Despite losing a few racers at the ferry terminal, more than 200 cross-country cyclists tore through the winding trails of West Sechelt at last Saturday’s Coaster 50.
The overall female marathon winner was Sandra Walter with a time of 3:09:16.7. Felix Burke from Victoria won in the male category with a time of 2:33:25.3. Overall male winner of the short race was Hamish Graham of Kelowna with a winning time of 1:11:09.0 and Emily Johnston of Comox was the overall female winner with a time of 1:24:15.
Kai Jenkins from Sechelt, the fastest local of the short race, donated his $100 winnings to the Chatelech Mountain Bike Team. Other local winners Dale Ewanchook (male marathon) and Gale Sawers (female short) both donated their winnings to the Sunshine Coast Trails Society.
Sue Duxbury, race organizer, said both the number of racers and attendees were up this year. Added to those numbers was a spread of international jerseys, with licensed riders from Germany, France, Switzerland, South Africa, Brazil and the U.S. She said it’s the reputation of the Sea-to-Sky region and the Sunshine Coast as a cross-country “mecca,” that is bringing more international talent to the area.
The mecca didn’t disappoint. “The trails were in fantastic condition. All the mud holes dried up. It wasn’t so hot that I had people flaking out, but we did put in an extra water site on Homesite Creek Road and that was a good call,” Duxbury said.
The downside to the good weather, however, was a major increase in Coast visitors, leading to overcrowded ferries – and left-behind racers. “We had people arriving just after midnight on Friday and camping. We had people at Horseshoe Bay at 6:30 in the morning and they didn’t get on. So we lost a few registered racers,” Duxbury said.
More than 40 volunteers and 27 local sponsors contributed to the event, including Sunshine Coast Community Forests, which also parked a logging truck full of prime cedar at the race. Mahon Lamont of Whistler guessed the value of the load at $7,500.
