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Crud 2 Mud was full-on fun

The long giant slalom course from the Roundhouse to Olympic Station was hard enough in Saturday's Crud 2 Mud event - about two-thirds the length of the annual Peak 2 Valley course when all was said and done.
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The long giant slalom course from the Roundhouse to Olympic Station was hard enough in Saturday's Crud 2 Mud event - about two-thirds the length of the annual Peak 2 Valley course when all was said and done. There were roughly 80 gates on the course for skiers and riders to carve around on their way to the transition, where solo racers traded in planks for bikes, or racers handed off to their teammates for the final journey through the bike park.

The course itself ended after B Line and Ho Chin Min Trail, which was probably a good thing as it was already on the long side with so much snow on the upper mountain. The fastest male team completed both sections in just under 10 minutes, while the fastest solo racer was just over the 10-minute mark.

In the solo categories, Aeron Westeinde edged C.J. King by just over a second to take the win in the Ski Junior category, with times of 13:10.93 and 13:12.00 respectively.

In Snowboard Junior Eric Bourne completed the course in 14:36.28 to take the win.

The top Junior team was comprised of Jordan Helewka and Michael How, completing the course with a time of 11:36.78, followed by the team of Jaylen Gadhia and Nicholas Mclue in second in 12:06.07, and Sheldon Niquidet and Reid Bradley in 12:28.69.

In Ski Male 40-plus the top time belonged to freeskier Trennon Paynter in 10:19.84, followed by Steve Fleckenstein in 10:45.75 and Kent Wills in 11:28.28.

In Snowboard Male 40-plus the top time belonged to Kevin Cooper in 12:59.64, followed by Brad Morin in 13:23.56.

Ski and bike coach Jennifer Ashton won Ski Female 19 to 39 in 11:07.73, followed by Sarah Leishman in 11:11.86. Julie Mountifield was third in 11:37.60.

Kerry Martin was first in Snowboard Female 19 to 39 in 12:16.87, followed by Wendy Robinson in 12:21.21 and Katrina Strand in 12:25.39.

The fastest female team was Kari Mancer and Jane Vogan in 11:07.82, followed by Courtney Taylor and Tara Mowat in 13:19.06 and Rosa Martin and Catherine Malone in 13:25.06.

In Ski Male 19 to 39 the top racer was Robin Courcelles in 10:04.65, followed by Robert Cook in a very close 10:04.80, followed by Ryan Johnson in 10:17.48.

In Snowboard Male 19 to 39 Christopher Young was the top racer in 11:32.36, followed by Robert King in 11:49.15 and Benoit Reneault in 11:49.89.

The fastest male team was Paul Stevens and Toby Pantling in 9:56.37. Next up were Maxime Bruneau and Adrien Truwant in 10:28.72 and Jeff Drummond and Mason Fulton in 10:31.57.

The fastest coed team was Alan Golds and Casie Stromgen in 9:49.61 - the quickest Crud 2 Mud time of the day. Next up were Joel Robinson and Veronica in 10:01.72, followed by Alex Attard and Sara Calabuse in 10:14.60.

All told over 180 people took part including 90 solo riders and roughly 45 teams, a strong showing for a once-popular annual event that has been hiatus the past four seasons.

"As far as the event goes everything ran pretty smooth considering all the logistical aspects of the event - surrounding the fact that Whistler Mountain was closed and that the competitors had to upload Wizard, Solar and Peak 2 Peak to get to the start of the race and take the bus down the mountain if your were part of a team because you couldn't download," said Seb Fremont, the event director and manager of events.

Fremont thanked his crew and volunteers for assisting, as well as grooming staff for spending two days getting the giant slalom course in shape; the GLC for hosting the après; and the Whistler Mountain Ski Club for providing course setters and timing.

Complete results from the race are posted at www.whistlerblackcomb.com/bike.