麻豆社国产riders Neal Kindree and Brandi Heisterman topped the podium at the 21st annual Cheakamus Challenge mountain bike race on Saturday (Sept. 18).
Kindree spun the scenic course from 麻豆社国产to Whistler in a time of three hours, five minutes and 33 seconds. Heisterman pedaled out of the woods on Big Timber to cross the finish line in front of Dusty's at 3:27:43.
"It was back and forth, back and forth, until the last climb up Kadenwood, where I managed to open it up and get away from second place," Kindree said.
"I've never won the Cheakamus Challenge. It's something I've wanted to do for about the last 10 years. I'm so happy to win. 'Happy' might be an understatement."
Kindree, who semi-retired from competition because of a serious knee injury a couple of years ago, solidified his comeback by winning the Men's Pro/Expert category ahead of Ron Ellis at 3:06:54 and Kevin Calhoun at 3:07:43. Heisterman corralled the Female Pro/Expert ahead of Katherine Short, who finished in 3:46:33 and Stacey Spencer at 4:00:13.
The rider count was down to just 216, with 190 racers starting from the 麻豆社国产Municipal Airport in Brackendale for the full 70-kilometre course and 26 racers starting from the Cal Cheak campground for the 40-kilometre Cheakamus Lite course.
The low rider count - down from 700 or 800 riders in past years - was likely due to the weather forecast which for several days had echoed the three most feared words in the history of the race: "periods of rain."
As it turned out, it was a decent day for racing. Heisterman's goal was to complete the full course in less than three and a half hours and to place in the top 10 overall. She was close - beating her time barrier by a couple of minutes and finishing 12th overall.
"I got up close to the front on the first technical climb and was working in a good group through Pinecrest. Around Brandywine Falls I was passing some guys and thinking 'should I be passing these guys?' but I just kept hammering," Heisterman said.
"A top 10 might have been wishful thinking, but I rode well in the technical sections. A couple of turns into Tunnel Vision I could feel it was pretty grippy and had no problem riding the slick rock."
The Northlands Medical Clinic Cycling team of Heisterman, Dr. Cathy Zeglinski and Dawn Titus were in excellent form. Zeglinski finished third overall in the Women's category while capturing the Female 40-49 division at 3:52:26. Titus won the Female 50-59 at 4:43:30.
"It was a very hard-fought third place for me. I worked hard all the way. I've never ridden it that fast. My calves are in serious cramp mode," Zeglinski said.
"It was funny - at one point I was all by myself. I couldn't see anyone in of front me or anyone behind me. I was thinking: where am I? Am I in the right place? Am I still in the race?"
Mike Boehm was the best Whistler rider, finishing fifth in the overall standings and second in the Men's 30-39 division at 3:07:49. Trevor Hopkins placed seventh in the division at 3:35:20.
Eric Crowe won the Men's 50-59 division in 3:23:34 and also took home a draw prize voucher for a full-body MRI scan courtesy of the Whistler MRI Clinic. Tony Routley was second in the division at 3:37:36 and John Blok seventh in 4:00:40.
"I haven't been riding much lately, so it was a bit of a rude awakening at the start. I kind of worked my way into it, finished strong, and felt good at the end," Routley said.
Mahon Lamont was the best of the Junior riders at 3:47:30, with a half-hour gap on second-place finisher Logan Simonson, who finished in 4:21:02.
"I knew where to pace myself and made up a lot of time from Cal Cheak on. I just took off from Riverside and had no problem with Tunnel Vision or Big Timber," Lamont said.
Austin Reith posted a time of 5:10:12 to win the Male Under 13 division and easily outdistanced his pop Ian Reith, who clocked a 5:27:50 to finish 14th in the Men's 50-59.
On the short course, Tony Bachler at 1:34:31 and Fiona Minton at 2:42:35 won the Beginner divisions. Mathew Wentzel won the Junior division at 1:54:32.
The Last of the Champions on this day were a couple from Guildford, England, who are in Vancouver on a one-year work visa. Helen Higgs and Blair Woodward completed the full course in a time of 6:46:30.
"The trails were fantastic. Brilliant, or as you say in Canada, awesome," Woodward said.
Complete race results are on the web site www.cheakamuschallenge.com.
