The Squamish duo of Meghan and Neal Kindree had another strong weekend in Fernie, both placing on the podium in Canada Cup mountain bike competition.
Neal Kindree won the Junior Expert Men’s category hands down, finishing almost three minutes ahead of his closest competition.
In the Elite Women’s race Meghan just missed out on the medals with her fourth place finish behind Wendy Simms, Mical Dyck and Danielle Kabush.
Because of the distance and upcoming Crankworx events most Whistler riders opted out of the Canada Cup, although Adam Billinghurst, Mike Jones and Chris Dewar were 13 th , 17 th and 20 th out of 34 riders in the men’s downhill.
Canada looking good in BMX
It’s still over three years away, but when BMX comes to the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 Canada’s prospects are looking good.
Tory Nyhaug, a 13-year-old racer from Ridge Meadows, was crowned the 13-year-old boys World Champion in France last weekend. He also finished third in the 13-14 Cruiser category.
Samantha Cools of Airdrie, Alberta, another prospect for 2008, finished fifth in the women’s 19 and Over Cruiser category.
Samurai pre-registration closed
Over 100 of last year’s 115 Samurai of Singletrack participants pre-registered to ride again this year before the deadline on Aug. 2.
The ride was originally limited to just 100 riders, but with volunteers stepping up from past events and some sincere groveling on the part of others, the numbers have steadily creeped up over the years.
Rather than cut off registration, however, organizers Ru Mehta and Tony Horn have decided to accept four new riders this year.
To take part, participants are asked submit a 100-word statement on why they should be included in the Samurai race, which will be judged by an impartial observer – not Ru or Tony. The four spots will go to the applicants with the best 100 words.
You can send your 100 words to Tony Horn at anthony_horn@hotmail.com . A decision will be announced at the end of August.
The Samurai of Singeltrack takes place on Sept. 17. The course for the epic ride, which will include over a dozen local trails, will be announced at the Loonie Race on Sept. 15.
For the Record
In last week’s coverage of the Transalp Challenge, the Pique missed one Whistler rider. James Hallisey, a municipal employee, finished the eight-day mountain bike race in 145 th place with teammate Hugh Thompson of Vancouver. Their time was 49 hours, 29 minutes and 32 seconds.
