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Sports Briefs

Whistler Half Marathon runs Saturday

If you missed out on registration for the inaugural North Face Whistler Half Marathon taking place this Saturday, June 4, the next best thing is coming out to cheer on the competitors.

There are lots of great places to watch and cheer on friends and strangers, but you should be aware that there will be some temporary delays and road closures around the course on event day.

Highway 99 at Lorimer Road will be closed from the start of the race at 7:30 a.m. to 7:50 a.m. Lorimer Road will be closed to westbound traffic (to the bottom of the hill) from 7:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. Crabapple Drive and Beaver Lane will be closed to southbound traffic.

There will be delays along the route for the duration of the race, 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., which include Whistler Cay, Tapley's Farm and Easy Street. Blueberry Hill, Alta Vista, Whistler Village (the road to the Whistler Golf Course and crossing Blackcomb Way), White Gold and Spruce Grove.

The complete course, with a list of delays and closures, is available at www.whistlerhalfmarathon.com.

There will be 800 athletes at the start line for the sold-out race, including several elite level runners. To qualify as elite, you must have finished a half marathon in 1:15 or under. Most athletes will finish between 1:30 and two hours.

 

Cyclists do well in Tour de Victoria

This past Saturday, the Victoria International Cycling Festival Society presented Ryder Hesjedals' Tour de Victoria, with 140-km and 90-km circuits available for road riders and a few timed sections along the way.

The timed sections were the hill climb on Munn's Road and a flat sprint section of waterfront.

On the hill climb, the top Whistler rider was Mike Rogerson in 12th with a time of 12 minutes and seven seconds. Brenda Baker was 193rd overall in 12:54, Graeme Fitch was 291st in 14:14, Gary Baker was 338th in 15:02, Michael Thaxter was 426th in 17:05, and Elizabeth Rogerson was 491st in 21:14.

On the waterfront section, Squamish's Steven Murray cracked the top 30 in 17:04, averaging 42.1 km/h.

From Whistler, Mike Rogerson was 87th in 20:44, Brenda Baker was 298th in 25:45, Gary Baker was 299th in 25:45, Michael Thaxter was 571st in 29:06 and Elizabeth Rogerson was 727th in 31:22.

Hesjedal, Canada's top Tour de France rider in a generation with a seventh place finish in 2010 - the best Canadian result in 22 years, also took part in this event. He was first in the hill climb by over a minute, with a time of 7:32, averaging 28.7 km/h on the way up. He placed second on the waterfront section, with Victoria rider Jamie Cameron edging him by a second.

 

Nordic athletes moving up in the world

Cross-Country B.C. has selected two Whistler Nordics racers to train with the B.C. Development squad for the 2011-2012 season, representing a first for the program.

The two athletes moving up are Jenya Nordin and Nicki Murdoch, both of whom had strong seasons in the provincials and were among the top B.C. skiers in their age categories at nationals.

The camps are already underway, with the first dryland camp in Salmon Arm from June 1 to 5. They will be running and roller-skiing with their teammates, kicking off a long summer training season.

As well, as Nordin and Murdoch, two other skiers have been noticed. Both Austin Reith and Lauren Doak have been invited to the B.C. Talent Squad, a development program for the development team. They have their first dryland training camp with the B.C. Development Squad in 100 Mile House at the end of August, followed by snow camps at Silver Star and in Whistler in November.

 

Whitecaps ladies postponed

A planned matchup between a Whitecaps ladies development team and a development team from California will not take place this season, as mentioned in the Pique last week. Instead, the Whistler Youth Soccer Association will try to bring the event here next year.

More details will be available soon.

 

For the Record

In last week's roundup of high school mountain bike athletes, the Pique said Jewel George placed third in the Grade 8 girls standings of the North Shore Mountain Bike League. She actually placed second.

 

4X4 Rally comes to Pemberton

For two days, a patch of ground beside the Green River Motocross Track will be shredded and shredded again by some seriously knobby tires at the Pemberton Off Road Rebels' 4X4 Rally.

The event takes place June 4 and June 5, with Hill Climb, Mud Bog and All Terrain competitions getting underway at 10 a.m. each day. There will be a beer garden and food for spectators.

The space is beside the Green River Motocross Track, about 20 km north of Whistler on the west side of Highway 99.  There is no camping and ATVs and dogs are not allowed.

 

Ante Up returns to Whistler

Whistler's only five-star event on the TTR World Snowboad Tour this year is the Billabong Ante Up, presented by Von Zipper, which will take place on Canada Day, July 1, on the top of Whistler Mountain.

The sponsors are bringing a cash purse of $50,000, and TTR tour points are up for grabs. It's also a qualifying event for the 6Star Billabong Innsbruck Air and Style event in February 2012, and should draw some pretty big names.

The format is big air, with plans to build a 90-foot jump outside the Roundhouse. Spectators are welcome to watch, and it's free to watch if you have a lift ticket.

"Holding this event at the top of Whistler Mountain on Canada Day, July 1 is the perfect timing and spot for a summer snowboard event," said Billabong's marketing director Risto Scott. "With the world's best snowboarders at the world's best four season resort, and the excitement of a Canadian national holiday, what better way to spend it than on top of Whistler Mountain watching the riders throw down."

More info and registration details are online at www.billabong.com/anteup.