TransRockies
Heavy Weather Keeps Riders at the Limit During Stage 5
Paul Done / 14.08.2009
After four straight years with almost unbroken sunshine, it was inevitable that the Rocky Mountains would demand a little payback from the TransRockies. The riders in 2009 have been hit with three straight days of unseasonably cold and wet weather that has added an extra level of epic effort to each long day in the mountains.
On Stage 5, the TransRockies field rolled out of Whiteswan Lake deep in the wilderness with the mountain town of Elkford in their sights. As they have since the first year of the TransRockies, one of the friendliest and most enthusiastic groups of locals anywhere would welcome them with hot showers, dry clothes and ample snacks to recharge. With the basics of life now available again, including high-speed internet and cell phone reception, riders were anxious to get back in touch with family and share stories of the 2009 race so far.
With tough conditions on the menu and two major passes to cross, the leading groups of riders stayed together early on in the 87.5km stage sharing the work before splits began to appear as tired legs needed to take a rest. As they have since the start, Marty Lazarski and Stefan Widmer from Rocky Mountain bikes were again the strongest as they rode away from the group and rolled into Elkford solo. Testament to the tough conditions was the fact that their finishing time of 4:36:07 was just 8 minutes faster than the day before despite a route 20km shorter.
In the Open Women's division, the VeloBella/Vanderkitten duo of Erika Krumpelman and Shannon Holden took advantage of the burly conditions to grab their second stage win of 2009 with a 13 minute gap over Magi and Kate Scallion of Team Nipika, who retain their overall first place position with two days to go.
A number of overseas teams are battling for podium spots despite the tough conditions. Team Cox (Hans-Tore Steen and his partner Gisele Langslet) from Norway have a 23-minute lead in the 100+ Category, while the Czech Republic team of 'Czechmasters', who again finished second overall on the stage, have nearly an hour on their closest competitors, Team Breck Epic. The Flemish Belgian contingent from Team Detrog Granville occupies 2nd and a close 4th in Open Mixed and were also in 2nd in 80+ Mixed until hypothermia problems dropped them to 4th after Stage 5.
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