The BC Bike race uses a 350 mile course designed and endorsed by Canadian endurance mountain bike racer Andreas Hestler. That means riding through the busiest singletrack and some of the lushest woods in the world. The seven stages wind through nine beautiful west coast communities, each showcasing unique qualities and elements that make British Columbia a world-class destination.
The race is only open to two man teams in men's, mixed teams, women, 80+ combined age and 100+ combined age categories. Altogether there where 207 two man team entrants, plus five four person teams.
THE ROUTE
*Stage 1: Shawnigan Lake to Cowichan Lake District...55.3 miles
*Stage 2: Cowichan Lake to Port Alberni...77.7 miles
*Stage 3: Port Alberni to Cumberland...49.7
*Stage 4: Comox Valley, Powell River, Earls Cove to Sechelt...37.3
*Stage 5: Sechelt to Gibsons (Langdale Ferry)...40.4 miles
*Stage 6: The best of Squamish...40.4 miles
*Stage 7: The best of Whistler...29.2 miles
THE FINAL DAY
Off www.bcbikerace.com
The Whistler Finale! It's hard to believe that just 7 days ago, racers stood at the Shawnigan Lake start line in nervous anticipation of the 350 mile adventure that awaited. Seven days later, it's all over but
the recovery!
After one last, delicious breakfast in Squamish, provided by BCBR Catering Manager Rick Slowski (owner of Tommy's Catering in North Vancouver) and his incredible crew, racers geared up and hopped onto a string of buses for the quick ride north to Whistler.
Speaking of delicious breakfast, one of the most important aspects of a seven-day stage race is fuel. Racers need to replenish lost nutrients and stock up on soon-to-be expended calories every single day without fail. The daily menu for BCBR was carefully planned and coordinated by Rick and his staff with these important considerations in mind. That was the easy part. For the seven days of BC Bike Race, Rick and the catering crew started meal preparations at 2:30 a.m. every day. And, in many cases, they were lucky to squeeze in an hour or two of sleep before their unbelievably early wake up call.
The demands of preparing, presenting, serving and cleaning up from a meal for close to 650 people are almost unfathomable unless you've been there and done that. Without the catering staff, the BC Bike Race would have no fuel...no fuel for the racers to complete each stage and no fuel for the organizers to prepare each stage. This is just a wee tribute to the unsung heroes of the BC Bike Race: Rick, his wife Trish, and all the foodies! They provided racers and staff outstanding meals with outstanding service and always with absolute grace under pressure. Many thanks, many times over.
And now, back to the final race day action!
The Stage 7 finale start line of BCBR 2008 was in the Village Square at Whistler Creekside; nestled at the foot of Whistler Mountain. With 6 long days of racing behind them, BCBR competitors had to dig deep right out of the start gate on this day as 1000 feet of vertical, or 15 minutes of intense climbing, welcomed them to the course.
As the saying goes, riders had to "earn their turns," and the investment in the uphill grind paid off in the reward of Whistler's best singletrack offerings. By the time racers hit the undulating 2 miles of trail running alongside the Cheakamus River, grins had spread from ear to ear. Without a doubt Whistler singletrack offers not only beautiful trails with a ridiculously high fun factor, but also stunningly captivating sights and natural features.
The day would be hard-fought for many riders in the pack, but the reward of crossing the finish line at Spruce Grove park would make it all worthwhile.
Top stage finishers of the day, Seamus McGrath and Chris Shepard (Team Old School), powered through the course in 3:01:06. Not many surprises in the remaining categories: top Women were Sara Bresnick-Zocchi and Kelli Emmett (Team Taint Slo) in 4:01:24; top Mixed were Wendy Simms and Normon Thibault (Team Kona-Riding in Memory of Denis Fontaine) in 3:37:23; top 80+ changed up with winners Dave Harrison and Matt Luhn (Team Grip It & Rip It) in 3:35:49; and, top 100+ were Andy Klumb and Brent Erikson (Team Bicilibre) in 4:41:34.
The final awards banquet was held high above Whistler Village at the Roundhouse on Whistler Mountain. A 30 minute gondola ride unveiled spectacular views of the valley as it carried racers up the mountain. After an amazing dinner, the stage awards and overall category awards
were handed out. When all was said and done, the top overall, 7 stage General Classification category winners were:
OPEN MEN
1. KONA: Kris Sneddon & Barry Wicks...25:58:24
2. TREK VW MOUNTAIN BIKE TEAM: Chris Eatough & Jeff Schalk...26:19:17
3. FLIGHT CENTRE: Tim Bennett & Adrian Jackson...26:40:33
OPEN WOMEN
1. TAINT SLO: Sara Bresnick-Zocchi & Kelli Emmett...32:08:16
2. HELLY HANSEN VANCOUVER ISLAND: Kristenn Magnusson & Lisa
Ludwig...35:40:23
3. LINDQUIST: Katie Lindquist & Amy Harris...36:07:32
MIXED
1. KONA-RIDING IN MEMORY OF DENIS FONTAINE: Wendy Simms & Normon
Thibault...29:10:27
2. MONA VIE CANNONDALE.COM MIXED: Matt Ohran & Sue Butler...31:12:16
3. SPIKE SHOOTER: Mark & Katie Compton...31:19:53
VETERANS 80+
1. GRIP IT & RIP IT: Dave Harrison & Matt Luhn...30:36:54
2. DIFFERENT BIKES/DEADGOAT RACING: Andrew Handford & Pat
Doyle...30:38:41
3. SPIKE SHOOTER: Mark Thompson & David Overstreet...31:16:27
VETERANS 100+
1. DOUBLE SHOT: Brian & Bruce Johnson...36:38:39
2. BICILIBRE: Andy Klumb & Kent Erikson...37:53:27
3. HARBOUR AIR: Greg MCdougall & Graeme Fitch...43:10:58
It was an incredible week of racing and adventure for everyone involved--racers and staff! Interest is already stirring for the 2009 event, as online registration opened at noon on July 5 and the first eager teams have signed up for the challenge. See you next year on June 28 to July 4, 2009!