BC Bike Race
Sunshine Coast Under Clear Skies
News Release/Harlan Price / 04.07.2012
The warmth of today's sun finally treated racers to the beauty of the Sunshine Coast under clear skies. The entire BC Bike Race operation left Campbell River this morning to take the second BC Ferries trip across the Georgia Strait to the town of Powell River. Riders were greeted by the sound of the Powell River community ringing cowbells and cheering their arrival. If that wasn't enough to lift some damp spirits, the surrounding trails kept the heavy mud at bay and planted the biggest smiles of the week on racers faces.
The Sunshine coast is accessible only by air or ferry and it's amazing how well the trails are maintained despite the small community of riders and trail builders.
Men’s Race
Riders started day three from Wellington Beach in downtown and immediately started working their way to the trails of Rolling Thunder. With a bold move five kilometers into today's 48km race Cory Wallace of Kona bikes won his first stage in 17 attempts. A three-race veteran and frequent runner-up, Wallace finally had his day of glory after riding alone in front of the favorites for over two hours.
The pack of GC leaders crossed the line 45 seconds later with Chris Sheppard (Rocky Mountain Bikes) taking the sprint finish against Barry Wicks (Kona), followed by Neil Kindree (Specialized/EMD Serono) and Matt Hadley (Xprezo-Borsao Factory) in that order.
Cory emerged first at the bottom of the first Easton Gravity Enduro section with a 45 second gap and a lot of singletrack left. The rain had slowed the trails down but mud was surprisingly kept at bay. The contrasting brown stitch of trail winding its way through a bearded electric green forest had to make it difficult for Wallace or any rider to keep his eyes on the trail.
Out of the last section of trail through the final Gravity Enduro Section, Wallace was still holding a 45 second gap. The chase group had whittled down to Sheppard, Kindree, Wicks, Hadley, and the Team of Two Duo from Jamis. Guido Thaler (Craft-Rocky Mount) had come off the pace in the last singletrack, but his skills on the BC trails had improved enough to keep him with the lead group for most of the day. Daniel Gathof of Germany had an off day, an unfortunate series of flat tires and lost 40 minutes on the day.
SleepMonsters
