The Sunshine Coaster Mountain Bike Race went off with a bang on April 30, as Warren Hansen’s starter pistol sent 164 cyclists racing up through the old mine site road.
This was the first year the race was held in West Sechelt after 15 years in Roberts Creek, and the locals were pleased with the new trails. Local entries went up to 40 with the bulk of those in the 40+ men’s division. Mountain biking might be the new golf.
Sechelt native Kris Sneddon, who has dominated the BC Bike Race for several years, was away racing in Arizona. However, he donated cash prizes to top local finishers Glen Illingworth, Lucy Schick, Meghan Molnar and Graham Cocksedge.
Illingworth was the first local finisher in the male short course. He said he liked that the course started off with a gruelling climb because it spaced the riders out to their natural fitness levels early on.
“It was fabulous. What a course!” Illingworth said just after pulling up at the finish line. “Just a nice flow. You get all the climbing done early and then just rip the rest.”
Schick was the local short course female first place finisher. She also liked the downhill flow of the course.
“It was really fun. The climb on Frogger was in the sun, so it was a bit hot, but the downhill was nice and flowy,” Schick said. “And yeah – I liked it a lot.”
Molnar helped build some of the trails and volunteered with the race, in addition to being the first female local finisher in the long course.
“It’s fun; I do it every year. It’s the local race; you have to do the local race,” Molnar said. “It was nice to see more local women in the race this year. Last year I was literally the only local woman in the race – short and long – and I was really disappointed. We need to get more women out riding.”
About half the pack elected to ride the full 40km marathon with the rest settling for 20kms of scenic trails. All riders had the benefit of the fantastic inlet view from the top of Frogger trail. Sunshine Coast Community Forest (SCCF) repatriated this trail after it was logged a few years ago.
Not only did SCCF support the race this year, they parked a fully-loaded logging truck at the start and invited everyone to guess the value of the logs. Jennifer Marquis of Sechelt guessed $7,050 and won the Cove Bike Shop clothing prize.
Thurber Engineering and Coast Spatial sweetened the pot, and 24 other local sponsors joined the 40+ volunteers to pull off this event. The Coast is truly becoming a mecca for mountain biking.
With 16 years of racing, the Sunshine Coaster – put on by the Sunshine Coast Cycling Club (SCCC) – continues to grow every year. Sunshine Coast Search and Rescue looked after first aid, but the excellent trail and weather conditions did not keep them busy.
While some riders opted to stay on the Coast and check out Coast Gravity Park after the race, many more chose to participate in one of the four guided rides on Sunday, hosted by SCCC. The guided rides were by donation for the trail maintenance fund and were extremely popular, offering something to everyone from youngsters to advanced riders. After enjoying their Tour d’Coast, folks congregated at Persephone Brewery to celebrate and take in some sun.
The Coaster is tentatively scheduled annually for the first weekend in May. Proceeds will be divided between Sunshine Coast United Mountain Bikers, Sunshine Coast Cycling, and Sunshine Coast Search and Rescue.
Check out our online galleries for more shots of the race. And see full local results here.
– With files from Sue Duxbury
