Finn Iles came through in a big way in Quebec on the weekend.
The 17-year-old has dominated the junior men's field for the two years he's been on the Union Cycliste Internationale circuit, but with a time of four minutes, 18.140 seconds (4:18.140), posted a time faster than elite men's winner Aaron Gwin of the United States (4:18.426).
Iles said on Instagram that he had a rough qualifying race, with a crash and flat tire hindering his performance, but he came through in the main event.
"Crashes, sickness, and mechanicals. It was a tough week all around, but super happy to have been able to put down a solid race run and walk away with a win!" he posted to his page after the Aug. 6 victory.
In his own division, Iles bested France's Sylvain Cougoureux by 1.63 seconds and Great Britain's Joe Breeden by 4.45 seconds.
Crankworx needs volunteers
As Crankworx Whistler gets set to start up this weekend, organizers are looking for some extra bodies to help make the festival a success.
Crankworx program manager Nicole Freeman said Crankworx is looking for roughly 100 to 150 more people to help share the workload. She noted that generally, between 350 and 400 people volunteer in any given year.
"It's more to do with filling shifts, I would say, but we're typically about 100 to 150 bodies behind at the moment," she said. "It isn't abnormal at this point because people are still figuring out work schedules, but we're still trying to close the gap."
The festival is looking for people to fill slots in four fairly different areas, with the sport operations crew (particularly for this weekend, Aug. 11 to 13), Kidsworx team, Greenworx team and expo team all needing more people.
The sport operations crew, with a front-row view of the action, is the largest group of helpers.
"We are always conscious that those guys work the hardest and they're trudging up and down the hills and putting on the show for the athletes," she said.
Volunteers will receive a Whistler Mountain Bike Park pass for every 12 hours worked. There will also be a wrap-up party with draw prizes after the festival's completion.
Volunteers must be at least 16 years old, and those under 18 must have a parent or guardian sign a waiver form.
For more information or to sign up, visit www.crankworx.com/whistler/volunteer.
