Asa Vermette Wins Whistler World Cup as Frameworks Racing/TRP Charges Into the Season Finale
The full Frameworks Racing/TRP team rolled into Whistler for the penultimate round of the UCI Downhill World Cup season, and it turned into a weekend to remember.
Racing took place on the infamous 1199 track, one of the most demanding courses on the World Cup circuit. Rain throughout the week added another layer of difficulty, with changing conditions forcing riders to adapt from day to day. On a track this steep, fast, and unpredictable, the team put their TRP EVO PRO brakes and 2.3mm rotors to the test all weekend long.
Asa Vermette Takes the Win
Asa Vermette made his intentions clear in qualifying, throwing down the fastest Elite Men’s run by an incredible 2.5 seconds to qualify first.
Conditions improved for Finals, but the track remained wet, rough, and unpredictable. Max Alran took control of the hot seat with an almost three-second advantage over a tightly packed top 10, setting a serious benchmark for the remaining riders.
Then Asa dropped in.
Putting together one of his best runs of the season, Asa attacked the 1199 track with incredible speed, line choice, and precision. He crossed the line more than four seconds ahead, sending the massive Whistler crowd into a frenzy. The emotion immediately showed. After an incredible rookie Elite season, Asa had just captured his second Elite World Cup victory of the year.
Even bigger, the result moved Asa into first place in the Elite Men’s World Cup overall standings heading into the season finale in Lake Placid.
Aaron Gwin Celebrates 100 World Cup Starts
Whistler also marked a huge career milestone for Aaron Gwin: his 100th World Cup race.
Aaron advanced through Q2 with fourth place before lining up for Finals in front of a massive pro-Gwin Whistler crowd. A strong second half of his race run carried him to 13th in Elite Men.
To commemorate his 100th World Cup appearance, Aaron was presented with a custom Frameworks bike featuring details that celebrate the races, wins, and milestones from throughout his World Cup career.
Anna Newkirk Battles Through a Tough Final
Anna Newkirk handled the difficult Whistler conditions well in Elite Women’s qualifying, putting together a strong run to take sixth.
Finals proved much more difficult. A crash left Anna's gloves saturated with mud, making it incredibly difficult to hang onto the bike for the remainder of the course. She battled through to finish 15th.
Strong Junior Performances
Lois Eller led the charge for the TRP juniors in Whistler, putting together an incredible Finals run to take second in Junior Men and earn a spot on the World Cup podium.
Jack McCredie showed serious speed as well, delivering his most impressive qualifying performance of the season to take first in Junior Men’s qualifying. Unfortunately, a crash near the top of his Finals run left him dealing with muddy gloves for much of the track. Jack continued pushing and ultimately finished 13th.
Samantha Porras delivered another strong result in the Junior Women’s field, finishing sixth in Finals.
Raina Logar put together one of her strongest qualifying runs of the year, taking fourth in Junior Women. After a slower start in Finals, Raina clawed back time through the second half of the course to finish seventh.
Zanna Logar finished 17th in Junior Women’s qualifying, narrowly missing a spot in Finals.
A Huge Weekend for Frameworks Racing/ TRP
Despite the mixed fortunes that come with racing one of the toughest tracks of the season, Whistler was a massive weekend for the entire Frameworks Racing/TRP program.
Asa walked away with the Elite Men’s victory and the World Cup overall lead, Aaron celebrated his 100th World Cup start, the juniors showed serious speed, and Frameworks Racing/TRP finished second in the Team Rankings for the round.
Now there’s just one race left.
The team heads to Lake Placid for the World Cup season finale with Asa carrying the Elite Men’s overall lead and everything still on the line.
One more. Let’s finish it.
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