August 18, 2004
R. Cunnigham
This year's Transrockies Challenge marathon race proved to be the toughest way to travel from Fernie, British Columbia, to Canmore, Alberta. The 600 kilometer (about 375 miles), seven-day stage race that took place between August 7th and 14th is for two-person teams that must finish together at the end of every leg. Time is accumulated over a week of racing on dirt roads and singletracks across the Canadian Rocky Mountain range. The route is kept secret until race day to eliminate any home-court advantage and to discourage big-league teams from setting up feed stations along the course that could provide an advantage over rank and file racers. A $20,000 purse awaits the lucky winners--the largest sum for a mountain bike race in North America--NORBA take note.
The Transrockies Challenge is staged by the same folks who invented the wildly successful "Transalp" marathon event in Europe. The first Transrockies was staged in 2002. The race is a traveling circus of sorts--with a well-organized entourage that lays out the course a day ahead of the competitors and builds a tent city in time to receive the tired and hungry pairs as they cross the finish line. The official numbers stated that 235 racers started, but that would leave one team without a partner.
This year's Transrockies Challenge was won by Canadian Andreas Hestler and his German partner, Karl Platt, who busted out the week-long, 600 kilometer (375-mile) stage race in an accumulated time of 29 hours, 38 minutes and 39 seconds. The winning female team was lead by three-time Transalp winner Karen Eller and teammate Sabrine Grona, both from Germany.
The "Mixed Class" is jokingly referred to as the "tractor/trailer" race because the winning tactic is for a powerful male racer to tow his female partner for extended periods. This year's mixed winners were Niclas Christoffersson of Canmore, a member of the men's championship team in the first Transrockies Challenge in 2002, and fellow Canadian, Marg Fedyna of Edmonton who rode to victory in spite of suffering head injuries in a crash three days earlier. The split between first and second place in the Mixed race was only 23 minutes.
The fairy-tale finish, however, was the Masters team from Switzerland that rolled across the finish line in Canmore, Alberta only a few hours short of the overall title. Karl Arnold, 43 and Stephen Ruttman, 40, were never challenged in the masters class, and finished second overall in the muddy third stage that most considered to be the toughest leg of the Transrockies Challenge.
Here's how the race played out:
Start in Fernie, British Columbia to Crowsnest pass, Blairmore, Alberta--95 kilometers:
Male: Andreas Hestler and Karl Platt--3:40:22
Female: Karen Eller and Sabrine Grona--5:00:06
Masters: Karl Arnold and Stephan Ruttimann--4:08:35
Mixed: Niclas Christoffersson and Marg Fedyna--4:25:24
Stage two: Crowsnest pass to Dutch Creek--95 kilometers, 2,600 vertical meters of climbing:
Male: Andreas Strobel, Germany, and Silvio Wieltschnig, Austria--3:58.45*
Female: Karen Eller and Sabrine Grona--5:29:41*
Masters: Karl Arnold and Stephan Ruttimann--4:36:57*
Mixed: Niclas Christoffersson and Marg Fedyna--4:46:14*
Overall leaders: Andreas Strobel and Silvio Wieltschnig
Stage Three: A mud fest between Dutch Creek and Etherington Creek campground in Kananaskis Country, Alberta--97 kilometers, 2,700 meters of climbing:
Male: Troy Misseghers, Blairmore, Alberta and Neil Grover, Winnepeg--6:14:31*
Female: Karen Eller and Sabrine Grona--8: 22:47*
Masters: Karl Arnold and Stephan Ruttimann--6:37.44*
Mixed: Niclas Christoffersson and Marg Fedyna--7:19.11*
Overall leaders: Troy Misseghers and Neil Grover
Stage Four: Etherington to Sandy McNabb--63 kilometers, 3,400 metres of climbing:
Male: Andreas Hestler and Karl Platt--3:50.07
Female: Christina Begy, US and Joan Orgeldinger, US--5:03:07
Masters: Karl Arnold and Stephan Ruttimann--4:41:00*
Mixed: Niclas Christoffersson and Marg Fedyna--4:45:56*
Overall leaders:Troy Misseghers and Neil Grover
Stage five: Sandy McNabb to Bragg Creek (west of Calgary)--105 kilometers, 4,400 vertical meters of climbing:
Male: Andreas Hestler and Karl Platt--4:35:07*
Female: Karen Eller and Sabrine Grona--6:01:56*
Masters: Karl Arnold and Stephan Ruttimann--5:28:38*
Mixed: Eric Warkentin, USA and Louise Kobin, USA
Overall leaders: Andreas Hestler and Karl Platt
Stage six: Bragg Creek to Seebe, Alberta--79 kilometers, 4,000 vertical metres of climbing:
Male: Andreas Hestler and Karl Platt--3:42:36*
Female: Christina Begy and Joan Orgeldinger--5:02:06*
Masters: Karl Arnold and Stephan Ruttimann--4:36:32*
Mixed: Eric Warkentin and Louise Kobin--4:42:54
Overall leaders: Andreas Hestler and Karl Platt
Stage seven: Rafter Six Resort to Canmore, Alberta--45 kilometers:
Male: Andreas Hestler and Karl Platt--2:22:13*--29:52:25
Female: Karen Eller and Sabrine Grona--3:12:00*
Masters: Karl Arnold and Stephan Ruttimann--2:55:03*--32:49:40
Mixed: Niclas Christoffersson and Marg Fedyna--3:04:44*--35:14:43
Overall winners: Andreas Hestler and Karl Platt--29:52:25
Karen Eller and Sabrine Grona--37:56:59
*overall leaders in class
Sign up for next year's Transrockies Challenge early, because only a limited numbers of teams are allowed. www.transrockies.com |