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Orecrusher tougher than it looked

For riders used to steeps climbs and technical descents, the first edition of the Squamish Ore Crusher would have looked pretty easy — flat Cheekeye Fan trails, with only moderately technical sections on the 6 km route.

For riders used to steeps climbs and technical descents, the first edition of the Squamish Ore Crusher would have looked pretty easy — flat Cheekeye Fan trails, with only moderately technical sections on the 6 km route.

Instead, riders were challenged to put their pedals to the metal for the entire race, pedaling hard from start to finish without any opportunity to rest.

“I was talking to Tony (Routley) this morning and we were both saying how sore we were after that race,” said Trevor Hopkins of Team Whistler. “We were both more sore than we were after the three hour Sea Otter Classic. It all started with the Le Mans start at the beginning — I don’t think that anyone was used to running with their carbon fibre-soled bike shoes, and after that it was full-on pedaling to the finish.”

Whistler riders, including members of Team Whistler, did well in the race and were on the podium in most age categories.

On the women’s side, members of Team Squamish topped most of the youth categories. In the Female 14-15 race, Lauren Rosser and Kristin Drygas of Team Squamish were first and second, followed by Yani Brabant of Cumberland. Times ranged from 48 minutes, 16 seconds to 1:03:08 for the category, with athletes completing two laps of the course.

In Female 16-17, Team Squamish’s Eden Imbeau was first in 1:19:05, followed by Whistler’s Toria Whitney in 1:24:18. Both athletes completed three laps.

In Female 18-19, Calindy Ramsden raced along, but finished four laps in 1:45:49.

Pemberton’s Fanny Paquette won the Female 20-29 race with a time of 1:58:29 for five laps. Katie Painchaud of Whistler was second in 2:08:13, followed by Jane Pattillo of Vancouver in 2:11:00.

In Female 30-34, Whistler’s Sarah O’Byrne was first in 2:05:05 after five laps, followed by Pemberton’s Vanessa Stark in 2:10:00, and Squamish rider Inis LeBlanc in 2:18:37.

In Female 30-35, the top local was Kim Stegeman of Squamish in third in 2:07:26. Nicola Mann of Belllingham was first in 1:58:40, followed by North Vancouver’s Tara Walsh in 2:04:22.

In Female 50-Plus, Squamish’s Jude Goodwin raced alone, finishing four laps in 2:03:33.

Only three women competed in the women’s elite race. North Vancouver’s Melanie Vaughan was first in 2:15:27, followed by Squamish’s Charlotte Klein in 2:25:12 and Lauren Hughes in 2:42:57. They completed six laps of the course.

In Boys 12-13, Sam Morris and Blake Ramsden of West Vancouver were first and second in 47:40 and 54:18 respectively after completing two laps.

In Male 14-14, Nick Geddes of West Vancouver and Whistler was first in 40:29, followed by Rob Leigh and Jereomy Pelletier of Squamish in 43:23. Whistler’s Mackenzie Brunning was seventh in 51:59.

In Male 16-17, Nick Holatko of Comox was first in 1:02:26 after three laps. Surrey’s Keith Jones was second in 1:11:29, followed by Brad White of Squamish in 1:12:53.

In Male 20-29, Josh Stott of Pemberton and Team Whistler was first with a time of 1:44:12 for his five laps. Colin Bell was second in 1:52:17, and Daniel Irvine and Philippe Gagnon of Whistler were second and third in 1:58:09 and 2:02:30 respectively.

In Male 30-34, Mike Boehm finished his five laps in 1:37:22 to take the win, followed closely by Jay Latiff of Nanaimo in 1:38:07. Vancouver’s Matt Drown was third in 1:42:56. Whistler’s Ian Dalziel was ninth in 1:58:15.

In Male 35-39, Mike Hunter edged out Trevor Hopkins by 16 seconds, 1:32:22 to 1:32:28, after a long battle. Andrew Brown of Comox was third in 1:35:05. Carl Goldstraw of Pemberton as fourth in 1:47:17.

In Male 40-44, David Kvick of North Vancouver was first in 1:36:30, followed by Whistler’s Mike Charuk in 1:42:55. David Richardson of Langley was third in 1:43:58. Whistler riders Ged Hague and Ken Kozel were 18 th and 19 th with times over two hours.

In Male 45-49, Whistler’s Eric Crowe was first in 1:43:40, followed by Sheldon Orr of Delta in 1:46:19, and Stuart Kerr of Garibaldi Highlands in 1:49:17. Whistler’s Mike Rogerson was 10 th .

In Male 50-Plus, where riders did four laps, Team Whistler and Rocky Mountain rider Tony Routley was first by more than 12 minutes with a time of 1:19:35. Whistler’s Scott Brunning was second in 1:32:06, and Frank Ammirati of White Rock was third in 1:33:36. Whistler riders Rick Reid, Mike Hawes, Gary Baker and Brent Harley were fifth through eighth, and all under two hours.

For the Elite Men, Squamish’s Neal Kindree was first with six laps in 1:46:22, edging out Martin Lazarski of North Vancouver by just three seconds. Kevin Calhoun of North Vancouver was third in 1:49:46.

Whistler’s Matt Bodkin was fifth in 1:51:21, and Greg Grant ninth in 2:01:17. Pemberton’s Dustin Gordon was 11 th in 2:21:19.