For Squamish鈥檚 Quinn Moberg, riding in Saturday鈥檚 Orecrusher race was a little bittersweet.
As he rode his mountain bike past the graveyard on the course through the streets and trails of Brackendale, he couldn鈥檛 help but think of his grandparents and used it as motivation, especially with the Test of Metal series, of which Orecrusher is a part, ending this year.
鈥淢y grandparents are buried just up the way,鈥� he said after the race. 鈥淚t was a little extra energy racing around the graveyard.鈥�
As in 2015, Moberg again finished with the best overall time in the race, narrowly beating Rocky Mountain Factory teammate Greg Day by half a wheel. Moberg鈥檚 time was 1:51:37.2 compared with Day鈥檚 1:51:37.6.
The two along with teammate Kevin Calhoun, who finished third overall, were pushing each along throughout the race, as the three made it a priority to make sure one of them came out on top.
鈥淔irst was to make sure one of us won,鈥� Moberg said. 鈥淭hen it was which one of us wins.鈥�
Orecrusher marks the second race of the year for the 麻豆社国产rider, following the Bear Mountain cross-country event in Victoria.
鈥淯sually, I would have a couple more races, but I did a second semester at UVic.鈥�
He and Day are now heading south for a couple of races and will be racing at Gearjammer, the next race in the Test of Metal series.
Among the other winners was local Nick Kleban, who took the junior bracket among males with a time of 1:58:54.2, or ninth best among all 228 riders.
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鈥淭his is actually my first win ever,鈥� he said.
Kleban got off to a rough start when he and another rider鈥檚 handlebars made contact, but he was able to avoid a collision and regroup. He sensed he was doing well as the rest went on, especially when he hit the highway section and started a downhill stretch. Still, he didn鈥檛 want to take anything for granted.
鈥淚 always just kept moving,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 never let up.鈥�
Kleban has two B.C. Cup events in the next two weeks.
鈥淗opefully, I can win again next week,鈥� he said.
Among the women, West Vancouver鈥檚 Emily Handford, who also rides for Rocky Mountain Factory, finished with the best time of 2:11:32.3, about 20 seconds ahead of Jean Ann Berkenpas of Vancouver.
Handford, who had just returned from racing in Germany, was pleasantly surprised by her first-place finish.
鈥淚 hoped for podium,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat was my goal coming in.鈥�
Both Handford and Moberg finished with the听 best times in the pro/elite brackets.
Joining Kleban as winners in recreational categories were: Julia Long in age 14-19; Kelsey Macdonald (Best recreational female time) and Simon Szoke, 20-29; Katharine Carter and Mikalai Panisiuk, 30-39; Dwayne Kress (Best recreational male time) and Grace Menning, 40-49; Jennifer O鈥橠ay and Andrew Handford, 50-59; and Tony Routley, 60-69.
Orecrusher director Darcy Reimer was happy with the entertaining finish to the race, the shape of the track and the weather. Still, he expressed concern that with Test of Metal coming to an end, it was a sign of how these kinds of events, which depend so heavily on volunteer hours, are harder to hold.听
鈥淚t takes 70 volunteers to pull off a race like this,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e all doing it on their own time.鈥�
Reimer said that with many families having both parents working, often out of town, there are limits are how much people can volunteer.听
He added that it was crucial to have support from sponsors like Nester鈥檚 and the school district, which provided space at Don Ross Middle School, as well as the Brackendale residents in order for the race to happen.
He was also able to get volunteers from the Howe Sound Secondary leadership program, kids from the Rippin鈥� Riders programs he runs and members of the River Church, where he is pastor, to help make sure Orecrusher was a success.
