After a brief hiatus for Crankworx, the Phat Wednesday Downhill Series returned last week with more than 90 competitors signing on for a rip down Angry Pirate to Crabapple Turns, to Samurai Pizza Cat and on to Devil's Club. It was a tighter and more technical race than usual and there were a few crashes and cases of riders going off-course, but most made it to the bottom unscathed.
The fastest time of the day was posted by Paul Stevens, who completed the course in three minutes, 40.10 seconds. Adam Mantle was second in 3:43.91 and Yann Martin third in 3:45.81.
Rounding out the Open Male top 10 were Lee Haiden, Alex Gunn, Harry Armstrong, Easton Smith, Dylan Wolsky, Ross Dunlop and Berend Boer. There were 53 riders in the category, with two DNFs and three disqualifications.
World Cup star Kathy Pruitt topped the Open Women's category in 4:16.63, followed by Carrie Poole in 4:31.43 and Birgitte Johnsen in 4:38.01. There were nine racers in the category, with Jeannette Kwiatkowski fourth, Rachelle Fraser fifth, Lisa Mason sixth, Beatrice Jacob seventh, Natalie Munns eighth and Hanna Jonsson ninth.
Frederico Da Costa Vieira won the Junior Male race in 4:00.43, followed by Thomas Zonneveld in 4:02.47 and Moritz Link in 4:21.00. The other three racers, in order, were Tom McCarthy, Geoff Jansen and Brad Jansen.
Chad Hendren won Master 30-Plus in 4:00.44, followed by Bart Brown in 4:02.34 and Erick Neubern in 4:04.28. Rounding out the top 10 were Jamie Alexander, Jeff Leigh, Todd Hellinga, Ben Ferguson, Adrian McGree, Cory Thornton and Martin Gajda.
As always the draw prizes were a big attraction. Lisa Mason and Ross Dunlop won the Sram drive trains, Martin Gajda won the Giro full face helmet, Robert Armstrong won the Hayes brakes and Ryan Newton the Fox Hoodie. Other prizes were given out by sponsors at Race Face, Odi, WTB, Decline Magazine, Garbanzo Bike and Bean, the GLC, Fox, Giro, Hayes and Kokanee.
The final race in the series was yesterday, Aug. 26, where overall series winners were recognized.
As well there is one remaining PhaSt Wednesday event remaining, on Sept. 2. The PhaSt Wednesday series is similar to Phat Wednesday, although with races taking place on more technical courses.
To take part you must be a member of WORCA, have a valid park pass (discounted passes available to racers), and chip $2 into the pot. Registration is at 5 p.m. at Garbanzo Bike and Bean.
