On The Edge (OTE) race club members brought home medals from Sun Peaks last weekend, site of the national finals.
Seven OTE racers made the trek to Sun Peaks, and four made the podium, winning a gold, two silvers and a bronze. Saturday brought sunny skies and high temperatures. Wearing the Team B.C. jersey, OTE racer Katherine Short raced hard and took the silver medal in the women's U17 category finishing only 19 seconds behind Manitoba's Leah Kirchmann. OTE's Jennifer Brown finished sixth. Women's U19 racer Christine Lynch's (OTE Team B.C.) race was cut short when a nagging strep throat forced her out of the race before the finish. Local pro racer Kris Sneddon took sixth in the men's elite category.
Sunday morning was cooler for the U15 Men's race that was held on a shorter course. Coaches, managers and parents launched a protest on behalf of the young racers who wanted to race the longer course; however, officials refused to discuss the issue. After training for months, the U15's were forced to three quick laps on a course well below their ability. In the U15 category, three OTE members raced for Team B.C.
Tyler Allison took the gold, Sebastian Sleep, bronze and Matt Brown finished sixth. OTE racer Nick Pike finished ninth in his first race of the season. The most exciting race of the day was the men's U19 sport category. OTE's Jesse Horn swapped the lead for most of the race with Ontario's Josh Fletcher who finally managed to pull away and finish in first. Jesse blasted over the line 1:25 later to secure the silver medal. Check the Sports ticker for full results.
OTE members would like to wish Matt Cottrell, recently home from the hospital, and fellow racer Sean Stanhope a speedy recovery. Both these top racers were hit by a car in Sechelt two weeks ago.
