Cody Wharton is having a banner summer.
Following up his 10th-place finish at the Canadian Downhill Mountain Biking nationals at the end of July at Kicking Horse, he earned a podium finish at Big White at a B.C. Cup event and provincial championship.
The Golden local isn’t finished yet, currently training for the Steve Smith Memorial Downhill event, which is also a part of the BC Cup series, at Mt. Washington on Vancouver Island.
“I have my goals set pretty high,” said Wharton.
“I want to eventually race at World Cups. I’m just starting off with nations and BC Cups, and I’m working me way up to the world stage.”
While he had the highest finish, Wharton wasn’t alone in representing Golden at Big White, with Finnegan Craig placing in 12th and Owen McLennan finishing in 17th in the same u17 elite men’s race.
Wharton feels he’s hit his stride this season, saying that he felt he had a good race at Big White on what he called a rough but fun track that suited his style, and how the home court advantage of the national championships helped hi to compete on that bigger stage.
READ MORE: Golden locals clean up at Canadian Downhill championships
“Just to even get to the podium, I’m so stoked about that. It’s a great start to where I want to get to,” said Wharton.
“Being top 10 in the country, it feels pretty great, I’m just going to keep training and keep getting better.”
The 2021 BC Cup Downhill Series features multiple races across the province, giving racers the chance to accumulate points and chase the opportunity to ultimately be crowned the BC Cup DH Series winner.
Wharton says he’s thrilled to see how mountain biking has taken off in Golden over the years, as events like Crankworx and hosting downhill biking championships all the town to help raise the profile of both the sport and the community.
“Having these big events just brings awareness to how cool Golden is and the racing at Kicking Horse, it’s such an awesome mountain for that,” said Wharton.
He would love to see other people follow his example and take up the sport, encourages others to give it a try. “I love the sport so much,” he said.
“So I would just kind of share what I love about it, which is that it’s great for everyone, no matter what your skill level is, it’s just always a good time.”
The BC Cup final will be held on Sept. 26 at Coast Gravity Park.
As of June, Wharton was ranked in the top 20 in points for the BC Cup, along with Craig.
