minute intervals, which gave everyone plenty of time to have a smooth run down. The winning time was 1:46:66, a tie down to the hundreds of a second between Dan Espeseth and Dean Tennant.

The next stop for the DH Series is in Victoria and the XC series will be in Parksville on May 6/7 an event put on by Arrowsmith Mountain Cycle and the Arrowsmith Mountain Bike Club.

The Nanaimo DH would not have been possible if not for the hard work and contributions from the Nanaimo Mountain Bike Club, The McGarrigle Family, Arrowsmith Bikes, National Rental Car and Race Face components.