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Melamed earns season-best finish in Italy

Sports briefs: Whistler rider places 13th at latest Enduro World Series race, Geddes 47th
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Italian job Jesse Melamed earned his best finish on the Enduro World Series this season by placing 13th in Italy this past weekend. Submitted photo by Matt Wragg

Jesse Melamed earned his best finish on the Enduro World Series this season, and his top result on the circuit outside of Canada, when finishing 13th at the latest stop in Italy this past weekend.

Melamed finished the six lengthy stages of La Thuile Superenduro with a combined time of one hour, 13 minutes, 14.89 seconds on July 13, finishing 1:36 off the winning pace set by France's Damien Oton.

It's the best result Melamed has earned on the series since finishing sixth on his home trails in Whistler during Crankworx last year.

Melamed, who rides for the Rocky Mountain team, now sits 27th in the series standings despite taking a DNF when racing in France earlier this season.

Whistler's Nick Geddes also raced at La Thuile, finishing 47th. Geddes has finished in the top 60 of every race this season, including a best result of 37th at the series opener in Chile. The Norco rider is 41st in the season standings.

The series now heads to the Colorado Freeride Festival for racing July 25 to 27.

ILES POSTS PHAT WIN

Before heading off to race at the national championships, Jack Iles posted the top time when the Phat Wednesday race series presented by Kokanee held its sixth installment of the season on July 9 in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park.

Iles zoomed over the course — a difficult set that included Scheleyer, Lower Whistler Downhill and Detroit Rock City — in two minutes, 23.50 seconds to take the men's open victory, finishing more than two seconds ahead of runner-up Denis Courchesne.

Remy Metailler earned a third-place finish, just six-hundredths behind Courchesne.

Katrina Strand (2:53.25) captured her first Phat win of the season in the women's race, stopping the clock just 0.13 seconds ahead of Sarah Leishman. Third place belonged to Lula Darquier.

Steve Storey topped the master men's race in a time of 2:33.24. Ryan West and Shane Gayton rounded out the category's podium.

Finn Iles (2:31.37) claimed his fifth junior win in six tries this season, reaching the finish with a whopping 10-second lead over the field. Alex Auger and Henrique Mathias also earned top-three finishes, and Georgia Astle won the junior women's race.

The series resumed Wednesday, July 16. Check back next week for results.

Meanwhile, riders can compete for a spot at the Crankworx Official Whip-Off World Championships in the bike park on Saturday, July 19, by participating in Whip It.

The judged, jam-format event on Crabapple Hits will have five berths in the Crankworx event up for grabs. Judges will be grading competitors on height, how far they can get their back tire around, landings and style.

Visit bike.whistlerblackcomb.com for all bike park event info and results.

WILDCATS WIN AT HOME

The Whistler Wildcats improved to 1-1 on their Canada Rugby League-B.C. season by knocking off the Coastal Cougars from North Vancouver on home turf this past weekend.

The Wildcats came from behind to top the Cougars 20-14 at Whistler Secondary School on Saturday, July 12, and are now in position to reach the circuit's grand final.

Taylor Sorensen scored a try for Whistler early in the second half, but the Cougars responded and held a 14-6 lead with the clock winding down.

However, the Wildcats battled back with a pair of tries from Ben Baggot, named the game's MVP, and another from Ryan Hunt while keeping the visitors off the scoreboard the rest of the way.

The Wildcats play the 0-2 Valleys in their next match, and a win would likely guarantee the team a spot in the final.

KOHNE MAKES CUT AT JUNIOR GOLF PROVINCIALS

Squamish Valley Golf and Country Club representative Graydon Kohne was the Sea to Sky corridor's top finisher in the B.C. Junior Boys' Golf Championships, which wrapped up Friday, July 11, at the Meadow Gardens Golf Course in Pitt Meadows.

Kohne finished in a tie for 56th place, posting a 23-over-par total of 311 through 72 holes.

Also playing out of the Squamish club, Ollie Rizun missed the 36-hole cut by just a single stroke, posting an 11-over total through two rounds. Whistler's Hiroki Shimura (19-over), who plays out of Nicklaus North, and Squamish golfer Isshin Chiyasu (42-over) also fell short of the cut line.