At the Mt. Washington Canada Cup race last weekend, the podium was no stranger to the red and white On The Edge (OTE) jersey as the Sunshine Coast riders brought home medals in every category they entered.
When the team travelled to Vancouver Island a day early to pre-ride the 6.2 km course, they found a relatively fast course with a couple of good climbs and moderate technical sections. The lap was dry to the point of being dusty with good traction on the roots and rocky sections. A heavy rainfall overnight changed the race completely, turning the dust to mud and the roots to slippery obstacles that could throw a rider sideways and off the bike or into a tree. Sunshine Coast experience in the wet was an asset to the young team.
"Our racers practise all year long and know how to handle the wet conditions. Riding in mud or even snow is nothing new to them," said OTE race club coach Bob Stanhope.
The U15 race was the first race of the day and course marshals had not completed checking the race course flagging. "I realized I had missed a turn and had to hike a couple of minutes way back up a hill to get back on course," said OTE rider Sebastian Sleep who eventually finished third. The ride of the day goes to 13-year-old Nick Pike who suffered with a faulty shoe cleat.
"At first, I couldn't clip out and kept crashing with my foot stuck in the pedal. Then I couldn't even get clipped in and my foot kept slipping off. I thought about quitting, but we train to complete the race, whatever it takes, and I decided to stick it out. I could only pedal with one foot. It was fun," he said.
For full weekend results, see the sports ticker on page C4.
