Gallery: Steep and loose at Dunbar Summer Series seeding rounds

If there was any doubt that Canadians missed racing, the 300-plus racers in Fernie, B.C. for the first Dunbar Summer Series DH quickly put that to rest. The huge field, stoked on the first Canada Cup downhill since 2019, were greeted by a steep, dusty and technical course during Saturday’s practice and seeding.

Raer’s are all set for Sunday’s finals. It’s still hot and dry, so the powder dust will be even deeper by the time the elite men and women hit the course.

First, let’s look at what happened in elite seeding and general practice yesterday.

Adaptive MTB DH lands at Dunber Summer Series

This year is the first time adaptive mountain biking is included as its own category at the Dunbar Summer Series. There’s a solid start list of 10 riders registered for the first aMTB DH category that is included in a Canadian series. They’ll be the first on course Sunday, navigating the roots and chutes of Fernie’s Canada Cup course.

Photo: Ryan Shultz

Photo: Ryan Shultz

Photo: Ryan Shultz

Deep dust and steep corners: Fernie Canada Cup

Big trees and steep trails in Fernie

Riders cued up patiently. With over 300 on the start list, the lift line could get long

Possibly the hardest corner on the mountain

The inside line was tough to hit, and harder to stick

Patrick Laffey carved through the deep dust perfectly, seeding 3rd in elite men

Just getting to the corner was hard, with a steep off camber into a narrow chute making any kind of line choice near-impossible.

Gabe Neron drops into the chuge

Gabe Neron (Dunbar) touched down, briefly, but still set the fastest time in seeding

Only a handful of the elite men managed to hit the inside line clean

Tagging the outside tree into the chute was common.

Jackson Goldstone held the fastest time for most of Saturday, before the last few elites bumped him down a couple places.

Rachel Pageau, fresh off a European series of World Cup and EWS, set the fastest women's time

Before it got really steep...

Whistler's Max Grayston shows some style beside the lift line

After the steep, more steep.

It's not all straight down. A few wide open, flat corners keep the speed up

Bailey Goldstone flying in the lower section of course

Off camber, flat corners in the dust. No problem.