Western Cup #1

The final weekend of Stampeding in Calgary brought a different kind excitment to racers and fans alike in Golden BC. The first annual Western Cup, a battle of the best of British Columbia and Alberta took place at Kicking Horse resort. This is the first race of its type where an individual province will be crowned the fastest.

Racing down classic kicking horse trails, including pioneer and Blaster, Racers were challenged with every type of terrain the resort had to offer. Ranging from long rock slabs, tight technical sections, and highspeed brakeless sprint sections, this trail had it all, keeping everybody on there toes pushing to make it to the bottom with the fastest time of the day. Riders had nothing but bright eyes and ear to ear grins as they worked across the finish.

With last years Psychosis being the final race down Mt. 7, Western Canada needed a new unique event to add to the calendar. The Alberta Downhill Racing Association came forward with the idea of creating an event that tabulated the results of the provinces and crowning the winning province with a very cool looking trophy made from old brake rotors. This year, with the majority of the riders coming out from Alberta, the trophy is going to make Alberta its home until next year. This doesn’t mean the BC riders were holding back. Local Golden ripper 16 year old Riley Suhan took home the fastest time of the day with a 3:40, beating out the rest of the junior expert field by 12 seconds. Luke Stevens and Cody Ratte of Calgary Cycle rounded out the podium, all of them taking home a cash prize for some of the quicker times for the day. In the Elite field, top honours went to Fernie’s own Luke Nelson, closely followed by Bryson Racing Clans Jeff Bryson and Nick Quinn. All of the riders went home with a ton of money and prizes all brought together by the big sponsors of the race, including Calgary Cycle, Louis Garneau, Devinci bikes, and Kicking Horse Ford. Big thanks to you all for helping out.

Next weekend has 2 big races coming up. Racers have the option of travelling east for the national Championships in Massif Du Sud, in Quebec or for a more local excursion, the 3rd alberta cup race of 2009 is set for Rabbit Hill in Edmonton on a brand new course from last year. Best of luck to our Calgary Cycle and Alberta provincial team riders Luke Stevens and Cody Ratte, who are both headed to Quebec to try and take home the national championship title.

Big thanks to ADHRA, and Kicking Horse resort for putting together a flawless race. It’s the first Western Cup, but everybody is looking forward to a bigger and better future, with more and more racers next year. Thanks to Calgary Cycle and other sponsors for helping bring it all together.

See ya on the race course,

Tyler Paksi
Calgary Cycle DH Race Team