It was another stellar home-coming for Sechelt’s Kris Sneddon Wednesday afternoon as he won stage four of the 2014 BC Bike Race, maintaining the lead in the solo men’s category.
Sneddon crossed the finish line in a time of 2:51.24. Tristan Uhl from the United States was second at 2:51:47 followed by Spencer Paxson of the U.S. at 2:52:05.
Stage four was a day filled with breakdowns as all of the leaders had problems on the 59-km course.
Sneddon said winning every stage is not as important, but he did admit that winning his hometown stage was extra motivation.
“Deep down you’re coming to your home town, and you want to kick ass on your home soil,” he said during a post race interview. “This day being the hump day, it’s a long day, and there are lots of challenges out there, so you just never know what might happen. I made my final move coming into town, but we all sort of had some mechanicals out there, so everyone was just kind of chasing for most of the day.”
Sneddon won the first stage in North Vancouver, Uhl won stage two, and Jason Sager, who finished fourth in Sechelt, won stage three in Powell River.
Sneddon, however, has maintained the lead yellow jersey — and it’s a lead that race media manager Dave Howells feels will be tough to lose.
“Kris is going to be tough to catch. He has a strong team with him with fellow Kona riders Barry Wicks, and Spencer, both really strong riders who are supporting him on the course,” Howells said. “Kris really wanted it today. He was fired up to win this stage. He knows the score. He’s a smart and savvy racer. It is stage racing and anything can happen. Everyone has a good day and a bad day, but he’s won this race before as a team of two and as a solo rider, so he’s probably the most experienced rider out there in terms of BC Bike Race. He’s going to be hard to beat.”
Now in its eighth year, Howells said overall the race has been running very smoothly.
“This is such a great event. Everyone is having a great time,” he said. “The vibe around town and base camp is solid. I think it’s been interesting with the new course in North Vancouver and Cumberland. The changes were made for logistics, but also to challenge and continue to make this the best single track experience. We’re just pumped.”
