TransRockies Bike Race
Kona Fight Back
Paul Done / 13.08.2010
After a day of riding over and through the foothills of the Rockies to the west of Calgary, riders headed back into the heart of the mountains on Stage 5. In doing so, they left the mud and meadows of the cattle ranch lands behind and entered the high peaks and spectacular valleys of Kananaskis Country.
The 54km route starting at Anchor D Ranch included no major passes or high-altitude rides but a relentless up and down profile and endless singletrack added up to another gruelling day in the Rockies for the over 200 riders still moving toward the finish line in the TransRockies.
After losing 43 minutes and the overall leaders jerseys the day before, Kris Sneddon and Barry Wicks of Team Kona came out determined to set a shattering pace and overcome their 9 minute deficit to the first-placed Rocky Mountain Factory team of Stefan Widmer and Marty Lazarski. From the gun, Team Kona pushed the pace and was able to drop the rest of the field early. With a relentless performance, free of mechanical-problems, they were able to push their final gap over Rocky Mountain to almost 20 minutes by the end of the race. They finished in just a few seconds over 3 hours and 23 minutes, grabbing the leaders jerseys back and establishing a solid 11-minute overall lead with two stages left to go.
Behind them, the Honey Stinger duo of Nate Bird and Dax Massey finally shook off the mechanical woes that have plagued them since their race started with an inauspicious smashed wheel on Stage 1. With a clean run, they were able to chase the Rocky Mountain boys all the way to the finish line for a strong 3rd place finish which moved them up into 5th overall on GC. With 4th on the day Team Timex/Sugoi held onto the last overall podium spot. These two teams look set to battle the 4th placed Belgian Granville/Trust team for the last podium spot all the way to the finish line in Canmore.
After surviving an early three-way challenge, the 2009 Champions ‘CzechMasters’ (Milan Spolc/Martin Horak) took a stranglehold on the 80+ men’s division with four straight stage wins. Their closest competition Team Mule Bar/Abergavenny Cycling have been unable to close the gap as one half of the team, Peter Turnbull, has been struggling for two stages with stomach problems that have left him unable to eat. He’s bravely fighting to the finish line each day with partner George Rose, but is unable to ride at full speed and close the gap to the Czechs.
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