Six riders from Bainbridge Island had top six-finishes in the NW Cup, the premier downhill mountain bike series in the West.

The half-dozen riders placed for their age and category in the series, which attracted nearly 1,100 participants in the 2019 season. The eight-race series is spread across six venues in four states and runs from April to September.

In Category 3, Bainbridge’s Josephine Aubin won the girls 11- to 18-year-old bracket.

Kepler Delaney placed second and Owen Dixon third in the 11- to 14-year-olds. Hap Renna was third for 15- to 18-year-olds with a win in the final race.

In Category 2, Jackson Wicklund placed sixth in the up-to-14-year-old bracket, and Jake Webber finished fourth in a field of 107 15- to 18-year- olds.

Other Bainbridge riders who participated in the NW Cup include Mickie Wilkensen, Max Hale, Cooper Guiliano, Wyatt Dixon, Grant Hoff, Noemie Aubin, and Thomas Schuller.

For the NW Cup series, competitors start in Category 3 and move up to Category 2 and then Category 1 as their speed and skill progress. Courses get increasingly steeper and more technical with each jump in Category.

Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park & Recreation District started an after-school mountain biking program seven years ago and officials noted the program’s coaches have sparked a passion for riding that has fed both the Gear Grinders cross country team and the NW Cup downhill racing circuit.

Bainbridge has become a hotbed of fast downhill mountain bike racers. As opposed to cross-country mountain bike racing, where riders travel on gentle up and down hills, downhill racing is, as the name implies, only down. Top racers easily surpass 40 mph as they rocket down steep rocky terrain, jumping off drops their parents can’t even climb up, team said. Specially design bikes are needed to absorb the severe pounding.