The hunters have now become the hunted.Local man Kris Sneddon and riding partner Barry Wicks used their knowledge of the area to their advantage, winning stage four and capturing the yellow jersey as overall leaders of the 2008 BC Bike Race on Tuesday in Sechelt.
The Kona riders finished the stage that started in Earls Cove in a time of 3:11:30, well ahead of Flight Centre's Tim Bennett and Adrian Jackson. Heading into the stage, Kona was a full two minutes behind race leaders Team Trek, but Trek finished over seven minutes behind Kona, meaning a comfortable lead for Kona heading into the final three stages of the race.
Stage five was Wednesday morning, which saw the riders leave Sechelt working their way through lots of single-track in Roberts Creek, with the stage finishing in Langdale. Stage six was Thursday, a new loop stage in Squamish, with the final stage in Whistler today (Friday).
"It's rad being a home town kid and showing these guys what our trails are like and try to make them stay with you, which was sort of fun," Sneddon said. "Now we should probably take it easy and just defend it. Finishing first here at home on Canada Day - you can't ask for anything more."
Wicks said knowing the stage was a bit shorter than the previous three, they decided to race it hard and hope for the best."We just raced it more like a cross-country event and just went really hard. I think that put some of the endurance specialists in a bit of difficulty and we used that to our advantage," Wicks said. "We got the single track and with Kris being from here, we made up more than a few minutes on those trails. He was killing it on those trails. I was just hanging on for dear life, but it was great."
Looking to the final three stages, Wicks said the duo can now sit back and let the field try to chase them down.
"It's going to be a bit more mellow now because we don't have to go on the attack," he said. "We were behind so we had to go on the attack today, and we won the yellow jersey. So now we can sit back a bit and watch the other teams and make sure no one gets too far ahead. We just have to keep our bikes together, keep our minds in good shape and just hang in there."
Now in its second year, BC Bike race has more than 400 competitors from around the world competing this year with more than 100 teams of two in the open men's division, 34 teams in open mixed, 15 teams of two in the open women's division, close to 60 teams in two veterans categories and four teams of four.
"Everything has just been great, so far," said Dave Howells, media relations co-manager. "We did not anticipate these kinds of temperatures - I don't think anyone did. When you're riding the long logging road section in the mid-day sun it really has been sapping the riders, but morale is high and everyone is having a great time. You bring 400-plus racers from all over the world to B.C. - how can you go wrong?"
Howells said stage five is 'the' stage in BC Bike race and one where Kona may have an advantage with Sneddon's knowledge of the trails.
"Stage five was a highlight of last year and will be a highlight this year," Howells said. "I can't say enough about the great job that Rod Camposano has done with regards to course design. I know for a fact we are going to be seeing a ton of smiling faces as they cross the finish line in Langdale."
Howells said it's phenomenal what the race has become in only two years. That's due, he said, to the incredible support from all the communities along the way, the volunteers and the riders themselves.
"We have one of the deepest pro fields you can have in a stage race in Canada," he said. "We have top teams from Canada, the U.S., Australia and the U.K. The cool thing about BC Bike race is we produce the best mountain bike race teams. A lot of these stage races are very fast, open dirt, road style riding. What we do at BC Bike race is challenge their mountain bike skills. You have to be a mountain biker to come and enjoy BC Bike race and that's one of our goals. You look at the guys and gals that are out in front and they are good, all-around mountain bikers."
