Transrockies Challenge
Day 3 Turns Up The Heat
Paul Done/Photos Gibsonpictures.com / 10.08.2011
42.4km/2200m climbing/1900m descending</b>
One of the strange things about endurance racing is that many times the hardest days are also the most memorable days for athletes. The type of person who signs up for epic events is there to be tested and the greatest rewards are to be found on the days when the course and conditions are the most difficult. By that measure, Stage 3 of the 2011 TransRockies is going to be found on page of many scrapbooks as one of the best, toughest days ever.
The 42km-long stage 3 was always going to be one of the biggest challenges for the riders from 20 different countries who came to the Rockies in 2011 and baking hot weather and dry trail conditions only added an extra level of difficulty to a course profile which featured seven steeps climbs and lots of technical singletrack.
The profile, technical riding and heat made the ride challenging enough that finish times were slower than they were for Stage 2 which was 13km longer! “Hardest day� and “best day� were the two common themes at the finish line as riders relaxed in the scenic surroundings of Island Lake Lodge, a world-class Cat-ski resort in the mountains above Fernie.
<b>TR3</b>
While the top placings in the Open Men’s division seemed settled, the Open Women’s race was wide up for grabs with three athletes separated by only 4 minutes in the overall at the start of the Day. Stage 1 winner Mical Dyck used her world-class technical riding skills to surge to the win in Stage 3 and jump from 3rd place to the overall win ahead of Catherine Vipond who grabbed third on the day behind Jean-Ann Berkenpass who grabbed her first podium of the race, but could not dislodge Melanie McQuaid from the overall standings podium.
The winner of stages 1 and 2 in the Open Men’s Division, Victoria, BC-based Max Plaxton said he suffered from the elevation during stage 2 and even though the route was going to be an immense technical challenge, he was happy to be back closer to the valley floor for Stage 3. With sea level lungs back, National Champion Plaxton laid down another tough pace and soloed to a convincing 4-minute victory to sew up his second straight TR3 title. The World Championships in Champery, Switzerland are the next race on his schedule and TR3 kicked off a block of hard training to take on the best in the World in this, his best season yet.
As they had since the start of the event, three riders from Alberta dominated the Men’s 40+ category finishing Stage 3 in the same 1-2-3 placing they had since day 1. Masters National Champion Ian Auld showed that his jersey had been well-earned with another strong ride to secure the overall win ahead of Jeff Neilson and Calvin Zaryski.
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