Local Sports

Whistler's Will Routley, 27, was named to the Canadian team for the 19 th Commonwealth Games, which take place in India in October.

The fourth event in the six-race Phat Wednesday Downhill Series took place on July 21 with another sold-out field of racers taking on a course that included Dirt Merchant and Lower Easy Does It - a course that started technical and got greener as the

Sea to Sky riders on podium after 52 km ride

If you did any skiing or snowboarding this past winter you probably parked at the Whistler Golf Course driving range, which was pressed into action as a dirt lot in the lead-up to the 2010 Winter Games.

Whistler's Will Routley stayed in B.C. last weekend, and elected to compete in the Tour de White Rock against some of the top riders in Canada - notably former Symmetrics teammates Svein Tuft and Christian Meier.

The third Phat Wednesday race of the season took place on July 14 with 199 riders - one short of sold out - ripping down a selection of trails that included Upper A-Line, World Cup Singletrack and B line.

Steve Omischl working with aspiring skiers at water ramps

Over the last two weekends the top mountain bikers in Canada competed for national championships titles, first in downhill at Panorama Mountain Resort, then at the cross-country centre in Canmore.

While one of the biggest awards an athlete can receive is a gold medal at an Olympic Games, last week Whistler's Ashleigh McIvor was nominated for a different type of award in recognition of her achievements - namely winning the world championships f

Next to the Cheakamus Challenge (70-plus kilometres) and the Test of Metal (67 km), the GearJammer's 52 km seems almost reasonable.