The 2013 Gearjammer was the perfect time for North Vancouver's Kevin Calhoun to shine.
Calhoun posted a time of two hours, 27 minutes, 56 seconds to edge out the win in Saturday's (July 20) race and said it was a see-saw battle for most of the race with second-place finisher Colin Kerr and third place Sullivan Reed.
"Colin and I were trading leads for a lot of the race," he said. "And he sprinted for the finish coming out of the Smoke Bluffs and I bided my time and attacked when I saw an opening."
He edged out Kerr by just under two seconds for the win. It's been a good month for Calhoun, who also won the two-man team division with 麻豆社国产resident Greg Day at the seven-stage B.C. Bike Race.
"I finished well at the B.C. Bike Race and I've been feeling really good lately," he said. "The heat like we had today doesn't bother too much and it helped that I had a really good start."
Calhoun has become a fixture over the past few years on the 麻豆社国产trails and has had a number of top-10 finishes in local races. He placed third at the previous two Gearjammer races and his previous highest finish was a second-place showing in the 2011 JABR.
"It feels good to win," he said. "麻豆社国产is really my home. I'm here on the trails with Colin and Greg about three times a week."
Two-time defending champion Neal Kindree did not get a chance to defend his title at the 2013 event. The top local finisher was Garibaldi Highlands resident Dwayne Kress, who placed fourth overall. He completed the course in 2:29:57 and also won the 40 to 49 age group.
"It was a good day for me," he said. "I rode aggressively and early on there was a group of five of us that broke away."
Kress said he pulled to within 15 seconds of the leader after the Fool's Gold trail section but said he bonked on the Powerhouse Plunge. He said the Gearjammer continues to grow in popularity.
"This race has a really good reputation and when you string together all these fun trails it's a lot of fun," he said. "This year could be a tipping point for the race. It's going to get even more popular."
Other local male riders with strong finishes included: Eric Goodwin (ninth), Nathan McKay (10th), Chris Christie (18th), Matteo Abel (27th) and Cameron Sylvester (30th).
Whistler resident Petra Tlamkova was the fastest female, posting a time of 2:57:17 and placing 45th overall. The Czech Republic native said she enjoyed her first Gearjammer experience.
"It was an awesome race there is such awesome trails out here," she said. "I just wish I had enough water - I went 30 minutes without water."
Tlamkova said she plans to compete at the TransRockies 2013 event next week and the Gearjammer was a nice test of her new bike. Earlier this year, she had a strong showing at the Test of Metal, finishing sixth among the women and 87th overall.
Rua Read was the top local female with a time of 3:20:23, good for fourth among the women. Other 麻豆社国产females with top times included: Catherine Gendron (fifth), Regan Kohlhardt (sixth), Sarah Greenwood (seventh) and Valerie Fraser (12th).
For complete results from the race, visit www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=10769.
