After Kris Sneddon secured his second consecutive BC Bike Race title, he was quick to credit the win to a little help from his friends.
With Kona teammates Spencer Paxson and Barry Wicks joining him in the top four of the Men’s Solo Epic class of the seven-day mountain bike stage race, the Sechelt rider said their support was key to earning a repeat victory.
“It helps a ton. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them,” Sneddon said moments after crossing the final finish line in Whistler on Saturday, July 5, with a cumulative winning time of 15 hours, 13 minutes, 54 seconds.
“Barry saved me when I flatted [on Day 4], gave me his wheel and kept me in the race pretty much. “It feels good.”
Meanwhile, Lea Davison hung on for the Women’s Solo Epic win ahead of two-time defending champ Wendy Simms, and the Sea to Sky duo of Quinn Moberg and Greg Day had little trouble capturing the Open Team of 2 title.
Sneddon was off the stage podium on Saturday, finishing fourth, while American Jason Sager earned his second single-day victory of the race, but it was his only time out of the top three all week. After winning three stages — including stage four in Sechelt — Sneddon built a near three-minute cushion to play with over the short-but-difficult final leg in Whistler, and not much could have stopped him from taking down another general classification victory.
“Just don’t screw up was basically the plan,” the 32-year-old said with a grin, detailing his approach to the final day. “Last year’s was a bit more of a battle between me and Neal [Kindree]. This one wasn’t quite as much of a battle … I sort of was battling Spence, but it’s not quite the same because he’s my teammate.”
Paxson rode into the runner-up spot for the second-straight year, finishing 2:38 back of Sneddon, while U.S. competitor Tristan Uhl placed third, spending an extra 11:45 on the trails over the course of the week.
“It would have been cool to have all three of us [Kona guys] up there, but it was a good week. We were all riding together, having fun,” Paxson said. “Me, Barry and Kris are all from this neck of the woods, and this type of riding suits us really well.”
Sneddon can now boast multiple titles in both the solo and team categories of the BC Bike Race, but it’s not necessarily the prospect of winning that keeps him coming back for more.
“It’s fun riding all the awkward singletrack. That’s my favourite; that’s what I’m good at,” said Sneddon, who’s now preparing for the national championships in Ontario later this month. “It’s fun getting on some Whistler trails, because they’re quite different than the North Shore and Cumberland. It’s like a different world.”
