The rain held off for the Whistler Mountain Bike Park's Phat Weekend race on Sept. 15, following a tough course through the Garbanzo Zone that included sections of Original Sin, Freight Train and No Joke.
Remy Metailler posted the fastest time overall, clearing the course in 5:52.42. Nick Geddes was second in open men in 6:02.23, followed by Shawn Neer in third in 6:03.64.
Also in the top 10 were Alexander Geddes, Adrian Martinez, Dale Ireland, Andrew Strugnell, Eric Verreault, Colin Cilliter and Steffen Fuchs.
Sarah Leishman was the top female racer in 7:07.52, followed by Julie Cossette in 8:02.93 and Kathryn Wutte in 8:27.44. Rose Oakhill also raced.
There were also four junior men in the competition, with Alex Auger posting a time of 6:45.28 on the course. He was followed by Colin Kirkby in 7:17.01, Ian Milley in 7:42.47 and Seth Sherlock.
Steve Storey placed first in Master Male in 6:18.08, followed by Jeff Leigh in 6:30.81 and Daniel Connell in 6:31.38. In the top 10 were Chad Hendren, Shannon Kingi, Shawnee McGovern, Clay Kimsey, Luke De Jager, Matt Regan and Jody Boston.
There are a few events remaining on the calendar before closing day, Monday, Oct. 14.
Saturday, Sept. 28 will see the second Whistler Mountain Bike Park enduro race of the season, a three-stage downhill event with untimed climbing sections in between.
The first transition stage has riders climbing from the Roundhouse Lodge, up Pika's Traverse and Matthew's Traverse to Top of the World. The first stage is Top of the World, finishing at Franz's Bridge.
The second transition goes down Highway 86 to Raven's Nest, up Bear Cub towards Tokun and down Blue Velvet, crossing Tokum towards In Deep. The second timed stage is a section of Tokum, In Deep and a section of Fatcrobat to Expressway.
The third transition has riders heading down Expressway to the bottom of Garbanzo Chair, and up the Mid Road to 3.5km (near Sidetrack, Duffman and No Duff split). The third timed stage is Duffman to the Creek Jump and the finish line.
Advance registration is available online (bike.whistlerblackcomb.com) or at Guest Relations for $20, while day-of-race registration is $25 at the bottom of the GLC stairs until 9:30 a.m. You also need to be a member of WORCA to take part and have a valid lift pass. If you don't have a pass, a special pass will be available for $16.
The top rider in the adult categories will win $50, while the top junior will win $25. All participants will be eligible to win draw prizes donated by bike park sponsors.
Uploading to the Roundhouse Lodge gets underway at 9:15 a.m. and the race should end by around 1 p.m. with allowances for transition and stage times. The awards are 4 p.m. at the GLC.
The bike park is recommending bikes with at least six inches of travel for the race and full-face helmets and armour for the descents.
Also coming up is the now fourth annual Chasse au Tressor scavenger hunt on Oct. 12, including the traditional turkey dinner and end-of-year party åfor riders at the GLC.
Visit www.whistlerbike.com for more details.
