On Saturday, April 30, cyclists from On The Edge Race Club pre-rode the race course of the Cow Trail Classic cross-country mountain bike race in Merritt.
None of them had ever seen the trails before. When they packed up the tent and sponsors' banner after the race the next day, they left with three first and three second-place finishes, and all eight finished in the top 10.
The Cow Trail Classic was chosen this year by Cycling B.C. as a selection race for the 2006 Cycling B.C. sponsored Youth Prov-incial Race Team. Top finishers in the two selection races have the chance to be part of the team and would receive extra support and coaching and a chance to participate in national competitions.
The Coast riders gave everything they had for a shot at the team and proved their worth.
The second of two selection races takes place this weekend on the Sunshine Coast at the 2006 Brodie Rat Race.
The Rat Race begins where the B&K logging road meets the power lines in Roberts Creek with an exciting mass start at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 6.
Saturday will see 300 riders from the U.S. and throughout the province compete in an epic 48 km marathon cross country race, while younger competitors compete in a separate mouse loop.
On Sunday, further up the B&K, another kind of cycling action starts at 1 p.m. with the Brodie Rat Race downhill. The heavy downhill bikes are totally different from the high tech lightweight cross-country bikes. Downhill bikes are built to smooth out some of the big bone-jarring bumps and drops in the extremely fast, treacherous downhill course. A solid field is expected to compete in the downhill to try to beat the record of three minutes, eight seconds.
With help from the local riders and trail builders, this course has been the talk of the B.C. race circuit.
Both races are worth coming out for. It's an opportunity to see the best riders on the Coast and some of the best in the world compete on home turf.
For additional information and times, visit www.theratrace.ca. High school racingLocal high school riders from both Elphi and Chat continue to make a push towards North Shore titles.
Race number five in the North Shore high school series was held on Wednesday at the Sprockids Park in Gibsons. Full results were not available at press time.
Last week, riders competed at Blair Range in race number four in the series. Both Chat and Elphi put in solid finishes with several top 10 placings. Among the top riders were Jesse Horn from Chat, fifth in senior boys, and Christine Lynch, fourth in senior girls. Claire McGillivray from Elphi was fifth in juvenile girls, Sean Stanhope from Chat was second in junior boys, and Katherine Short from Chat finished first in junior girls for the fourth straight race.
Matt Brown from Chat and Sebastian Sleep from Elphi continued their dominance in bantam boys, finishing first and second respectively, while Jenna Phelps from Chat was second in bantam girls.
Check out the sports ticker on page C4 for the latest results from all the riders. Be sure to also check out next week's Coast Reporter for a recap of race five in the high school series and the Brodie Rat Race.
- with files from Steve Sleep and Tanya Camposano
