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Phat Wednesday breaks records

The July 8 Phat Wednesday race broke all records for attendance with 233 racers turning out to rip down Crank It Up, easily the most popular trail in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park since the lower section opened in 2007.

The July 8 Phat Wednesday race broke all records for attendance with 233 racers turning out to rip down Crank It Up, easily the most popular trail in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park since the lower section opened in 2007.

There was some chaos with the unprecedented turnout, and as a result organizers will cap future events at 200 riders.

Rebecca McQueen placed first out of 34 women with a time of five minutes, 24.12 seconds, a gap of almost nine seconds ahead of Katie Holden (5:32.90). Jeannettee Kwiatkowski was third in 5:36.38, with Jessica Lajoie and Jen Ashton rounding out the top five in 5:37.23 and 5:40.61 respectively.

Ian Morrison won the Junior Male category in 5:09.18, followed by Jesse Ballhausen in 5:11.58, Andrew Donnachie in 5:17.31, Viera Frederico Da Costa in 5:20.53 and Leslie Hunter in 5:22.83.

Adam Mantle was the top male racer out of 127 entries with his time of 4:56.66. James McSkimming was hot on his heels in 4:57.00, followed by Curtis Keene in 4:58.11. Rounding out the top 10 were Tyler Morland (5:00.89), Paul Stevens (5:00.94), Mathieu Hebert (5:01.46), Mason Mashon (5:01.92), Yann Martin (5:02.92), Harry Armstrong (5:02.62) and Adam Billinghurst (5:03.01).

Todd Hellinga placed first out of 36 riders in the Master 30-plus category in 5:12.19, followed by Alan Golds (5:13.69), Ben Ferguson (5:14.74), Antoni Oates (5:17.05) and Dave Burch (5:17.57).

In the draw prizing, Ryan Gillette and Daniel Sapp won the Sram drive trains, Simmone Lyons won the Giro full face helmet, Eric Hendren won the Hayes Brakes, Tom Cherwill won the Fox hoodie. Other prizes were donated by Race Face, Odi, WTB, Decline Magazine , Garbanzo Bike and Bean, the GLC, Fox, Giro, Hayes and Kokanee.

The third Phat Wednesday race took place on Wednesday, July 15, and future Phat Wednesday events take place July 29, and Aug. 19 and 26.

As well, Pique erroneously called the July 1 a Phat Wednesday when in fact it was part of a separate PhaSt Wednesday series, which will be held on more technical trails. PhaSt Wednesday events are on July 1, July 22, and Sept. 2.

To take part in any event you'll need to be a member of the Whistler Off-Road Cycling Association, have a valid lift pass (discounted passes available on event days), and chip in $2 to the race pot. More information on courses and dates will be posted online at www.worca.com.