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Kabush sets new course record at Test of Metal

Whistler riders on the podium
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Twelve years after his first win in 1998, Geoff Kabush of Courtney ripped to the finish line first on Saturday to set a new record in the 15 th annual Squamish Test of Metal.

Kabush's time of two hours, 29 minutes and 25 seconds broke the record set by Max Plaxton last year by 45 seconds. Plaxton himself was a DNF this year, one of many.

"Yeah, I won in the last century," Kabush joked, "but today was a pretty smooth race and it feels good."

He said he had put in more practice this year and even though it had been a decade since he last participated, the 67-kilometre track didn't hold a lot of surprises for him.

Test riders have been setting the bar quite high in the last few years. Plaxton's 2009 record broke his own record from 2008, which in turn broke the record time set back in 2000 by Whistler's Chad Miles.

On the women's side Catharine Pendrel of Kamloops defended her 2009 title with a time of 2:51:53. She was followed by Sandra Walter and Catherine Vipond. Pendrel set the women's record in 2009 - 2:50:44 - but came just short of the mark this year.

Kabush built a lead of 2:25 over second-place finisher Kris Sneddon, who completed the race in 2:31:25 - four minutes faster than his time last year.

"I was hoping to be in the first five," Sneddon said. "There are a lot of fast guys here."

Sneddon said that Powerhouse Plunge was a rough part of the race for him, but he knew what to expect and how to deal with it.

"It's a taxing descent and so is Crumpit Woods, but that's where you have to keep everything together," he said.

In third place was Marty Lazarski, who is having one of his best seasons. It was payback for last year when he ended up in 30 th place. He said this time he was more focused and had better training. He had to ride about 20 minutes on a flat tire but said he kept relaxed and tried to focus on the track ahead.

"At the Nine Mile Hill I got separated from the group but I kept myself relaxed and rode my bike quite comfortably," he said.

As for Pendrel, she was just glad the course was mostly dry despite some rain the day before. She said the course was smooth and fast.

"It felt really good and I had fun out there today," she said.

Squamish's Neal Kindree finished ninth overall in the race, winning the 20 to 29 age category - a result that would, he said, allow him to approach sponsors again. This was his first Test appearance since injuring his knee two years ago."

"I was hoping to be under (two hours and 50 minutes) but this is excellent," he said. "I'm not in great shape so it was a little more painful than I had expected, but I had fun."

Matt Ryan was the top Whistler rider, in sixth place, after placing fourth the two previous years. Ryan was just hoping to be in the top-20 and said he would use the result to boost his confidence heading to a Super D race in Danville, California next week.

"I just went today to gauge my fitness," he said. "This was my training ride for the big event in California."

More than 900 riders powered through the race, which is one of the most grueling in the province with 67 km of riding, including 35 km of singletrack, and 1,200 metres of climbing.

Test of Metal race director Cliff Miller called it one of the most successful weekends for the event.

"This one went off without any hitch," Miller said, adding that "Everything went better than planned. Even the one thing we have no control over, the weather, was on our side."

Whistler riders had a solid day in the Test of Metal, with several placing on top of their categories.

In Female Pro/Elite, Jen Tabbernor was 12 th in 3:41:44.

In Male Pro/Elite, Matt Ryan placed sixth in 2:41:58, just over a minute off his fourth place time in 2009.

Whistler's Melanie Bernier was first in Female 20 to 29 with a time of 3:22:02, almost a full 30 minutes faster than the next racer in that category.

Sarah O'Byrne, who is making a comeback from an injury, placed a solid eighth out of 25 finishers in the Female 30 to 34 group, completing the course in 4:07:51.

Brandi Heisterman dominated the crowded 35 to 39 category with her time of 3:16:18, over 18 minutes ahead of the next racer. Robin O'Neil was a solid fourth in 3:39:04.

Michele Marsh was first in Female 45 to 49 in 4:32:17, winning the group by over four minutes.

Grace Blok was first in Female 55 to 59 in 5:37:31.

High school senior Jesse Melamed charged to a win in the Male Under 20 category, completing the course in 3:12:49 - just over four minutes faster than Squamish rider Jereomy Pelletier.

Mahon Lamont, who is just completing Grade 8, placed fifth out of 23 starters in that age category with a time of 3:31:15.

Squamish's Neal Kindree opted to race in the Male 20 to 29 age group and completed the ride in 2:47:25, over 17 minutes faster than the next rider in that category.

Whistler's Michael Robinson placed first out of more than 90 riders in the Male 30 to 34 age group. He completed the course in 2:51:50 with a solid 10-minute buffer over the next rider.

Former Test of Metal champion Chad Miles won the 160-rider strong Male 35 to 39 category in 2:59:22 with over four minutes' grace.

Team Whistler's Keith Ray placed third in the 175-plus strong 40 to 44 age group in 3:00:32.

Mike Edwards was sixth in the Male 45 to 49 race in 3:17:09.

Tony Routley placed a close second in Male 50 to 54, just over two minutes back of first place. Rob McSkimming was fourth in 3:14:13 and Dave Johnston sixth in 3:24:07.

Henric Meldgard was second in Male 55 to 59 in 3:45:28. Brent Harley was ninth in 4:41:38, with Rick Reid 10 th in 4:46:34.

Gary Baker won the Male 70-plus category with his time of 4:29:36, over 45 minutes faster than the next rider.

Due to space limitation our results only include local riders who placed in the top-10 of their categories. Complete results are posted online at www.testofmetal.com.

If we missed anybody please let us know who you are by emailing sports@piquenewsmagazine.com.