The young riders of the Cowichan Dirt Groms' mountain biking team had a strong showing at the Mount Tzouhalem Enduro on April 20 in North Cowichan, the first enduro race of the 2025 Island Cup Race Series season. More than half of the U12 division racers were Dirt Groms, with five additional team members competing in the U15 category and two more in the sport category.
According to team spokesperson Michele Carr, the event was a great success for the Dirt Groms.
"It was the first ever race for some of our race team members," she said. "It was so good to see how well everyone handled that mixture of excitement and nerves and successfully completed the challenging courses." The Groms' development team, which includes eight new riders performed well, with Carr noting that "our youngest team member, Kobe, is only six years old!"
The young team had several riders finishing in the top 10 in their categories. In the U12 female division, Charlotte Cathro placed first, while in the U12 male category, Dane Picray took fifth place, followed by Lucas Boisvert in sixth, Micah Desmond in eighth, Kobe Iwasiuk in ninth, Jonah O'Brian in 10th, and Carson Ferber in 11th.
Several parents of Dirt Groms riders also competed in the event, including Christos Koulas, who was ninth in the sport male group, and Jayne Hardy-Cathro, who was sixth in the sport women's division.
In the U19 junior male expert grouping, Duncan’s Hector Monro was first overall, while Cycle Therapy/Dirt Groms riders Raymond Carr and Mercer Benham were fourth and eighth respectively. Their teammate Charlie Cole was 15th overall.
The masters male grouping saw Dirt Groms dad and junior elite rider helper Mark Law, place first and Dirt Groms coach Peter Stevenson finish sixth.
Another junior elite rider helper, Matt Grossnickle, placed 13th in the expert male category while parent Erik Cadorette was 23rd.
"We were very proud of our team at this year’s Tzouhalem Enduro," Carr said. "These kids have a bright future in mountain biking racing."
The team didn't have to wait long to compete again, as the Series' Cobble Hill XC was held on April 27. The team's cross country riders performed well, with Boisvert, Desmond, Hein Van Der Watt, and Lincoln Jordan finishing second, third, fifth, and sixth respectively in the U11 grouping, and Picray taking fourth place in the U13 grouping.
The Island Cup Series is B.C.'s top mountain bike race series, featuring the cross country and enduro disciplines contested over six stages. The next enduro races are May 4 in Errington, June 8 in Courtenay, and June 29 in Nanaimo, while the next cross country race is on May 22 in Errington.
