by admin | Feb 27, 2011 | Fernie TransRockies
There’s a reason so many of us make resolutions each New Year: we understand that goals help us to be more successful and achieve more than we would without the incentive of a goal to drive us. There’s no better way to find the motivation and drive to get the most out of your mountain biking than signing up for an epic ride.
With the days getting longer and the end of winter in sight, now’s the time to set riding goals for the summer. The 2011 TransRockies offers a wide range of solo and team riding options from 3-7 days in length along with the best rider services in mountain biking, the most epic riding in North America and the unprecedented opportunity to be part of the 10th anniversary edition of the event. That’s why it comes time to make a choice and set your 2011 goals, there is no other choice than the TransRockies.
There are five months to go between now and the start of the 2011 TransRockies from Fernie, BC. That’s ample time to put in the training to take on one of the TransRockies three different event options. With a new routing which stays further west for more fantastic Kananaskis Country riding and options for riders to ride 3, 4 or 7 days solo or a two-person team in the TR7 Original Epic.
The TR4 Classic Kananaskis route is new for 2011 and gives riders the chance to spend four days riding the incredible singletrack of K-Country and the stopover locations even make it possible to have the most comfortable epic experience ever by staying in Calgary and making the less than 90 minute drive each day. The TR4 also allows riders to ride all 7 days of the TransRockies solo by combining TR4 with TR3 “Cross the Divide” solo rides which includes the first three stages from Fernie to Alberta across the Continental Divide.
Sign up for your race now and get started on the riding that will help you have your best summer of riding ever. For full package and registration information including details of our new “a la carte” pricing, click HERE.
by admin | Dec 21, 2010 | Fernie TransRockies
On behalf of the whole TransRockies team, we’d like to wish you and your families a safe and Merry Christmas and a very happy 2011. Along with a great excuse to eat a little too much and enjoy a glass or two of eggnog, the holiday season offers a chance to reflect on the past year and make some resolutions for the next year.
Fernie powder has covered all our wonderful trails
2010 was a year of consistency and momentous changes for the TransRockies. For the 9th consecutive year Fernie was the anchor of the event. Along a return to our Alberta beginnings and a finish in Canmore, the TransRockies received UCI sanctioning for the first time making the 2010 edition much different than ever before. The solo event TR3 was a sellout and the additional world-class riders like the Giant International Team and TR3 winner Max Plaxton raised the bar for the racing in the open categories. Like every year, we learned from 2010 and we’re putting those lessons into action for 2011 which brings us to . . .
Our resolutions for 2011 are to enjoy our 10th Anniversary and make it the best edition ever. We’re proud to be the first and only North American mountain bike stage race so far to mark a 10th Anniversary and we’re providing all kinds of incentives to have our past competitors come and join us for this reunion. Like you we’re making resolutions for our 2011 and first of all, we’ve resolved to have the best route ever and we’ve done so with brand new stages 4 and 5 moved higher into K-Country and away from the pasture and ranchlands at lower elevations. We’ve also responded to rider requests with a new 4-day solo event which will allow solo riders to register and ride the full 7-day TransRockies for the first time.
Among all these changes and resolutions, at heart, our primary goal is to remember the things that make the TransRockies unique– endless singletrack, incredible scenery and camaraderie unlike any other race, and match them with the best rider support and services in the World. It’s a challenge and it’s a resolution that we make every year.
If you’re interested in participating in TransRockies in 2011 but still haven’t signed up, we’ll send you a free DVD to help you make your decision. The pictures on the DVD are the best way we can think of to show you the huge scenery and adventure which riders see each year when they sign up for the original wilderness epic.
Getting your DVD is as simple as calling our office on our toll-free number 1-866-373-3376 (Outside North America call +1-403-668-7537) to talk to one of our event team and we’ll get a free DVD coming your way. This offer is available only to first time participants. We’re generally in the office 9AM – 5PM, mountain standard time.
Best wishes to you and yours from everyone at the TransRockies.
by admin | Nov 4, 2010 | Fernie TransRockies
2011 will be a momentous year for the TransRockies as it celebrates 10 years as North America’s original epic mountain bike stage race. The 10th edition of the race just got a even litte more special with the addition of a new TR4 solo event that will take riders along an incredible route through the best trails in Kananaskis Country to the finish line in Canmore.
TransRockies’ first solo event, the TR3, debuted in 2009 and has grown quickly over the two years it has been held. With demand for solo riding opportunities continuing to grow, TR4 gives riders a chance to take on this epic route through front ranges of the Alberta Rockies.
The TR4 will be North America’s first four-day mountain bike stage race and will be closely modelled on 4-day TransGermany, a partner event of the TransRockies that drew over 1200 riders last year to ride through the Alps. TR4 riders will ride along side the field for the TR7 team event and will take on the same revamped route for stages 4 and 5 that has been extensively scouted during the unseasonably warm and dry Alberta fall that has greatly extended the riding season. With help from local riding clubs and trail experts, the TransRockies team has spent extensive time on the trails this fall developing a new routing along higher terrain and away from the lowlands which turned muddy after the unseasonably wet weather in 2010.
Starting east of the village of Millarville in Kananaskis Country, the TR4 will finish with the TR7 the main event in Canmore, Alberta. Racers will camp two nights at the Little Elbow Campground, used for the first time in 2010, allowing stage 5 to be a loop on some of the favourite mountain bike trails of the area. The third night of camping for TR4 will be at Rafter Six Ranch, near Seebe, Alberta. Rafter Six, the traditional last night of the TransRockies Alberta route will welcome the riders with authentic western hospitality.
The TR4 adds a number of new opportunities for mountain bikers as they can link the TR3 and TR4 solo events to ride the entire route solo for the first time. This route also gives riders the opportunity to have a little more civilized sleeping option as they can easily spend nights in town with vehicle support from family or friends since all starts and finishes are within approximately an hour of Calgary city limits.
Just like the other TransRockies events, the TR4 will have complete a la carte pricing starting with an early bird base price of $700 (until December 31st) for the four days of backcountry racing. Riders can choose their own add-ons like meals and camping and create their own custom package. After January 1st, the cost rises to $850 but the pricing for additional services remains the same.
TR3 will remain the UCI S2 stage race at TransRockies and we expect to have a great field of elite riders at the start line in Fernie fighting for UCI points in the run up to the 2011 World Championships and the 2012 Olympics.
TR4 registration will open on Thursday, November 18th at 10:00 AM MST. Only 100 registration spots are available during the early bird registration period, and these are expected to go very quickly, so be ready to register on the 18th!
by admin | Sep 30, 2010 | Fernie TransRockies
Registration for the 10th TransRockies will open this coming Friday; October 1st. Anniversaries are always special occasions and the entire TransRockies organization is looking forward to celebrating this milestone.
This also will be Fernie’s 10th year of hosting the TransRockies. Fernie is the sole community to have the honour of being part of all 10 events. Fernie will once again be the start community hosting registration and Stages 1 and 2.
As announced in the last newsletter, we’re offering special registration incentives to past participants to encourage them to come and join us in celebrating with us in 2011. Over the last decade, thousands of racers have come to test themselves against the Rockies have and they have left with a lifetime of stories. With the theme of “Reunion”, we’re encouraging them to come back to retell those old stories and ride through some new ones with a “loyalty discount” of 10% off the base registration fee per past TransRockies participation, per person. In dollar terms, that’s $145 off per TransRockies ridden by either teammate. We’re offering this discount until November 30th, 2010.
We’ve also updated our pricing to be more flexible and allow riders to choose only the add-ons they will use. The $2900 base registration per team can be customized with a variety of single and double occupancy camping, vehicle and meal upgrades. We’re also removing the cancellation fee and will happily transfer your registration to next year if your plans for 2011 run into obstacles. For full details on our revised pricing policies, click HERE.
Having returned to our Alberta roots with a new, more direct route through the Rockies in 2010, we’re again making rider-directed improvements in our 2011 route. Reacting quickly to feedback from 2010, we’ve already been out with local trail experts scouting new routing for stages 4 and 5 to take riders higher into the Rockies and away from the ranchlands that turned so soggy in 2011.
Sign up soon to guarantee your place in our 600-rider TransRockies and TR3 field for 2011. Visit www.transrockies.com for full registration details.
by admin | Aug 14, 2010 | Fernie TransRockies
Though riders were pushed to their limits during stage 6 of the 2010 TransRockies, there was still one test to pass before they would be able to celebrate their successful finish with family, supporters and friends. Stage 7 covered 46km from Rafter Six Ranch to Canmore with a route that ran along the TransCanada Trail and up onto the newly rebuilt trails of the Canmore Nordic Centre before dropping down into the town centre for the final turns of the pedals down Main Street to the finish line.
After a couple of epic days in the high mountains, the weather turned fair for Stage 7 and riders were treated to Canmore and the Rockies at their most beautiful and benign. With soft white clouds in the sky and sun dappling the peaks, it was hard to believe that just the day before, racers had been pushed to the limits of their endurance on a day which forced even the strongest riders to think purely in terms of survival.
There were few shakeups in the standings on Stage 7 and the short run into Canmore confirmed that the teams who sat atop the standings were truly the best in their divisions in 2010.
Having retaken the lead In the marquee Open Men’s division after a Stage 4 mechanical meltdown, the Kona duo of Barry Wicks and Kris Sneddon were in no mood to take any chances and stormed to another win with a super quick 2:27 finishing time to confirm their 2010 overall win by over 40 minutes over the 2009 Champions Stefan Widmer and Marty Lazarski of Rocky Mountain Factory Team who placed second on the day and second overall. “I’ve done a lot of stage races and that was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” said Sneddon. “Even the last stage was tougher than we expected—really fun, but tough. We’re glad for the win and looking forward to celebrating with a few beers tonight.”
Sneddon has been selected to race as part of the Canadian National Team at the 2010 World Mountain Bike Championships to be held in three weeks at Mont St. Anne, Quebec while Barry Wicks will start his preparations for the Fall cyclocross season where he’s consistent a top contender in the US Pro series.
Third place overall was still up in the air with three teams battling for the title. Probably the fastest team out of the three was the Colorado-based Honey Stinger pair of Dax Massey and Nate Bird who had been plagued with mechanicals throughout the event starting with a broken front wheel on stage one and including multiple flats, broken chains and even a broken pedal on Stage 6. With a 14 minute gap to make up to the 3rd place Polish MtbTrophy.com team (Filip Kuzniak/ Szymon Zacharski) they poured their all into Stage 7 to take third place on the day and could then only wait to see how far behind the Poles would finish and if they could gain enough time to grab 3rd overall back. The clock started ticking when they crossed the line at 2:38:46, and they knew that they needed the Poles to finish around the 2:52:20 mark to win . . . the timing clock showed 2:40 then 2:45 and their chances were still alive. Other teams kept streaming in and each time came the question, “it is them?” The clock passed 2:50 and they needed less than more minutes but finally a team appeared at the end of the road pedalling with real desperation—the Poles. When they crossed the line at 2:50:32 to hold on to third, it was elation for Filip and Szymon and heartbreak for Nate and Dax.
The next team across the line to confirm their overall title were local heroes Jeff Neilsen and Mical Dyck who won the Open Mixed division for a second straight year. In the mud of stage 6, Neilsen took a clump of mud in the eye and was riding the singletrack on memory for much of Stage 7 with one eye badly out of focus. Like Kris Sneddon, Mical Dyck who also won the Bronze Medal at the 2010 National Championships, will be lining up in at the 2010 Mountain Bike World Championships in a Canadian National Team jersey.
Czech duo of Martin Horak and Milan Spolc also repeated as champions in their category—they were pushed hard this year by two teams including the local Deadgoat Racing/Bicycle Café duo of Pat Doyle and Craig Bartlett. Pat and Craig used their trail knowledge and a huge day 7 effort to grab the stage win in front of their friends and family. They’re sure to get big cheers for their stage win and 2nd place overall when they mount the podium at tonight’s awards banquet.
Another local team who won the day and the overall were the Terrascape/Deadgoat Racing Open Women’s duo of Alana Heise and Trish Graczyk who held off a challenge from 2009 winners Magi and Kate Scallion who had one more short ride to make at the end stage to their homes in Canmorde.
In the 80+ Mixed category, Brazilians Mario Roma and Adriana Nascimento (Brasil Soul MTB) provided some of the international colour for the event winning five stages on their way to the overall win. They will be joined in the final winners podium by the Moutaincruzers (Joe McCarthy/ Randy Walker) who quietly had a dominant ride in the 100+ age category taking six of seven stages on their way to a satisfying win. These Ontario residents proved that even flatlanders can get up and down the mountains quickly.
On August 8th Nearly 450 mountain bike riders rolled out of Fernie to test themselves against the Rockies either in the 3-day solo TR3 or the seven-day team TransRockies. Seven days later, the epic drew to a close under sunny skies with the spectacular peaks of Canmore as a backdrop. Before the scrapes have healed and the aches lessened, stories will be told and riders will start to plan and dream about the next race in 2011 when the TransRockies will celebrate its 10th Anniverary. But first there are stories to be told and winners to be celebrated.
Stage7-TR2010-Preliminary
Stage7-TR2010-Preliminary-GC
