Open/Pro bike racer Cody Cupp, right, poses with coach Solomon Woras at the Bavarian Bike and Brew Festival in Leavenworth earlier this month. Photo courtesy of Joe Brown
BY MIKE MALTAIS
Cody Cupp, a 2012 graduate of Liberty Bell High School, is currently ranked third among Open/Pro riders in the Fat Tire Revolution race series taking place at venues around Washington state. Cupp, now enrolled at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo., placed first in the Watt Canyon race near Thorp on June 15, and elevated his standing among his Open/Pro competitors.
Cupp then traveled to Missoula, Mont., last weekend to compete in the Missoula Pro XCT, an elite-level race held at Marshall Mountain. The Missoula Pro is part of a national series that attracts the best pro riders in North America, including last year’s Olympic competitors from both the United States and Canada.
As one of the youngest in a field of 46 pro riders, Cupp, 19, completed six laps of a World Cup-style course that featured steep climbs, a 6-foot drop and a flyover bridge. He placed 20th and finished in a time of one minute, 47.14 seconds, reported Cupp’s mother, JoAnn Metzler.
Cupp has also been competing in the 11-race Fat Tire Revolution series since his return to the valley from Fort Lewis College. Last September he shattered his wrist during collegiate racing at Steamboat Springs and is wearing a brace while working on a full recovery.
In spite of the injury, Cupp won at Watt Canyon, finished sixth at the Bavarian Bike and Brew in Leavenworth June 1, took fifth at the Echo Valley Rally in Chelan May 18, and placed eighth in Spokane’s Beacon and Legs race May 4.
Cupp is a member of the Methow Cycle Sport/Blue Star Coffee team and is coached by Solomon Woras. The next race in the Fat Tire is the Loup Loup XC and Enduro Saturday and Sunday (June 29-30) at the Loup Loup ski area.
The final two races of the series will include the White River Remix at Greenwater on July 13 and the Roslyn Rush at Roslyn on July 27.
