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Friday, July 03, 2009
BCBR Day 5 Highlights
Thursday's BC Bike Race route, the second one on the Sunshine Coast, was much anticipated by both BCBR staff and return riders simply because its notorious Hwy 102 trail brings riders to a slick and swoopy mountain bike nirvana. Not a bad way to wrap up a solid day of mountain biking.
Pumpkin Patch. Black Tower. White Knuckle Tight. Often, mountain bike trail names can be really good clues as to what's in store before you commit to dropping in. After 5 days on the trail BCBR riders were catching on.
Home field advantage proved valuable for the Kong team on Thursday's singletrack intensive course. While DCM Chrome's Brandon Stewart and Max Knox had an early lead on the field, the technical singletrack skills that are second nature to the Sweden and Wicks team outshone the South Africans' pure hill strength.
In the Solo Open Men category, the experience of seasoned racer Ruedi Schnyder (Schnyder) earned him his second consecutive stage win with a time of 2:41:57. Schnyder crossed the line 15 seconds ahead of Colin Kerr, current yellow jersey wearer. RMB – Different Bikes Kevin Calhoun came in third at 2:50:51.
Colin Kerr was a big fan of Day 5, “Yesterday was hard, I think it was mentally taxing just being up under the powerlines all day (with no shade) and then you have today (almost all climbs were shaded). The singletrack is great and then the 10km flight in to the finish. It feels easy you know that it's an effortless roll the finish.”
Team of 2 Open Women has been a constant 1-2-3 shake out, with Catharine Pendrel & Katerina Nash (Luna Chix) holding a commanding lead over Rocky Mountain's Alison Sydor & Lea Davison and Lisa Ludwig & Dawn Anderson (Oak Bay Bikes).
Solo Open Women changed leaders once again with Megan Rose, continuous yellow jersey wearer, staking claim on the stage win in 3:50.
There was little change in the remaining categories and overall standings for the rest of the groups.
Two more days of solid BCBR action lie ahead. Next stop: Squamish
Posted by BC Bike Race at 2:16 AM Pacific time
Thursday, July 02, 2009
BCBR Stage 4 Highlights
How's this for the start of the fourth day of epic mountain biking and a celebration of west coast Canada? A 4:30am wake-up call as pre-cursor to watching the remnants of a beautiful sunrise over the Georiga Straight while waiting to board the first BC Ferries crossing of the day. Then chowing on breakfast while admiring the view of the coastal areas off the bow.
For six BCBR participants whose shuttle driver accidentally missed the early morning ferry by 15 minutes, it might seem that BCBR really can do anything. In missing the ferry, those teams would not make the start line in time; however, their shuttle driver did treat them all to a very Canadian Tim Horton's breakfast to take the edge off. Meanwhile, Harbour Air, presenting sponsor of BC Bike Race, freed one charter floatplane and flew it to the Comox harbour to pick up the anxious racers and carry them directly to the Earls Cove start line ahead of the rest of the racers.
All eyes would be on Open Men local favourite Kris Sneddon and his partner Barry Wicks as well as the remaining top 3 teams, Jamis/Santa Cruz, DCM and Trek. With the history that these teams have built in just 3 days, they are creating a considerable buzz. However, the real focal point of today's battle is the fact that Sneddon grew up in this area and even help to build some of the trail network that riders would experience. It was time to find out how much advantage knowing the trails like the back of your hand actually can bring.
For the majority of the race, Team Kona lead the group through all of the singletrack but always had Seamus McGrath and Chris Sheppard stuck on their rear wheels, even as they ripped through some incredible sections at 'mach chicken.' In the end, Team Kona would take the stage in 3:27:46 and retain their GC leade, with Team Jamis / Stanta Cruz right behind in 3:28:04.
South Africa's Team DCM, in the process of securing their third place position over Trek, is proving to be incredibly strong on the climbs, but much weaker technically. Although they do claim to have noticed that their technical insecurities will drop.
The big question at the finish line was what happened for Kona to gap out Seamus and Chris in the very last ten minutes of the race.
Sneddon recappped the competition, “Well it was mostly just givin'er as fast as we could in the singletrack. There are also a couple of corners where if you don't really know the course, then you are afraid to go too fast around. It's just too scary. We just got a little bit of a gap, and I think they probably hit their brakes a little bit on stuff like that and we slowly spread it out a little bit. But trust me, we were going scary fast. It was sort of a chance we took and it would be pretty easy to go off the bike. We were full out, full throttle and you don't want to be breaking the bike. We don't really want to do it.”
The Solo Men's cat is heating up right now, too, as current GC leader, Colin Kerr, blasted across the Sechelt finish line in 3:43:13; unknown to Colin, until too late, Ruedi Schnyer snuck up in stealth mode to close the gap and cross the finish line in 3:43:11. Next across was Kevin Calhoun, in 3:49:20, with early stage winner, Tony HOGG, crossing approximately seven minutes later. This will be a close contest throughout the remaining three stages this week.
With a few little change ups here and there, the finish board is starting to come to life!
Next up for these intrepid adventurers: Sechelt unto itself! Enjoy!
Dave Howells Beth Crowther
Media Director MarComm / Staff Writer
e Dave@bcbikerace.com e beth@bcbikerace.com
c +1.778.837-8557 c +1.604.805.2175
Posted by BC Bike Race at 3:18 AM Pacific time
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Stage 3: Cumberland Update
Before the third stage of BC Bike Race was even underway today, event organizers were dealt a potentially show-stopping challenge this morning on course: sabotage. The course had been completely flagged for the third day and racers were lined up in the start chute ready to ride when the word came in over event radios.
Without hesitation, course director Jeremy Grasby jumped on one of the safety team dirt bikes and blasted onto the course to replace the critical missing flags while riders fidgeted on their bikes in the start chute. Sabotage is not uncommon during races like this; community members opposed to using the land for mountain biking make their point by removing flagging, placing obstacles on the trail and more. Beyond being a huge inconvenience for race organizers, such interference can be downright dangerous for riders. Incredibly, less than 8 minutes later, the flagging was fixed, the start gun fired and racers were off, spinning through the Village of Cumberland streets enroute to the trailhead.
Canadian mountain biking phenom Geoff Kabush joined the starting ranks as a guest rider for the past two days of Vancouver Island riding. For those not in the know, Kabush is tearing up the world cup circuit and was ranked 4th overall in 2008. He's currently tied with legend Ned Overend with 4 US national XC series wins and with John Tomac for most XC wins ever – 14.
Kabush, who cut his teeth on the local Cumberland area trails, was on a mid-season break in his regular racing schedule when the opportunity to join in the BC Bike Race came along. “It's pretty fun to come back and just do a fun ride with a bunch of the guys I know,” said Kabush referencing the Day Two ride. “They've <local builders> done a lot of work there – it's super fun, flowy, buff. There's also been a ton of development in the trails up higher...it's pretty easy to see how I got into mountain biking from growing up here.”
Kabush's approach to Day Three was much different, “Today I decided to ride with the front guys and just kinda stay out of their way. And it was amazing how hard they were battling it out day after day.” Kabush was riding with the top Open Men teams which are caught up in a fierce battle for the leader jersey.
A fierce battle, indeed. Today, Team Jamis/Santa Cruz, Seamus McGrath and Chris Sheppard, blasted through the trails in a blistering 2:51:53, with rivals Team Kona, Kris Sneddon and Barry Wicks literally on their heels at one second later. McGrath and Sheppard retain the coveted leader's jersey for the GC but will have to work hard to keep it, with Team Kona only 73 seconds behind overall.
The other category that's getting interesting is the Open Solo Men. Colin Kerr, (Team Kerr) relinquished the stage win to Tony Hogg (Tony Hogg RnR Sport New Zealand). Hogg is racing in a Canmore, AB area 24hr World Cup race at the end of August, and is using the BC Bike Race as a serious training opportunity. Depending on how things shake out in this category over the remaining four days, Hogg might find himself with an overall BCBR title in hand as he makes his way to Alberta.
Posted by BC Bike Race at 4:03 AM Pacific time
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Stage 2: Nanaimo to Parksville Update
When most cyclists sign up for a mountain bike race, they can expect to climb on their bikes and ride either loops of a single circuit or a point-to-point course of trails. It's doubtful whether they anticipate a scenic ferry crossing as part of the “warm-up.”
For the almost 400 BC Bike Race participants, an early wake up in North Vancouver precluded their BC Ferries morning voyage across the Georgia Straight to Vancouver Island. The sun shone overhead as many riders relaxed on the upper deck to map out their race strategy for the day.
Once the vessel docked in Nanaimo, racers donned their day's kit and traded their street clothes for their mountain bikes. Close to 400 riders toed the start line in the shadow of the looming Bear-On-Bike crowned arch for the countdown to the 10:45am start.
With the start horn, two Royal Canadian Mounted Police members on bicycles led the controlled start that carried racers to their first drop in of the day. From there until the first feed zone – anywhere from 80 minutes onward – riders gobbled up endless polished singletrack. The inside scoop on this area is that the passionate riders in the local mountain bike club hand-build and painstakingly maintain the trails, some of which were purpose-built for this second BC Bike Race stage. Their efforts were not lost on the pack.
Seamus McGrath and Chris Sheppard (Team Jamis – Santa Cruz) were new to the trails in this area. “We didn't know what to expect but it was honestly some of the best trail that we've seen. It was relentless, fast, flowing, tight technical. A little of everything – drop offs, bridges – everything of what mountain biking is about. There were some great new sections. Whoever built it deserves a bunch of clapping!“
McGrath and Sheppard started out tight with the Kona team of Kris Sneddon and Barry Wicks, but at the end of the day, Team Kona was the first to finish in 3:23:42, edging out yesterday's leaders by a mere 3 seconds to claim the yellow jersey for tomorrow's stage. Chris Eatough and Jeff Schalk (Trek/VW) rounded out the top three for the day. No surprises in this category.
Once again, Team Luna Chix – Catharine Pendrel and Katerina Nash – dominated the Women's Open category with a 3:57:08 finish. Yesterday's two and three spots stayed the same today with Alison Sydor and Lea Davidson (Rocky Mountain) in second and Lisa Ludwig and Dawn Anderson (Oak Bay Bikes) in third.
The remaining categories saw no change on this second day of racing.
Interestingly, the satellite finish line for timing made for a more mellow Base Camp finish line arch as racers got to spin out their tired legs before hanging up their bikes for the day. After yesterday's short bursts of technical downhill and punchy uphill climbs, an early “go fast, go hard” mindset may have caught some racers off guard with this much longer heavily-singletrack focused day. This day's technical singletrack bonanza produced much more weary riders at the finish. A few unfortunate racers experienced dehydration on course and found themselves hooked up to an I-V at the medical tent for a fast shot of fluids.
Much post-race chatter centred around the how many riders underestimated the fatiguing nature of the undulating technical singletrack. “I've got a new quote for you today,” said one local North Vancouver rider, “That f'in hurt! It really was unbelievable riding. Draw a chalk line around me, I'm done!”
The new solo category has attracted a broad range of riders from hardcore competitors to weekend warriors who lost their race partner for various reasons.
Dan, a solo rider from Colorado, rolled through the oceanside finish looking dusty and weary. “I'm wrecked, but that was unbelievable,” he said, wiping sweat and grit from his face. “I never imagined the riding would be like this. I think I might end up living here. I'm on a life changing journey and it might be starting here.”
Another solo rider from Las Vegas who just celebrated his 40th birthday, decided that the BC Bike Race would mark the transition to a new decade. No family, no friends, no teammate...just the man, his bike and a whole lot of singletrack. Some would argue that turning 40 is challenge enough, let alone adding in a seven day epic. Happy birthday to him!
After a stunning sunset, the oceanfront tented Base Camp was quiet by 10pm as racers maximize their recovery time to recharge for tomorrow's 60-65km stage in Cumberland.
Posted by BC Bike Race at 12:38 AM Pacific time
Monday, June 29, 2009
Day One: North Vancouver Highlights
The tempest that unleashed high winds and heavy rainfall onto the Vancouver area on Saturday night did
nothing to ease the pre-race jitters building among the almost 400 racers set to roll up to this morning's start line of the 2009 BC Bike Race. Already anxious about the legendary, and often deemed “gnarly” North Shore singletrack, racers arrived at the North Vancouver starting chute to find dark clouds lifting and the sun working hard to shine through.
With the impressive BC Bike Race logoed arch looming high above them, the mix of elite and weekend warrior mountain bikers were an impressive sight as they waited for the third annual race to get underway.
At 10am sharp, the wait was over, the start gun fired and the pack worked its way up the 3 kilometer residential road climb up to the trailhead. The sight of mountain bikers is nothing new for inhabitants of this North Vancouver neighbourhood - they're blessed with living within spitting distance of some of the best riding around, so cyclists come with the territory. Until today, though, residents hadn't seen anywhere near this many riders spinning down their streets. It was an impressive site worthy of the onlookers' applause and cheers.
And with the paved start conveniently spreading out the pack, the first riders dropped in to the much anticipated Mt Seymour singletrack. More climbs awaited as racers grunted up Old Buck and the Baden Powell trails to hit their first technical descent of the day – Severed Trail. Through the really technical sections, some racers found themselves running off their bike more than riding on, but with seven full days of riding ahead, it makes sense not to risk crashing on something outside their comfort zone.
From Severed, the course drew racers through Bridle Path and Bottle Top after which they made their way over to Fromme Mt. More leg burning climbs lead to the top of Pipeline trail – another local classic with plenty of stunning man-made bridges and berms that are incredibly flowy for those who are in the groove. The roots, rocks, bridges and drops of the North Vancouver mountains made for a helluva welcome carpet for the BCBR participants.
During Saturday's press conference in Vancouver, the banter among the top three men's teams hinted at the battle that was to come this week. Day One did not disappoint. Seamus McGrath and Chris Sheppard (Jamis/ Santa Cruz) said they were here for redemption and their aggressive attack on the North Shore course secured their first Stage win of the week in a mere 1:35:14.
Last year's overall winners, Kris Sneddon and Barry Wicks (Kona), and year one winners Chris Eatough and Jeff Schalk (Trek/VW) rode practically within arm's length of each other for much of the course as they put constant pressure on the lead team. More than halfway through, Trek/VW's Schalk took a tough fall on the Pipeline trail for which he later required stitches in his top lip. That opened the door for the Kona team to put some time between them, as Kona finished in 1:36.29.
Trek/VW's misfortune today reminded those of us at last year's finish line that Eatough and Schalk are an incredibly determined team. On opening day last year, Eatough suffered a huge mechanical issue in the first circuit of the day. Trek/VW had to push to the limit in order to claw their way back to the lead pack from being more than 30 minutes behind the last rider on course. Eatough's strategy was simple, “You have to keep going, no matter what happens.” One year to the day later, Schalk delivered on that strategy too, bloodied face and all, as Trek/VW rallied back to a 1:38:57 finish.
Without a doubt, the competition in this category is absolutely sizzling!
The top Team of 2 Open Women was no surprise today, as Catharine Pendrel & Katerina Nash (Luna Chix) were hot on the heels of the best male riders. They blazed across the finish line in 1:50:07 with rivals Alison Sydor and Lea Davison (RockyMountain) almost 8 minutes behind. Oak Bay Bikes' Lisa Ludwig and Dawn Anderson rounded out the top three in 2:11:11.
Canadian Olympian Catharine Pendrel, in her first multi-stage event, commented on the Team Luna Chix strategy going into seven days of racing with a technical North Shore start. “Katerina and I are both competent descenders so we knew we could gain some ground there. We didn't want to kill ourselves on the first day, but we had pre-ridden Severed, which helped. Pipeline was completely new for both of us, but I have a fearless teammate. We just pushed forward and started picking off the guys – it was a lot of fun.”
Being top female athletes in an event like BC Bike Race means racing primarily with male teams on the course. But Pendrel was quick to point out that Team Luna Chix were in great company, “Something good for women to know out there is that the guys have been awesome – they are really cool about passing. The atmosphere out there is really great!”
There might well be another tight battle underway out in the field this week. While Colin Kerr (Team Kerr) posted a blistering 1:39:46 to take top Solo Open Men, Kevin Calhoun (RMB – Different Bikes), Tony Hogg (Hoggy R&R Sport NZ) and Andreas Hestler (Team Hestler) battled hard for the next three spots. Calhoun came in at 1:43:00 with Hodd and Hestler 2 and 5 seconds behind him. This will be another category to watch!
Other notable category highlights include favorites Georgia Gould and Ryan Trebone (Team Gould) nabbing top spot in the Open Mixed category posting a 1:50:46 for the day. North Vancouver local, Megan Rose (Team Rose) claimed the yellow jersey for Solo Open Women with a solid 2:12:52. Roger Bartels (Norcal Bike Sport) secured top spot in Solo Men 40+ with 1:49:38 for the day and the women's equivalent went to Lisa McBain (Power to Be) in 2:51:17.
Veterans 80+ winners, Normon Thibault and Peter Stevenson (Frontrunners-Experience Cycle) crossed the finish line with a 1:57:59 time. Thibault is last year's runaway Mixed category winner, which he claimed with his wife, XC racer extraordinaire Wendy Simms. This year Thibault decided to make more of a mark on BC Bike Race by designing the new Stage 2 course that's on tap for tomorrow.
Finally, rounding out the day's results is Veterans 100+ winners, Francois Amyot and Daniel Auclair (Zootallures) with a solid lead in 2:13:39 and Team of 3 or more going to Chris Brown, Scott Darling, Bill Darling and Francis Sutherland (Sports Insurance) in 2:53:13.
So it seems that despite the anxious build up before the race, Stage One proved to be more fun than most riders knew what to do with. Course marshals saw endless smiles on racers' faces, and the finish line was crowded with tired but happy riders who couldn't believe how much fun they had on the “gnarly” North Shore.
Next up Stage Two: Nanaimo to Parksville. Riders will be treated to a BC Ferries crossing from the mainland to Vancouver Island, where they will gear up and hop on their bikes to race from the Nanaimo ferry terminal to the Parksville beachfront. Only in BC does mountain bike stage racing come in such great sexy packaging as this!
