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Whistler riders top Test

Timing problems for half hour of the race
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The 2009 Test of Metal got off to a rocky start for Whistler riders, many of them stuck in traffic at Function Junction Saturday morning after a northbound vehicle went off the road and struck and snapped a power pole. That in turn led to a temporary highway closure followed by alternating lane traffic for most of the day, and as a result some riders made the start line with moments to spare.

The rockiness continued, as hundreds of riders made it to the finish line of the race only to discover that the race organizers were having timing issues - no official times between three hours and 22 minutes after the start and 3:59 are accurate, although the rankings are valid.

Organizers are trying to piece together more exact results. If you finished in that window and know your time, send an e-mail to fix.tom.results@gmail.com.

Max Plaxton successfully defended his title completing the 67 km course in 2 hours, 30 minutes, 15 seconds, averaging a blistering 26.75 km/h from start to finish. That is technically a new course record, about one minute and 31 seconds faster than last year, although the route itself is a little different with a faster finish from the Smoke Bluffs along the new corridor trail and some trail improvements in different areas. Conditions were also good, despite some rain the night before.

Plaxton led the pack for the entire day, winning all 10 $100 primes on the course and taking home $1,500 on the day.

Russell Stevenson placed second in 2:35:56, followed by Kris Sneddon in 2:37:07. Whistler's Matt Ryan came in fourth for the second straight year, crossing the finish line in 2:40:31, also knocking a minute and a half off his 2009 Test time.

On the women's side, Kamloops World Cup racer and Olympian Catherine Pendrel won the Pro Elite category, placing 19 th overall in 2:50:44. She cut 30 minutes off her last Test time in the process. She also won all 10 women's primes to take away $1,500 in prize money, while cutting six minutes off the record time set by Nanaimo's Wendy Simms in 2008.

Dawn Anderson of Victoria was second in 3:08:54, followed by Joele Guynup in 3:14:12.

Getting back to the local riders, Mike Boehm placed 13 th overall and first in the Male 35 to 39 age category in 2:47:01, one spot ahead of Greg Grant, who raced in the Pro Elite group and finished in 2:47:45.

Next up from Whistler was Mike Charuk, who placed second in the Male 45 to 49 race in 2:52:57, roughly 43 seconds back of Squamish's Scott Woolley.

Dave Burch was 19 th in Pro Elite in 2:53:58, with Keith Ray placing one spot back to take first in Male 40 to 44 in 2:54:11. He took close to 11 minutes off his best Test of Metal time, in the process, while meeting his goal of breaking the three-hour mark.

Ray, who rides with Team Whistler, was one of the riders stuck behind the road closure in Whistler, and got to the race with only 40 minutes to pick up his package and warm up.

"My plan was not to cramp up, that race is so brutal I've always cramped at some point, so I went easy at the beginning without that time to warm up," he said. "I fell in with some Whistler riders, Eric Crowe and Tony Routley, and we worked together and rode together for a while at a pretty good pace. All day long I was with different Team Whistler riders."

While the course was in good shape, Ray says the weather made the biggest difference.

"It was overcast, and a little wet in the morning to keep the dust down, but when I got to that two and a half hour point where I think I'm going to die the sun came out and it was a beautiful day all the way to the finish line," he said. "Sometimes something like that helps get you through."

Ray's next race is the annual Cardiac Classic and B.C. championships in Burnaby this weekend, where he's heading with other members of Team Whistler. While a win at the Test boosts his confidence, Ray knows the categories will be bigger and expects the competition will be tough.

"The course got great reviews for being a technical, fun course, and I'm just looking forward to racing," he said.

Matt Bodkin was 24 th in the Pro Elite category in 2:56:56.

Eric Crowe was next across the line in 2:56:57, placing fourth in Male 45 to 49.

James McSkimming, who is better known as a downhiller, placed third in Male 20 to 29, and was the last rider to break the three hour mark in 2:59:59. McSkimming was actually leading until the last few seconds when the top two riders in his group passed him while he was talking to another rider. The top two riders in his age category finished with times of 2:59:49 and 12:59:54 respectively.

Bob Allison was first in Male 50 to 54 in 3:02:01, with Rob McSkimming placing second in that category in 3:05:49.

Greg McDonnell was 14 th in Male 35 to 39 in 3:08:30.

Trevor Hopkins was 16 th in the same group in 3:09:25.

Jesse Melamed was a solid fifth in the Male Under 20 category in 3:10:15, racing against riders up to four years older.

Dave Johnston was third in Male 50 to 54 in 3:11:50.

Mark Schroeder was the top Pemberton rider, placing 16 th in Male 30 to 34 in 3:12:08. Dustin Gordon was 30 th in Pro Elite in 3:14:26.

Lesley Clements was next up, placing fifth in Female Pro Elite in 3:16:36.

Keith McIvor was 18 th in Male 40 to 44 in 3:19:44.

Soon afterwards there was a problem with timing.

Matthew Delany was 12 th in Male 20 to 29.

Pemberton's Jason Simpson was 31 st in Male 40 to 44.

Kevin Hodder was 33 rd in Male 40 to 44.

Kevin Smith was 36 th in Male 40 to 44.

Russ Wood of Pemberton was 29 th in Male 30 to 34.

Robin O'Neill was second in Female 35 to 39.

Ian Dalziel was 33 rd in Male 30 to 34.

Terry Evans of Pemberton was 35 th in Male 30 to 34.

Daniel Irvine was 36 th in Male 30 to 34.

Cathryn Zeglinski was first in Female 45 to 49.

Henric Meldgard was third in Male 55 to 59.

John Blok was fourth in Male 55 to 59.

Jennifer McSkimming was second in Female 40 to 44.

Kevin Hellier was 76 th in Male 40 to 44.

Mike Rogerson was 45 th in Male 45 to 49.

Paul Henriksen was 57 th in Male 30 to 34.

Paul Nicholas of Pemberton was 81 st in Male 40 to 44.

Brent Harley was fifth in Male 55 to 59.

Bob Deeks was 48 th in Male 45 to 49.

Tony Peiffer was 59 th in Male 45 to 49.

David Smith was 61 st in Male 45 to 49.

Grame Fitch was 15 th in Male 50 to 54.

Roberto Ricci was 103 rd in Male 35 to 39.

Ming Gin was 17 th in Male 50 to 54.

Steve Whittall was 74 th in Male 45 to 49.

Natalie Wood of Pemberton was sixth in Female 30 to 34.

Eric Walton was 83 rd in Male 30 to 34.

Greg Newton was 83 rd in Male 45 to 49.

Erin Keam was 116 th in Male 40 to 44.

Garby Baker was fourth in Male 60-plus.

After that point the times were reliable once again.

Rick Reid was ninth in Male 55 to 59 in 4:22:58.

Craig Mackenzie was 10 th in Male 55 to 59 in 4:25:53.

David Rushbrook was 93 rd in Male 45 to 49 in 4:29:05.

Jason Newton was 37 th in Male 20 to 29 in 4:31:03.

Michele Marsh was 10 th in Female 40 to 44 in 4:31:52.

Mike Hawes was seventh in Male 60-plus in 4:32:22.

John Morley was 128 th in Male 40 to 44 in 4:33:34.

Suze Cumming was sixth in Female 45 to 49 in 4:33:48.

Juniper Buller was 19 th in Female 30 to 34 in 4:50:51.

Beverly Parker of Pemberton was 20 th in Female 30 to 34 in 4:51:23.

Sarah Lewin was 13 th in Female 40 to 44 in 4:58:33.

Lynn Gentile was 14 th in Female 40 to 44 in 4:58:59.

Scott Brammer was 154 th in Male 40 to 44 in 5:00:18.

Rose Lawrence was 23 rd in Female 35 to 39 in 5:03:09.

Gabriele Moeller was 16 th in Female 40 to 44 in 5:10:01.

Ian Bartley was 120 th in Male 30 to 34 in 5:11:32.

Helen Dalziel was 25 th in Female 30 to 34 in 5:12:59.

Rowena McHugh and Shannon Wiles were 26 th and 27 th in Female 30 to 34 in 5:18:14 and 5:18:41 respectively.

Taralyn Day was 32 nd in Female 30 to 34 in 5:33:15.

Greg Pritchard was 11 th in Male 60-plus in 5:53:14.

In total, 958 riders finished the event, with the last rider crossing the line in 6:48:52. Complete results are available at www.testofmetal.com.