Several Whistler riders, who are leading the B.C. Cup standings, got a little closer to their goal with strong performances in the cross-country and downhill events.
Whistler’s Brandon Semenuk, who has been dominating the Under 15 Men category this season, posted another win on the shorter course. His time of 34 minutes and 57 seconds was more than two minutes faster than the next competitor.
Also from Whistler, Jesse Melamed just missed the podium with a fourth place finish, four seconds back of third place with a time of 38:07.
STORMBC (Single Track Off Road Mountain Bike Club) also sent a team to the race. Tyler Allison was fifth in 38:09 and Nicholas Geddes 10 th in 40:29.
James Crowe was sixth in the Junior Expert Men’s race in a time of 2:36:52 on the longer course.
Trevor Hopkins was sixth among Master 30-39 Expert Men in 2:24:51. His wife Jodie Hopkins was also sixth, finishing the women’s Master 30 and Over Expert course in 2:02:57.
Eric Crowe continued to dominate in the Master 40 and Over Expert category, finishing the course in 1:37:03, more than three minutes faster than the next rider. Mike Charuk was fifth in the same group, crossing the line in 1:47:00.
In the downhill event, national team rider Brant Lyon and Squamish pro Shaums March were first and second with times of 2:56.73 and 2:58.67 respectively.
Three other Whistler riders, Chris Dewar, Tyler Morland and Jeff Beatty finished third through fifth. Adam Billinghurst was 16 th .
In the women’s category, Vancouver’s Katrina Strand was the top elite rider with a time of 3:40.90. Whistler’s Brook Baker, who is in the running for the overall title, finished second in 3:57.59.
Thirteen-year-old Alex Prochazka was third in the Under 15 category.
The STORMBC riders included Kyle McDonald in sixth, Simon D’Artois in ninth, Tyler Allison in 11 th and Nicholas Geddes in 12 th . McDonald was also second in the Under 15 four-cross.
Marus Jeheny was fourth in the Under 17 Expert Men’s downhill.
The fifth and final event on the B.C. Cup calendar is the Island Triple Crown Throwdown at Mt. Washington Aug. 28-29.
