BC Bike Race Stage 1: Vancouver to North Vancouver
Photos by: Dave Silver
The opening stage of the BC Bike race is the shortest but may be one of the hardest in terms of technical difficulty. Veteran racer and last year's stage 1 winner Bart Gillespie (Monavie-Cannondale.com) described the first leg of the BC Bike like this on the team's blog Monavie-Cannondale.com, "What today lacked in length it made up for in technical challenge. The trails of the North Shore, if they can be called trails are legendary for being the most technically demanding in the world. Rock drop after ramp after bridge after rock drop they plummet thousands of feet through the old growth forest to leave one begging for a section of smooth road."
One of the many bridges on the BC racecourse
It seems only fitting then that today's stage would be claimed by two North Shore locals. Canadians Chris Sheppard and Seamus McGrath (Team Jamis/Santa Cruz) blazed their way through the old growth to take stage one by more than a minute over last year's BC Bike Race champions Barry Wicks and Kris Sneddon (Kona). Third place went to 2007 BC champions Jeff Schalk and Chris Eatough (Trek Racing Co-Op).
The Duo Women's category should prove to be one of this year's most intriguing battles with Luna teammates Katerina Nash and Catharine Pendrel facing off against epic stage racing's most prolific racer Alison Sydor and her partner American Lea Davison (Rocky Mountain/Maxxis). Sydor has won virtually every stage race you can name including Transalp, Transgermany, and The Cape Epic. It was the Luna team that gained the upper hand today, taking nearly eight minutes out of the Rocky Mountain duo. The high-powered combination of Nash and Pendrel excelled at the cross country length course and will no doubt be pressing hard to keep the pace as high for over 70 kilometers tomorrow.
McGrath and Sheppard descend to a stage 1 victory
The Mixed race went to the superstar team of Ryan Trebon and Georgia Gould (Team Kona/Luna). Both riders are former US National Champions and Gould was a 2008 Olympian and should prove to be almost unstoppable in the Mixed division. Mical Dyck and Jeff Nielson (Terrascape/Trek Toronto) did their best to stay close today losing just eight minutes over a rough 29 kilometers.
Stage 2 of the BC Bike Race will take riders from North Vancouver to Parksville with roughly 70 kilometers of dirt in between. The racecourse feature 1200 meters of climbing.
Stage 2 course profile
Stay tuned to MTBracenews.com all week for the latest results and reports from the BC Bike Race.
Riders get a taste of the technical BC singletrack
Barry Wicks leads the group early in stage 1
The North Shore trails offer up technical riding a plenty
ResultsDuo Men
1, Chris Sheppard/Seamus McGrath (Team Jamis/Santa Cruz) 1.35.14
2, Barry Wicks/Kris Sneddon (Kona) 1.36.29
3, Jeff Schalk/Chris Eatough (Trek Racing Co-Op) 1.38.57
4, Ben Sonntag/Matt Shriver (Monavie-Cannondale.com) 1.40.09
5, Brandon Stewart, Max Knox (Team DCM Chrom 1) 1:41:43
6, Bart Gillespie, Alex Grant (Monavie-Cannondale 2) 1:43:07
Duo Women
1, Katerina Nash/Catharine Pendrel (Luna) 1.50.07
2, Alison Sydor/Lea Davison (Rocky Mountain/Maxxis) 1.58.02
3, Lisa Ludwig/Dawn Anderson (Oak Bay Bikes) 2.11.11
Duo Coed
1, Ryan Trebon/Georgia Gould (Kona/Luna) 1.50.46
2, Mical Dyck/Jeff Nielson (Terrascape/Trek Toronto) 1.58.47
3, Sandra Walter/Steve Devantiers (Local Ride/Pedal Mag) 2.02.30
4, Sue Butler/ Bryan Alders (Monavie-Cannondale.com) 2.03.07
Duo Women
1, Katerina Nash/Catharine Pendrel (Luna) 1.50.07
2, Alison Sydor/Lea Davison (Rocky Mountain/Maxxis) 1.58.02
3, Lisa Ludwig/Dawn Anderson (Oak Bay Bikes) 2.11.11
Duo Coed
1, Ryan Trebon/Georgia Gould (Kona/Luna) 1.50.46
2, Mical Dyck/Jeff Nielson (Terrascape/Trek Toronto) 1.58.47
3, Sandra Walter/Steve Devantiers (Local Ride/Pedal Mag) 2.02.30
4, Sue Butler/ Bryan Alders (Monavie-Cannondale.com) 2.03.07
