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Sneddon, Simms take BC Bike Race solo titles

Squamish's Neal Kindree pulls out with stomach bug
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FINAL STAGE BC Bike Race photographer Dave Silver used a helicopter to get this shot of riders racing through Lost Lake Park on the final day of the BC Bike Race. Photo By Dave Silver

Although it's not a factory team event, it was hard not to notice the presence that the Kona team had at the 2013 BC Bike Race, fielding both of the top men and the top woman in the seven-stage epic race.

On the final day of racing in Whistler, American rider Spencer Paxson took the checkered flag after Erik Skovgaard Knudsen of Denmark overshot the last turn into the finish line. Kris Sneddon, his overall title not in doubt, held up at the finish line and waited patiently for Knudsen to pass before crossing the finish line in third to claim his second career BC Bike Race title. He also won the overall in 2011, and didn't race in 2012. The 2012 title went to Squamish's Neal Kindree.

Kindree's own story in the 2013 race came to an end on the sixth day of racing. He was less than two minutes back of Sneddon coming into a 50km course in Squamish, his own backyard, and set a blistering pace from the start that Sneddon said nearly broke him. But Kindree had come down with a stomach bug the previous day, got sicker overnight and was eventually forced to pull out.

Sneddon was happy with the win, but would rather have raced Kindree to the finish. "It feels good (to win), but it really sucks that Neal wasn't able to finish and that he had to pull out," he said. "He was riding really strong. I would have liked to beat him, of course, but beat him when he's fully good and healthy. I'm happy though, it's been a long time since I've won anything and it was time to get a win."

Sneddon's cumulative time over the seven stages was 15 hours, 40 minutes and 16 seconds, followed by fellow Kona rider Spencer Paxson in 15:57:39. Knudsen was third in 16:00:12.

Sneddon said it helped on the first day to have a team to ride with (Cory Wallace was also in the mix until a head injury on stage four) in a few sections here and there, including the sprint to the finish on the last day. However, he said the course has so much singletrack that team tactics were impossible for the most part.

His favourite day was Powell River, and a setup where the racers slept, started and finished on the beach. His hardest day was the hot first day in Cumberland.

"Cumberland was a pretty hard day, just a lot of climbing and not a lot of shade at the start, and the first quarter of Squamish was nuts," said Sneddon. "Neal attacked before he pulled out and I really thought that might be it for me, I was really struggling to stay with him."

Staying healthy through seven days of racing is tough, and Sneddon said the key to keeping his energy up was to eat non-stop, every hour, and taking care of himself. The race organizers brought massage tables and physiotherapists along on the tour and Sneddon would use a foam roller after every stage to stretch his muscles out. He also wore compression socks and tights to get his blood flowing.

Having a mechanic travelling with him to clean and tune his muddy bike after every stage was also a bonus.

On the women's side, the last stage went to New Zealand's Kim Hurst, but the overall title belonged to Kona's Wendy Simms. Simms won the first six stages and had 18 minutes on Hurst heading into the short, final day of racing in Whistler. She finished the seven stages in 19:34:58, followed by Hurst in 19:52.22 and Trish Grajczyk in 20:30:15.

Simms, who hasn't had much training or racing this year, said it was a tougher battle than her time gap showed.

"Every day Kim would start super hard and storm by me on the hills, and I would just try to keep her in sight and try to catch up on the flat bits where I was a little faster, and then try to pass her on the downhills," she said. "It was the same thing every day, and today (Whistler) there just wasn't enough downhill for me. (Hurst) is an incredible racer and she was tough every day, and always came back fighting. It turned into a really fun race, actually.

Simms' favourite section was a new singletrack descent in the Roberts Creek area, but she said she enjoyed every day. "The organizers did a great job and the selection of trails was amazing," she said. "Every day was a little different."

There were also 13 timed downhill enduro sections over the seven days of racing, and Simms had the lead in that after the first six stages.

Andreas Hestler, who founded the race, has ridden the course each of the seven years. From his perspective the event is getting better and better as the organizers gain more experience and riders know what to expect.

"I think the world is getting it and our core value of riding singletrack," he said. "It's fun, the people who put the event on are having fun, and now people are coming here for the right reasons. So much great feedback this year."

This year 550 riders took part, representing some 26 countries.

For Hestler, the highlight has been exploring trails around Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast and working with local course directors to pick routes.

"Until the BC Bike Race started I had never been to Cumberland, Campbell River, Powell River, north Sunshine Coast — so even for the people who say it's like riding in your own backyard, you don't really ride over there that often. It does force you to explore. And the course directors in each community really spit and polished this course."

Hestler doesn't think there's any room to grow the event, but he says after seven years the event producers are looking at other events they might do. "It's a bit of a secret, but we do have a few cards up our sleeves," he said. "This race will never increase because some of the venues are small, there are some pinch points and things like the ferry, so we've worked to make sure the quality is really high. But maybe we'll do a franchise or something, I don't know yet — it really took until this year to get everything dialed so we can start to look to the future."

BC Bike Race Cumulative Results

Solo Results — Men

1. Kris Sneddon (CAN) — 15:40:16

2. Spencer Paxson (US) — 15:57:39

3. Erik Skovgaard Knudsen (DEN) — 16:00:12

Solo Results — Women

1. Wendy Simms (CAN) — 19:34:58

2. Kim Hurst (NZ) — 19:52:22

3. Trish Grajczyk (CAN) — 20:30:15

Solo Masters Men

1. Peter Knopp (US) — 18:49:40

2. Ian Smith (CAN) — 18:59:45

3. Robin Bratveit (NOR) — 19:10:14

Solo Masters Women

1. Carey Mark (CAN) — 21:16:30

2. Jen Mcrae (US) — 25:46:27

3. Susan Prater (NZ) — 33:19:57

Solo Veterans Men

1. Ted Russo (CAN) — 18:30:41

2. Jeff Odom (US) — 21:21:26

3. Ian Cartwright (UK) — 22:52:28

Team of Two Men Open

1. Kevin Calhoun and Greg Day (CAN) — 17:48:21

2. Chrisoph Listmann and Michael Anthes (GER) — 18:37:24

3. Nick Gould and Miles Venzara (US) — 19:53:51

Team of Two Women Open

1. Nicole Kuttruff and Susanne Rathgeb (GER) — 25:14:57

2. Claire Garcia-Webb (AUS) and Rhonda Gardner (NZ) — 25:28:06

3. Susan Rawley and Lajuan Kelley (US) — 31:51:23

Team of Two Mixed Open

1. Anke Dannowski and Felix Breske (GER) — 25:03:55

2. Olivier Blain and Sophie Poirier (CAN) — 26:27:13

3. Michelle Dignon and John Dignon (CAN) — 28:33:52

Team of Two Veterans 80-Plus

1. Andy Rigel and Jeff Beltramini (US) — 19:14:04

2. Martin Roos and Doug Richards (CAN) — 20:05:55

3. Joe Murray and Robert Woerne (US) — 20:08:28

Team of Two Veterans 100-Plus

1. Den Satake and Chris Urban (US) — 20:59:33

2. John Vipiana and Doug Ott (US) — 22:01:50

3. Dwayne Brown and Eric Trouillot (CAN) — 22:03:15

Enduro Results (cumulative 13 stages)

Solo Men

1. Kris Sneddon — 58:53

2. Eric Goss — 59:18

3. Erik Skovgaard Knudsen — 1:00:15

Solo Women

1. Wendy Simms — 1:07:56

2. Jaclyn Schapel — 1:10:17

3. Adrienne Miller — 1:13:51