While the world’s top mountain bikers were risking everything
for the prize money and prestige at Crankworx, a little further up Blackcomb
Mountain more than 200 men and women were risking everything for cheese.
The inaugural Canadian Cheese Rolling Championships took place
on a steep, grassy section beside the water ramps at Base II, with competitors
chasing each other downhill to be the first to catch wheels of cheese. It
quickly became a bloodsport, as participants tripped and tumbled, tangled limbs
and bodies, and otherwise did anything it took to reach the cheese.
Sponsored by the Dairy Farmers of Canada, the top male and
female each received two adult season passes to Whistler-Blackcomb, as well as
the wheel of cheese they risked so much to win. The runners up each received a
prize basket stuffed with cheese, crackers and other items.
Antoine Guay won the men’s event after narrowly missing the
pile-up in the middle of the course that took out a lot of the male competitors
in the final. He bypassed the volunteers that used pads to slow the racers, and
came up with the cheese.
“I just tried to be as close to the middle as possible and stay
close to my friend, and when he fell down I somehow got away and then dove on
the cheese,” he said. “If you could stay on your feet to the end you had a good
chance of winning. After making it to the finals, I knew I was going to go for
it. That was pretty crazy, there were bodies everywhere.
“How many chances do you get to say you’re the Canadian
champion? It was awesome.”
Guay didn’t get away completely free and clear, and was
sporting a few scrapes and bruises at the finish line.
Still, he fared better than women’s field winner Maya Klvana.
She had to accept her award sitting down after twisting her ankle badly at the
finish line.
“There was no strategy, just give’r and leave it all on the
mountain,” she said. “I guess when I won the first heat I realized, oh crap, I
actually have a chance at this. I’m not a runner.
“I think the key to winning was not falling down, but then I
fell at the bottom with enough speed that I tumbled to the finish line.”
Klvana says she skis 25 to 30 times a year at
Whistler-Blackcomb and will make good use of her prizes — as long as her
ankle heals enough to ski this year.
“I don’t know what I did to it, but I’m on my way to the
hospital to find out. No regrets. I love cheese and I love getting two season
passes. I’ll probably host a big wine and cheese party.”
This was the first time a cheese rolling event has been held
outside of Gloucester in the U.K., which has hosted a cheese rolling
competition for decades.
