By Andrew Mitchell
WhistlerÕs Will Routley shook off a disappointing Tour de Georgia to represent Canada at the Pan-American Championships at Mae Del Plata, Argentina in the Espoir (Under 23) road race category. Routley finished seventh in the field.
Riders from Argentina and Uruguay took the top podium spots, with Maximiliano Richeze of Argentina finishing the hilly 144 km course in three hours, 24 minutes and eight seconds. Routley, the top North American, was just 44 seconds back of that time.
His Canadian teammates, Kevin Lacombe and Phil Abbot, were 12 th and 13 th with the next group, more than four minutes back.
In the womenÕs 84 km road race, RoutleyÕs Symmetrics Cycling teammate Mandy Poitras was ninth overall, just seconds back of the winner, Tina Pic of the U.S.
Buchar 15 th at World Cup downhill
WhistlerÕs Claire Buchar kicked off her World Cup downhill season in Vigo, Spain with a 15 th place finish on a short but technical course. The win went to Sabrina Jonnier of France, followed by Tracy Moseley of Great Britain and Kathy Pruitt of the U.S.
The menÕs downhill went to Steve Peat of Great Britain, followed by Greg Minnaar of Russia and Samuel Hill of Australia.
Buchar was the only Canadian in the race.
The week before QuebecÕs Marie-Helene Premont won the womenÕs cross-country opener, handing Gunn-Rita Dahle of Norway her first World Cup loss in over two years. Premont also finished second to Dahle in the 2004 Olympic mountain bike race.
According to the race report, Premont had about 20 seconds on Dahle at the halfway point, and continued to build on that lead with strong technical climbing and perfect descents to finish first by a gap of 43 seconds.
Kiara Bisaro of Courtenay was the next best Canadian in 24 th place.
In the menÕs race, Julien Absalon of France destroyed the competition to finish more than a minute ahead of Roel Paulissen of Belgium. Max Plaxton, the only Canadian in the race, did not finish.
On top of the Rat Race
The annual On The Edge Rat Race at RobertÕs Creek on the Sunshine Coast kicked off cycling B.C.Õs second annual marathon cross-county series, as well as the B.C. Cup downhill series. Whistler riders took part in both events.
WhistlerÕs Lesley Clements, who won the inaugural marathon womenÕs title, was second in her category to Jean Ann McKirby, the womenÕs Cheakamus Challenge winner last season.
Tony Routley and Eric Crowe were third and seventh out of 71 riders in the 40 and Over menÕs category. Joe Maika was 20 th in the category.
In the menÕs 19 to 39 group, Ryan Watts, Matt Bodkin, Mike Boehm, and Trevor Hopkins were 17 th , 18 th , 19 th and 21 st respectively out of almost 100 riders.
The top spot in that group went to Roland Green, a two time world mountain bike champion, followed by Kris Sneddon and Andreas Hestler.
In the Under 19 category, Neal Kindree of Squamish took the win by more than 14 minutes.
Tyler Allison, the top junior cross-country rider in the last two Loonie Races, showed he is pretty scary on a big bike as well with a win in the Under 15 downhill category.
Only 13, he also won the Under 15-16 menÕs cross-country race after entering the hardest category.
WORCA Trail Daze on Sunday
WORCA is holding its annual Trail Daze trail maintenance cleanup day on Sunday, May 8, inviting all riders to come out and help with a variety of projects to get the trails ready for summer.
There will be several options for volunteers, from hands-on building projects to sweeping trails to clearing debris and prune branches.
Trail Daze gets underway at Gaitors Restaurant at the Shoestring Lodge with a free MotherÕs Day pancake breakfast at 9 a.m. Let mom sleep in or bring her along for a hot breakfast and some trail work. All moms will get flowers for helping out.
After pancakes, participants will be divided into crews based on their preferences and the amount of time they can spare.
Come dressed to spend a day working outside, and bring water, food, bug spray, suntan lotion, and rain gear. WORCA will supply tools and rides to the trails, but bring whatever you have. Leave the bike at home.
