Transrockies Stage 7: Crowsnest Pass- Fernie, Full Report and Results

The Epic Comes to a Close

Crowsnest Pass-Fernie
74.8km/ 1293m climbing/ 1633m descending

After four consecutive days of unseasonable cold and rain, riders left Blairmore, Alberta for the final stage of 2009 with the finish line in Fernie squarely in their sights. The euphoria of completion added an extra level of excitement to the morning, as did an extra hour’s sleep with a later start made possible by slightly shorter and flatter route than the previous three days which had seen most riders on course for at least 7 hours a day in tough conditions.

At 75 km long with 1300 metres of climbing, Stage 7 looked like a mere blip compared to the 300km and 6700 metres of climbing they’d overcome in the previous three stages. It would still mean nearly four hours on course for the winners and much longer for most of the field thanks to course conditions which remained slick after the wettest edition yet in eight years of TransRockies riding.

The leading group of riders stayed together through the first two feed stations before the leading Rocky Mountain Factory Team duo of Stefan Widmer and Marty Lazarski dropped the hammer, determined to celebrate their GC win with a solo ride down Victoria St. in Fernie. They had been the fastest team on the singletrack all week and again, they were able to open a sizeable lead on the technical sections and rolled into the finish alone for another impressive stage win.

Next across the line was PeteTurnbull of the UK, who has been riding solo since his partner was forced to pull out on day 1 with a serious virus. Though only teams are eligible for prizing, Pete has been in the action all week pushing the leaders and being one of the top finishers every day.

Even though the GC gaps were often very big, riders did not treat this as a ceremonial ride to the finish. Pushing for a podium finish on the last day, the Bow Cycles/Specialized duo of Ryan Correy and Brian Bain overcame a broken chain in singletrack. Correy used his elite running skills to get to the bottom then Bain took over towing his chainless teammate to the line to hold onto third place on the day as Team visitPA.com breathed down their necks.

In the Mixed 80+ category, Pat Doyle and Trish Grajczyk of Team Deadgoat took the suspense out of things early with a dominant ride and a sweep of all seven stages. Doyle was one of two competitors who was completing their fifth TransRockies and was honoured with a commemorative belt buckle that will go nicely with the pile of leaders’ jerseys he’s got. The other 5 TransRockies finisher was Dean Irvine of North Vancouver who finished third in the Open Mixed division.

Team Cox of Norway held on to their gap to win the 100+ division while the Czechmasters in 80+ and Team Terrascape/Trek Toronto Open Mixed, both of whom had diced with the leading teams all week, won their respective categories. Finally, event host Nipika Mountain Resort also put their name on top of the standings as their Open Women’s team of Magi and Kate Scallion held off a hard challenge from the Velobella/Vanderkitten team to win the gold.

In every category and from front to back, riders made heroic and repeated efforts to get to the end of each stage. The TransRockies is considered to be the most difficult and epic mountain bike stage race and this was the most difficult edition of the TransRockies yet. The machined aluminum finisher medals will be only the smallest part of the reward that the competitors take home after overcoming the worst that the Rockies could throw at them over seven days, 532km and 14300 metres of climbing.

Final GC

Open Men
1, Stefan Widmer/ Marty Lazarski (Rocky Mountain) 29.01.02
2, Porto Jao Marinho/ Jose Silva (Team Aramante Bike Zone) 30.15.15
3, Ray Adams/Ryan Leech (VisitPA.com) 32.37.02

Open Women
1, Magi Scallion/ Kate Scallion (Team Nipika) 42.15.17
2, Erika Krumpelman/ Shannon Holden (VeloBella/Vanderkitten) 44.20.59

Open Mixed
1, Jeff Neilson/ Mical Dyck (Terrascape Trek Toronto) 32.49.05
2, Xavier Varemeeren/ Meike Deroo (Team Detrog) 34.57.16
3, Dean Irvine/ Alena Irvine (Steed Cycles) 36.20.02

80+ Men
1, Milan Spolc/ Martin Horak (Czechmasters) 30.41.10
2, Thane Wright/ Dax Massey (Breck Epic) 32.43.09
3, Sergio Vairetto/Ettore Bollati (Dream Team) 34.26.19

80+ Mixed
1, Pat Doyle/ Trish Grajczyk (Deadgoat Racing) 36.58.42
2, Margo Downey/ Craig Gillett (Hartland Hammers) 45.16.04
3, Tanya Martin/ Ray Vermette (Team Loupgarou) 49.57.33

Results from the Yankee Clipper at Windham Mountain Resort, New York- US Cup Finals

Pro Men

1, Geoff Kabush (Rocky Mountain/Maxxis) 1.38.46
2, Max Plaxton (Sho-Air/Specialized) 1.39.53
3, Todd Wells (Specialized) 1.40.01
4, Sid Taberlay (Sho-Air/Specialized) 1.40.20
5, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru/Gary Fisher) 1.40.26
6, Adam Craig (Giant) 1.42.58
7, Sam Jurekovic (Sho-Air/Specialized) 1.43.40
8, Derek Zandstra (3 Rox Racing) 1.43.52
9, Ishai Rotem 1.44.53
10, Carl Decker (Giant) 1.45.51
11, Michael Broderick (Kenda/Seven)
12, Sam Schultz (Subaru/Gary Fisher)
13, Robbie Squire (U-23 National Team)
14, Matthew Hadley (Xprezo)
15, Andy Schultz (Kenda/Tomac/Hayes)
16, Spencer Paxson
17, Barry Wicks (Kona)
18, Tad Elliot (U-23 National Team)
19, Peter Glassford
20, Kris Sneddon (Kona)
21, Thomas Turner (Outspokin Bicycles)
22, Adam Snyder (Jamis)
23, Ryan Woodall
24, Colin Cares (Kenda/Tomac/Hayes)
25, Dana Weber (Trek/WBR) 1 lap down
26, Brandon Draugelis (Cannondale)
27, Jason Sager (Jamis)
28, Michael Mooradian
29, Stephen Ettinger
30, Matthew O'Keefe
31, Tom Sampson
32, Robert Marion
33, Macky Franklin
34, Aaron Snyder
35, Blake Harlan
36, Brent Mellen 2 laps down
37, Justin Raynes
38, Mike Joos
39, John Burns
40, Benjamin Moore
41, Martin Kell
42, Tim Mosher
43, Ethan Gilmour
44,Seamus Powell
45, Andrew Alesio
46, Nathanael Wyatt
47, Kyle Douglas 3 laps down
48, Timothy Carson
49, Noah Tautfest
50, Chris Gagnon
51, Rickey Visinski
52, Jordan Kahlenberg
53, Greg Waggoner
54, Aaron Elwell
55, Leonardo Sandoval
56, Maurice Gamanho
57, Andrew Freye
58, Mike Festa
59, Patrick Wallace
60, Katriel Statman
61, Harrison Precourt
62, Greg Carpenter 4 laps down
63, Osias Lozano

Pro Women

1, Willow Koerber (Subaru/Gary Fisher)
2, Georgia Gould (Luna)
3, Catharine Pendrel (Luna)
4, Lea Davison (Rocky Mountain/ Maxxis)
5, Katerina Nash (Luna)
6, Mary McConneloug (Kenda/Seven)
7, Heather Irmiger (Subaru/Gary Fisher)
8, Pua Sawicki
9, Amanda Sin
10, Amy Dombroski
11, Chloe Forsman (Luna)
12, Sandra Walter (Local Ride Womens MTB)
13, Allison Mann (Sho-Air/Specialized)
14, Judy Freeman (Tough Girls)
15, Krista Park (Incycle)
16,Kimberly Flynn
17, Zephanie Blasi (Kenda/Tomac/Hayes)
18, Heather Holmes (Kenda/Tomac/Hayes)
19, Lindsey Bishop
20, Alexandra Serrano
21, Jamie Dinkins (Motor Mile Racing)
22,Maureen Bruno Roy
23, Anina Aaron
24, Catherine Vipond
25, Bryna Nestor 1 lap down
26, Teal Stetson-Lee
27, Jane Pearson 2 laps down
28, Lydia Tanner
29, Philicia Marion 3 laps down


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Leadville 100 Update

Armstrong wins with record time of 6 hours 28 minutes. Wiens holds on to second.

Rebecca Rusch takes top honors for the women with Amanda Carey in second.

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Update 12:56 MST

Riders have now reached the end of the Columbine climb and the halfway turn-around. After descending back down the climb they hit the feedzone once again, this time on their way to the finish. Once through the feedzone riders will have roughly 37 miles left to go. The temperature is currently 61 degrees with sunny skies. The storms have gone away for the time being.

Armstrong continues to hold the lead of around 14 minutes over second place Dave Wiens. Wiens did well to keep the time gap from increasing during the Columbine climb. Now the defending champion has just 37 miles to reel the 7-time Tour De France champion back in.

Rebecca Rusch maintains her lead over second place Amanda Carey who made up some time on the climb and decreased her gap to 14 minutes behind first place.

Stay tuned to MTBracenews.com for more live updates from the Leadville 100. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Update 10:37 MST

The lead riders have now reached the Columbine climb and feedzone of the course. Lance Armstrong has shed the pack and now leads by 13 minutes over Dave Wiens (Topeak/Ergon). The race is close to the halfway point. As riders make the turn and begin heading back to the finish in Leadville, Armstrong will have a healthy advantage over the challengers. The weather seems to be making a turn for the better as temperatures are up into the 60s and the sun has broken through the rain clouds.

In the women's race Rebecca Rusch (Specialized/Red Bull) holds an 18 minute lead over second placed Amanda Carey (Kenda/Tomac/Hayes).
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Lance Armstrong has not yet managed to break free from Dave Wiens (Topeak/Ergon). The leaders came through the Pipeline feedzone locked together at 1 hour 36 minutes. Monavie-Cannondale.com rider Tinker Juarez had been dropped from the lead group. The wet conditions may favor the more experienced bike handler in Wiens as parts of the course turn muddy.

The racer's are experiencing light rain and the current temperature is a frigid 43 degrees. Recently-crowned 24 Hour World Champion Rebecca Rusch (Specialized/Red Bull) is leading the women's field coming through the first feed at a time of 1 hour fifty-two minutes. Amanda Carey (Kenda/Tomac/Hayes) sits in second as she is forced to push the pace early to recover from a flat tire.

Stay tuned to MTBracenews.com for more live updates from the Leadville 100.