Photo credit: Raven Eye Photography
Stage 1 of the Fernie Intense 3 kicked off the summer bike season this morning. Starting downtown at 9am, participants set off for the morning through Ridgemont, beginning with a single track technical climb. Despite the impending rain, the weather amounted to a pleasantly cool morning with some relatively tough conditions. The muddy track proved tricky for the course, however, the hardy riders all pushed through with smiles on their faces at the result.
Photo Credit: Tourism Fernie
Jack Viney provides a recap of the ride:
“A slippery and challenging Ridgemont loop was followed by the long classic grind that is Hyperventilation / South Castle to Southern Comfort. With great drainage and quality local trail building the second half of stage 1 rode well and allowed for the climbers to peg back a few minutes on others who got caught out with heavy legs due to the tough elevation gain.
Reaching the top of Southern Comfort brought a sense of relief to riders as a long and fast singletrack decent awaited however many let their guard down and came unstuck on the slippery off camber bridges in the top section, resulting in some grazed legs and bruised egos.
The epic decent was a highlight of the stage, finishing it off with a spin back to town to help flush the legs for day two.”
Photo credit: Raven Eye Photography
Colin Kerr from Bowen Island achieved the fastest time of the day at an astounding 1:38:07, followed closely by Shane Keyser from Calgary at 1:39:28 and Ben Parsons at 1:40:05. Sandra Walter was the fastest female competitor at 1:46:09 followed closely by Mical Dyck from Victoria and Kate Aardal from Calgary, both at 1:48:02. Local Fernie competitor Jack Viney came 2nd in his category at 1:47:49. For a list of results by category click Stage One Results.
Photo Credit: Raven Eye Photography
The first U16/U13 race proceeded the race featuring young up-and-coming bike enthusiasts age 8 – 15. It seemed the only people more excited than the riders were the spectators in an event that extended the biking spirit to the younger generation. Marshals guided both divisions through a challenging Ridgemont course, which was followed by a rewarding BBQ and prizes for all contestants. For results click Kids Race Results
Photo Credit: Tourism Fernie
Beer gardens and live acoustic music including the amazing local talent of the Hark Raving Sirens and Michelle Powers provided a pleasant wind down for racers before gearing up for Stage Two tomorrow.
Stay tuned tomorrow for further recap and more pictures of Day 2.
The Intense Fernie 3 is pleased to thank our sponsors for making this event possible, including Intense Cycles USA who is the title sponsor of the Fernie 3. Both Fernie and Intense are legendary mountain brands with deep roots in pedal powered mountain endurance sports. Other sponsors include Montane Fernie, Smith Optics, Hammer Nutrition, Camelbak, Fernie Brewing Company, TinHorn Creek Winery, Parastone Developments, The Bridge Bistro, The Griz Inn, Park Place Lodge, Fernie Central Reservations, The Cedars, Stanford Inn, Red Tree Lodge, The Free Press, the Fernie Heritage Library, Extra Foods, The Fernie Hotel, and Fernie.com. Our event partners include the Fernie Trails Alliance, Fernie Alpine Resort, Island Lake Lodge, Tourism Fernie Association, Fernie Flyers Cycling and the City of Fernie.
