by admin | Aug 14, 2010 | Fernie TransRockies
Friendships are always strong and easy when skies are sunny and the going is smooth but life teaches us time and time again that the true measure of the bond in not measured in the sun, but when the weather turns bad and when the struggles begin.
So it is for teams in the TransRockies where impediments like differences in fitness and skill, technical issues and sickness are easily managed when weather is good and trails are dry. When the skies turn dark and the temperature drops, as happened on Friday, waiting for a slower or ailing partner means that the extra hours on the trail aren’t measured in extra sunshine but in wetness and cold.
Stage 6 of the 2010 TransRockies took riders from deep in the Elbow River Valley along three huge ridge ridgeline passes and then up and over Lusk Creek Pass down into the Bow River Valley to the finish line at Rafter Six Ranch. It was the most epic stage of 2010 and the riders were confronted with Rocky Mountain weather in all its power.
Late afternoon rain and hail the day before had left a coating of fresh August snow at elevations only slightly above than the 2200 metre high point of Stage 6. It was going to be cold at the top of JumpingPound Ridge and Cox Hill, the day’s twin summits. Intermittent showers and swirling clouds combined with the sub 5-degree temperatures on top confirmed that it was going to be a day of attrition and survival, rather than pure speed, out on the trails. This would be the day when terrain and conditions would test teams to the limit and when riders would have to be constantly aware of their teammate’s condition as much their own.
Though the TransRockies is intended to be a great test, it’s never been about unnecessary risks to riders and organizers made a decision on the morning of the stage to offer riders the option of cutting out the high-altitude ride along JumpingPound Ridge and Cox Hill, saving about 800 metres of climbing and two long sections above the treeline. Riders who chose to do so would be assigned a penalty but would still be considered officially part of the event as the 65km and roughly 1500 metres of climbing are more than enough to count as a full day’s work.
Many riders chose to take the shorter option though almost all the teams racing for points, position and prizes took the longer route. Whether they chose the shorter or longer options, riders streamed through the finish shattered by their battle with the elements. Normon Thibault of Frontrunners/Kona is a veteran of multiple stage and adventure races and said at the finish that Stage Six was “probably the hardest stage I have ever done” but the conditions seemed to suit him and his partner Wendy Simms just fine as they forged through the mud and clouds to their first stage victory of 2010. Their strong ride also took them up the standings a place so that they sit in second place after 6 stages.
Other riders described a ride of pure survival across the top where temperatures plummeted and winds gusted up to 50km/h. Not conditions for the faint of heart or weak of spirit. As so often happens in extreme conditions, time differences on the day were magnified by mechanical and physical issues. Bike parts that never fail, did, and Teams who seemed to be working in harmony ran into disagreements as cold and fatigue set in.
In the Open Men’s race Team Kona was the only team to finish the stage in less than 4½ hours and padded their overall lead to the point that only a major mechanical will stop them from grabbing the title tomorrow. Behind them, the Polish MtbTrophy.com team had their best race of the week, finishing in third and jumping up three places in the Overall to sit third with one day to go.
Like Frontrunners/Kona in the Open Mixed Division, first time stage winners were the order of the day with new stage winners in no fewer than four of the six categories. In the 80+ Men Division, Team Midas (David Hayward/Michael Powell) won their first stage of 2010. In the 80+ Mixed Division the Dynamic Charlotte Duo of Cricket Butler and Brian Conroy scord their first victory as well while the Dutch-Connection of Peter Meijler and Gerard Prince broke the clean sweep of the MountainCruzers in the 100+ Division winning their first stage.
Stage Six was proof that team format which has been integral to the TransRockies since day 1 is still part of what makes it so special. The teams who worked together best—looking after one another and drawing strength from each other, finished best and safest on the day. While endurance sports tend to attract individualists, the TransRockies forces them out of their comfort zone with the lesson that rewards earned as a team are very often deeper and more rewarding than solo efforts.
With just one stage left along the TransCanada Trail and up the Bow Valley, the end is in sight for the over 200 riders who have competed six days and 350km this far through the wild and unforgiving Canadian Rockies. Friends and family will await them on Canmore’s scenic Main Street with the Three Sisters as a backdrop to begin the celebrations. With day 6 as the ulitmate, every person who is awarded a 2010 TransRockies Finisher t-shirt and medal will know that they have been hard won.
TR 2010 Stage 6 Stage Results
TR 2010 Stage 6 General Classification
by admin | Aug 13, 2010 | Fernie TransRockies
After a day of riding over and through the foothills of the Rockies to the west of Calgary, riders headed back into the heart of the mountains on Stage 5. In doing so, they left the mud and meadows of the cattle ranch lands behind entered the high peaks and spectacular valleys of Kananaskis Country.
The 54km route starting at Anchor D Ranch included no major passes or high-altitude rides but a relentless up and down profile and endless singletrack added up to another gruelling day in the Rockies for the over 200 riders still moving toward the finish line in the TransRockies.
After losing 43 minutes and the overall leaders jerseys the day before, Kris Sneddon and Barry Wicks of Team Kona came out determined to set a shattering pace and overcome their 9 minute deficit to the first-placed Rocky Mountain Factory team of Stefan Widmer and Marty Lazarski. From the gun, Team Kona pushed the pace and was able to drop the rest of the field early. With a relentless performance, free of mechanical-problems, they were able to push their final gap over Rocky Mountain to almost 20 minutes by the end of the race which they finished in just a few second over 3 hours and 23 minutes, grabbing the leaders jerseys back and establishing a solid 11-minute overall lead with two stages left to go.
Behind them, the Honey Stinger duo of Nate Bird and Dax Massey finally shook off the mechanical woes that have plagued them since their race started with an inauspicious smashed wheel on Stage 1. With a clean run, they were able to chase the Rocky Mountain boys all the way to the finish line for a strong 3rd place finish which moved them up into 5th overall on GC. With 4th on the day Team Timex/Sugoi held onto the last overall podium spot. These two teams look set to battle the 4th placed Belgian Granville/Trustteam for the last podium spot all the way to the finish line in Canmore.
After surviving an early three-way challenge, the 2009 Champion CzechMasters (Milan Spolc/Martin Horak) took a stranglehold on the 80+ men’s division with four straight stage wins. Their closest competition Team Mule Bar/Abergavenny Cycling have been unable to close the gap as one half of the team Peter Turnbull has been struggling for two stages with stomach problems that have left him unable to eat. He’s bravely fighting to the finish line each day with partner George Rose but is unable to ride at full speed and close the gap to the Czechs.
It’s testament to the international flavour of the TransRockies that, after five days, the six sets of leaders jerseys have so far been held by riders from no fewer than six countries (Canada, USA, Brazil, Czech Republic, England, Wales).
One of the truths of the TransRockies is that there are two different race experiences, one for the elite riders and one for the recreational riders who can sometimes be out on course for twice as long as the elites. By the time most of the recreational athletes reach the finish line, they top finishers are showered, massaged and changed, and are often grabbing a recovery nap before dinner.
The summer weather pattern of the mountains normally brings any precipitation for the day during the afternoon when the heat builds and storm clouds bloom. Stage 5 was a case in point as all the teams who managed to finish in 5 hours or less rode the stage under dry skies while teams who were out longer than five hours were caught out in a storm which rolled fierce black clouds down the valley. Storms like this are not unusual in summer and the TransRockies team kicked into gear making gallons of hot chocolate and tea and putting up extra tarps and tents to provide a dry place for the riders as they came across the finish line.
Even through the clouds, the riders can see and feel the finish line coming ever nearer with just two more stages left until they roll down Main Street in Canmore to be greeted by friends, family and well wishers celebrating their successful completion of an epic 2010 TransRockies.
TR 2010 Stage 5 Stage Results
TR 2010 Stage 5 General Classification
by admin | Aug 13, 2010 | Fernie TransRockies
The TransRockies owes a debt of gratitude to the many local riders and trail builders who spend countless hours maintaining the great singletrack which is used each year for the event.
This year, the TransRockies was proud to be able to make a donation of $1500 to the Fernie Trails and Ski Touring Club who has been so important over the years in building and maintaining the world-class network of trails which is traditionally such a vital part of the race. Pat Gilmar matched the $1500 dollar for dollar and raised the total to $3000. Pat Gilmar has rode the TransRockes twice and has been the Southern Rockies Route Director for eight years. This year he won the Mountain Culture Award in FErnie for his many years of contribution to the community.
It’s only appropriate that the only location to have been part of each of the first nine TransRockies was the recipient of this donation and TransRockies Event Director Aaron McConnell handed over the cheque to Pat and Doug Koran during the awards ceremony for Stage 1.
After 9 great years in Fernie, you can be sure that the TransRockies will be back in Fernie for the 10th anniversary edition in 2011.
by admin | Aug 13, 2010 | Fernie TransRockies
Alongside all the obvious skills that are essential to success in long distance mountain biking—fast climbing, brave descending, exceptional endurance—being a good bike mechanic with the ability to improvise solutions in remote places can often be the difference between winning a losing. While World Cup Mountain bike races have mechanical support like the Tour de France, most mountain bike races require that the racers be self-sufficient other than food and drink, and so bike repairs are ingrained into the culture of the sport.
Mechanical issues are a daily occurrence in the TransRockies and riders must be prepared to make a number of basic repairs to things like fix flat tires and broken chains which are a consequence of lightweight machinery, hundreds of kilometres of challenging trails and occasional fatigue-induced rider errors. Already in the first three stages of 2010, TransRockies riders have fixed numerous flat tires and broken chains and a motorcycle tire iron from a TransRockies course moto was even pressed into duty to reinforce a broken frame tube allowing the bike rider to make it to the finish on his bike rather than pushing it.
After three straight stage wins, Kris Sneddon and Barry Wicks of Kona had established a 34-minute lead over 2009 Champions Marty Lazarski and Stefan Widmer (Rocky Mountain Factory Team) in the overall standings. Much of that time was going during Monday’s stage 3 when Marty had to fix a major mechanical a few km before the major climb of the day started. It was perhaps destined then that Kona would suffer its own mechanical challenge on Day 4 when Kris Sneddon snapped his rear derailleur 25km into a 60km ride. He was forced to turn his bike into a single speed for the rest of the day.
The problem with trying to turn most full-suspension bikes into single speeds is that the compression of the rear shock shortens the chain length. When this happens, the chain jumps to a bigger rear cog and then snaps when the shock returns to its normal position. Sneddon snapped his chain twice more before realizing that more extensive surgery was needed. His teammate Barry Wicks remembered locking gears out with duct tape to meet junior racing rules and they tried the same trick again . . . and it worked. They limped to the finish line in 6th place, 43 minutes behind Widmer and Lazarski who will don the Overall Leaders jerseys at tonight’s awards. With less than a 9-minute deficit and more than 170km to be raced over the next three stages, Sneddon and Wicks will feel that the 2010 Championship is still within reach.
While their ride went smoothly for the first 59.9km of the 60km day, Marty Lazarski and Stefan Widmer were nearly undone when Marty crashed just metres before the finish line turning on the transition between asphalt and gravel, and if that weren’t enough, his surprised teammate Stef Widmer also crashed when he rode into him. They were both stunned when they crossed the finish line—Marty on foot, Stef riding—but were up and moving quick and will be ready to race again tomorrow.
Behind all this action, the Timex/Sugoi duo of Will Kelsay and Matt Boobar rode to their second consecutive second-place finish of 2010 and jumped up into 3rd place in the overall standings. With just 5 minutes separating 3rd to 5th in the overall standings, they’ll need to put some more great rides together to get on the final podium in Canmore.
The racing wasn’t quite so dramatic in the other categories though the ride of the day must certainly be credited to the Open Mixed leaders Mical Dyck and Jeff Neilson (Team Terrascape/Trek Canada). After leading the field through the first section of singletrack, they stormed through the race to be the 4th team across the finish line overall and first in their division. Mical Dyck is obviously storming at the moment after medalling at the Canadian National Championships in Calgary. Now that they are wearing the leaders jerseys, they don’t look like they have any plans of giving them up.
With everything to race for, the expectation is for Team Kona to come out firing on the 54km Stage 5 ride from Anchor D Ranch to Little Elbow Camp to try and overturn their 9-minute deficit.
Stage4-TR2010-Official-GC
Stage4-TR2010-Official
by admin | Aug 10, 2010 | Fernie TransRockies
Stage 3 of the 2010 TransRockies was officially the most remote day of the event with a route which travelled deep into some of the wildest, most spectacular terrain in the lower Canadian Rockies and which included a new crossing of the Great Divide that dropped riders in a place more remote and further from civilization than many of them had been before.
The weather added to the untamed feel of the day with swirling, scudding dark clouds that moved in and out of the area rapidly threatening rain but not delivering. The remote Etherington Creek Campground was subject to the same weather with clear sky thunderclaps and ominous clouds that, luckily, did little more than sweep past the valley campground located at more than 1600 metres above sea level.
While the Open Men’s and Open Women’s standings had been relatively static over the first two stages, the Open Mixed and 80+ Men’s Divisions were much more wide-open and Stage 3 continued the trend with a change of overall leader in the Open Mixed Division and another tight three-way finish in 80+ Men setting up a dramatic last half of the race.
After two straight stage wins in the Open Mixed Division, Gretchen Reeves and Cannon Shockley (Tokyo Joes) suffered through a tough Stage 3 giving up 15 minutes to stage winners and new overall leaders Mical Dyck and Jeff Neilson (Terrscape/Trek Canada) who will don the leaders jerseys they wore throughout their 2009 TransRockies win. Normon Thibault and Wendy Simms moved one step up the podium to second but remain in third place overall.
In the 80+ Men’s Division, 2009 Champions the Czech Masters won their second straight stage with a narrow 4 minute gap over the British Duo of Team Mule Bar/Abergavenny RC who are hanging tight and preparing for a big push to overcome their 8 minute overall deficit on the more technical coming stages where they feel they have an advantage.
In the Open Men’s Division, the Kona duo of Kris Sneddon and Barry Wicks extended their lead with a dominant ride to grab their third straight stage win. Making their first appearance on the podium were Team Timex/Sugoi Will Kelsay and Matt Boobar, a pair of elite multisport athletes who put their running legs to good use on the big climb to place second on the stage. This finish was even more impressive considering Will’s broken derailleur hanger that forced him to turn it into an emergency single speed for the last part of the stage. Kelsay, who also complete last year’s GORE-TEX® TransRockies Run is seeking to become the first athlete to complete the TransRockies Bike and TransRockies Run double in the same year. We’ll check in with his progress later in the race.
The Open Women’s category held status quo with the Terrascape/Deadgoat Racing Duo of Alana Heise and Trish Graczyk won their third straight stage over the Matching Jerseys Scallion sisters duo. In the 100+ category, the Mountaincruzers (Joe McCarthy/Randy Walker) have established a big lead and look like they’re going to run away with the overall. Many time TransRockies finishers Simon Parker and Jim Seethram are having their best ride yet and sit in second place overall in the 100+ Division.
After the wildest ride of the year, the TransRockies riders head out into the spectacular trails of Kananaskis Country for Stage 4. The style of riding will change and you can expect the top finishers to shuffle again. It would be a surprise if at least one or two sets of leaders jerseys don’t move again after Stage 4.
Stage3-TR32010-Preliminary-GC
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