Pro GRT/NW Cup #1

This last weekend was my first race of the season. It was first round of the Pro GRT and Northwest Cup in Port Angeles, Washington.

Practice for the race started on Thursday and for most of the weekend we had great weather. The Dry Hill course is one of the best around; it has a bit of everything but my favourite would be the top part of the course- steep with rooty corners. SICK!! I was having fun doing runs with my teamates and buddies, we were feeding off each other well. It would have been easy to do too many runs but I limited myself to only 4 runs on Thursday and Friday to keep my body rested.

I was really looking forward to having seeding runs on Saturday evening because it was a good chance to see where my speed was at. Moments after I came down from my seeding run I was told Kristen Smart, a fellow Canadian racer, had dislocated her shoulder and had to be taken to the hospital to get it put back in. It was later at the hospital that I found out I placed 8th, which was really encouraging because I was in the mix with a lot of fast dudes. Healing vibes go out to Kristen! Raceday started out dry but cloudy, and racers got one practice run before the racing started 6 hours later. I was thinking we might end up getting lucky and the rain would hold off but it started to rain shortly after practice ended haha. I'd been riding quite a bit in the wet during the winter so it wasn't a big deal, but it can make things unpredictable.I gave the bottom part of the course a quick hike to see how it was affected by the rain and it definitely looked slippery. 6 long hours after the morning's one practice run it was time to head up for the race-run. Everything went well; I was able to focus and I didn't make too many mistakes. I managed to do one placing better than my seeding result for 7th. Top 10 Pro Men---

1. Danny Hart 2:50.07

2. Andrew Neethling 2:52.48

3. Duncan Riffle 2:55.19

4. Richie Rude 2:56.43

5. Bryn Atkinson 2:57.05

6. Mikey Sylvestri 2:57.92

7. Dean Tennant 2:58.34

8. Cody Warren 2:58.92

9. Tyler Immer 2:59.19

10. Mitch Ropelato 2:59.67

I want to give a big shout out to my sponsors; Dunbar Cycles, Devinci, Elka suspension, Troy Lee Designs, Zett compression wear, Spy Optics, Straitline Components, and NRG. And also to the race organizer; Scott Tucker and Casey Northern, and everyone involved.

Later,

Dean