The 2021 BC Cup Downhill Series pb Cobotix came to a close with the series finale at Coast Gravity Park in Sechelt, BC on Sunday, September 26th. With no BC Cup events in 2020 due to Covid-19, the BC Cup Downhill series came back in a big way in 2021. Thanks in large part to the support of the series’ event organizers who took on the enormous challenge and risk of hosting races this year, the 2021 BC Cup consisted of five races at some of BC’s best mountain biking destinations – Fernie, Panorama, Kicking Horse, Big White, Mt. Washington, and for the first time ever, Coast Gravity Park in Sechelt, BC. The series opener in Fernie had over 300 riders registered and served as a sample of the DH community’s appetite for racing this season. Between July and September 2021, the series saw over 600 unique racers taking part in at least one BC Cup race.
The final race of the year at Coast Gravity Park started bright and sunny with seeding runs on Saturday but quickly changed to a downpour of rain and a cloud of mist on race day Sunday, adding variability to the course and more thrill to the race for riders and spectators alike.
Gabriel Neron (Dunbar Cycles) of Squamish led the way in the Elite Men’s category followed by fellow Dunbar Cycles team rider Garrett MacIntosh in 2nd , and Henry Fitzgerald (Norco Factory Team) in 3rd. The win put Neron in second place in the overall series standings. Despite not racing at Coast Gravity Park, Kirk McDowall of Anmore (Dunbar Cycles/Devinci) had been dominant in the previous four BC Cup races and accumulated enough points to secure the overall 2021 BC Cup series win.
The Elite Women’s category had another Squamish rider take the win as Ainhoa Ijurco (Canyon Collective) finished with the fastest time ahead of Emilie-Soleil Patterson of Revelstoke in 2nd, and Tori Wood of Squamish in 3rd. The win at CGP was enough for Ainhoa to leap into first in the rankings ahead of Jennifer McHugh from Fernie.
The Junior Expert Men’s race at Coast Gravity had Coen Skrypnek from Squamish finish in 1st place, Drew Mozell from North Vancouver in 2nd, and Whistler’s Wei Tien Ho in 3rd. Mozell’s 2nd place finish would secure the overall series win. Sechelt’s Gracey Hemstreet (Commencal Condos CGP Fox Ryders Eyewear) didn’t miss the opportunity to race on her home turf and came away with the win in Junior Expert Women’s race. Eva Leikermoser (Gravity MTB) and Jade Blouin-Comeau (Gravity MTB) both from Comox, BC came in 2nd and 3rd respectively. Garibaldi Highlands rider Elly Hoskin came in 4th at Coast Gravity and squeezed out the overall BC Cup win.
The U17 Expert Men had Bodhi Kuhn from Squamish in 1st place, Brock Hawes from Sun Peaks in 2nd, and Jon Mozell of North Vancouver in 3rd. Kuhn would also take the overall BC Cup title. The U17 Women saw Lucy Van Eestern of Garibaldi Highlands finish 1st and take the overall series win, Kayley Sherlock from Squamish in 2nd and Emma Wilson, also from Squamish, in 3rd.
Full results of the Coast Gravity Race can be found here (PDF)
The Overall 2021 BC Cup Downhill Series Winners are:
Adaptive (E Assist)
- Landon McGauley (Kamloops)
- Cole Bernier (Kelowna)
- Ethan Krueger (Surrey)
U15 Men (13 – 14)
- Mateo Quist (Squamish)
- Anthony Shelly (Whistler)
- Ryder Wilson (Instinct Development) (Nanaimo)
U15 Women (13 – 14)
- Cameron Bragg (Whistler)
- Tayte Proulx-Royds (Liv Canada Off-Road Team) (Kelowna)
U17 Sport Men (15 – 16)
- Jake Polito (Whistler)
- Kyle Craig (Garibaldi Highlands)
- Jimi Voss (Nolan Riding) (Victoria)
Junior Sport Men (17-18)
- Ryan McIntosh (Mount Currie)
- Jamie Glass (Delta)
- Mastin Hooper (Heffley Creek)
Sport/Expert Elite (Men 19 – 34)
- Carl Goodwin (Corona Excavations, Arbutus Sports, Gibbons) (Whistler)
- Colby Pringle (North Vancouver)
- Van Geest Johannes (Casper) (Squamish)
U17 Women (15 – 16)
- Lucy Van Eesteren (Garibaldi Highlands)
- Kayley Sherlock (Squamish)
- Tori Weatherbie (Squamish)
U17 Expert Men (15 – 16)
- Bodhi Kuhn (Rossland)
- Ryan Griffith (Squamish)
- Jon Mozell (North Vancouver)
Junior Expert Men (17-18)
- Drew Mozell (North Vancouver)
- Haydyn Wynter (Squamish)
- Coen Skrypnek (Squamish)
Junior Women (17 – 18)
- Elly Hoskin (Team Squamish) (Garibaldi Highlands)
- Emmy Lan (Commencal) (Comox)
- Vanessa Bruneau (Dunbar Cycles) (North Vancouver)
Pro / Elite Men
- Kirk McDowall (Dunbar Cycles Devinci) (Anmore)
- Gabriel Neron (Dunbar Cycles) (Squamish)
- Garrett MacIntosh (Dunbar Cycles) (Garibaldi Highlands)
Pro / Elite Women
- Ainhoa Ijurko (Canyon Collective) (Squamish)
- Jennifer McHugh (Fernie)
- Julia Long (Whistler)
Master Men (35 – 44)
- George Amos (Rippers Lounge Racing) (North Vancouver)
- Tom Power (Rippers Lounge Racing) (Vancouver)
- Joe Bauckham (North Vancouver)
Master Men (45 – 54)
- Michael Stewart (C4) (Garibaldi Highlands)
- Graham Beatty (North Vancouver)
- Brett Carels (Rippers Lounge Racing) (Vancouver)
Master Men (55+)
- Donald Van Eesteren (Garibaldi Highlands)
- Michael Mooney (Rippers Lounge Racing) (North Vancouver)
- John Nihsner (Derailed) (Golden)
Learn more about the 2021 BC Cup Downhill Series.
Photo Gallery from Coast Gravity Park BC Cup by @roamlndr | www.roamlndr.ca can be found and will be available for purchase on www.rootsandrain.com
