After months of obtaining feedback from racers and careful deliberation, Fluidride, Hurricane racing, and NDub productions have teamed up to create the ultimate race series in the Pacific Northwest. Combining two of the most well respected race venues in the PNW, the series consists of six races over six months. With four of the six races counting toward the overall "CUP", any rider wanting to give the series a go should have a crack at the overall titles.The Pacific North West has one of the largest Downhill scenes in the Nation, and after losing the WIM series in 2005, has had very few racing options. This is where the Cup comes into play. "Offering a chance for so many new riders in the Region to come out and give DH, and Dual Slalom racing a go, was one of our biggest reasons for creating the Cup" Says Fluidride owner Simon Lawton.
Port Angeles “Dry Hill” sits in the rain shadow of the Olympic mountains, which means it gets a bit less rain than other areas in the Pacific Northwest. NDub productions, along with the Olympic Dirt Society have been busy making some of the best trails anywhere in this area, which offer a mix of bermed turns, lush rain forest single track, and wide open lines with some big jumps. There is truly something for every category at this event, from the beginner friendly ‘White Knuckle’ to the very technical ‘Pro Course’, as well as several other tracks which offer great flow; no two races at this venue will be the same.
Lars Sternberg Attacking the Upper Section
Mt Hood has been offering some of the best racing in the country for over twenty years. While there are fewer tracks to choose from than in Port Angeles, the tracks offer a huge amount of terrain diversity from top to bottom, in addition to stunning views of Mt Hood at the starting line. The 1400′ plunge starts near the tree line at just over 5,000 feet on broken shale through scruby trees. From there, it’s into Cannonball, a mix of very rough jeep road, sweeping turns and a tricky rock garden sometimes thrown in for good measure. Exiting Cannonball, riders have a few seconds of fire road to get their game together for the single track to come. Beginners enjoy sweeping turns; sport riders have a mix of great open European style single track along with some rock; while pro riders go on to some off camber rock sections leading into the Deck Drop to steep epic NW style fall line single track through the woods with natural features and gaps sure to test riders of any skill.
In addition to Downhill, Mt Hood will be offering Dual Slalom racing for the first time in a decade.
Long live Dual Slalom!
Fluidride guarantees $500.00 to the pro mens DH winner at each event and at least $200 to the winning Pro woman in the DH category. Payout goes to the top TEN fastest times of the day, regardless of category. Petr Kakes of Hurricane racing has used this format for the last decade and has proven it to be a successful proponent to help groom the faster Experts into Professionals.
Everyones a winner
Dates are as follows:
FRCup 1
| Port Angeles
| April 4th - 6th
| FRCup 2
| Mt. Hood
| May 10th - 11th
|
FRCup 3
| Port Angeles
| June 5th - 7th
|
FRCup 4
| Mt Hood
| July 12th - 13th
|
FRCup 5
| Port Angeles
| Aug 22nd - 24th
|
FRCup 6
| Mt Hood
| Sept. 27th - 28th
|
Pinkbike.com Profile for all things related to the 2008 Fluidride Cup-
http//:fluidridecup.pinkbike.com Forum Thread about the 2008 Fluidride Cup Race series:
https://www.pinkbike.com/forum/listcomments/?threadid=25829 Please check out
The FluidRide Cup's Website too to learn more about the shop behind the race series.