With heavy rains the day before the 11 th annual North Shore Credit Union Test of Metal there was something to be said for being at the front of the pack:
"(The Powerhouse Plunge) was pretty wet, almost the wettest Id ever seen it, but its not that bad when youre one of the first guys down," said 2006 Test champion Neal Kindree. "Its the guy whos the 500 th down who I really feel bad for, everything just turns to muck."
Kindree used his local knowledge of the trails to wait out Seamus McGrath, one of Canadas top cross country racers for the past decade, on his way to the finish.
McGrath had the lead coming to the end of the singletrack, with Kindree on his back wheel. When they came out on the road, Kindree blew by McGrath, who was riding the course for the first time and wasnt entirely ready for the sprint to the finish.
"It was extremely close," said Kindree. "Seamus was third at the Commonwealth Games, and hes an amazing rider. I basically rode on his back wheel wherever I could, and on the last 50 feet of Endo I turned it on so I would pass by (Seamus) at the end of the trail with a lot of speed and from there I kept up the sprint to the line. Im so happy."
Kindree is a Squamish local, and after a breakout season last year he is recognized as one of the top young riders in Canada. He finished a close second in last years Test to Ricky Federau, who was the reigning Under 23 national champion. Kindree was at 18 at the time, but age has never been an issue.
"I think Ive been capable of winning this race for the last two years, but it just didnt happen," he said. "A lot of stuff happens on a long ride like this, things dont always go as you plan. Thats racing. But Ive been doing this (the Test) since I was 12, and Ive wanted to win it so bad since the first time I did it."
But while hes always dreamed of winning his hometown epic, Kindrees goals have grown almost as tall as he has. While the Test of Metal was a big goal coming into the season, hes also looking ahead to the World Cup race in Quebec next weekend, the national championships at Sun Peaks, and the World Championships in New Zealand. A little further down the road hes looking to the Olympics in 2008.
McGrath said he was happy with his race, given that he was riding the course for the first time, and was very happy for Kindree.
"I remember my first breakthrough ride in a major race like this, and it was a huge moment for me and gave me a lot of confidence," he said. "Neal has been riding so well he really deserved this.
"It helped that he did know the course, but when he took off at the end I looked up and he was gone. I sprinted after him, but he kept making the gap bigger."
McGrath also complimented the course, calling it one of the most challenging and technical he has ever ridden. "It was awesome. Ive always heard the riding up here was the best, and Ive always wanted to check it out for myself. Basically I had an open weekend, and I just live over on the island, so I was excited to finally be able to do the Test this year. Its always better for my training to be able to get a race in than go riding with myself."
Kindree crossed the finish line of the 67 km epic race in two hours 44 minutes, 48 seconds to take the pro-elite title, while Seamus McGrath was second in 2:45:35. Third place in that category went to West Vancouvers Kevin Calhoun in 2:50:14.
A pair of Whistler riders cracked the three hour mark. Matt Ryan was eighth overall in 2:53:53, while Matt Bodkin came in at 12 th in 2:59:58. Other locals in the category include Dave Burch in 18 th (3:04:34), Ryan Watts in 27 th (3:22:57), and Alex Cogger in 32 nd in 4:09:37.
Making the day complete for the Squamish bike community, Kindrees older sister Meghan also won the womens pro elite title in 3:21:24, followed by Kate Aardal in 3:29:56 and Melissa Dekker in 3:30:55.
"Im more relieved than anything," said Meghan at the finish. "Out of the start I ended up chasing a girl who was in front of me up the climb, just trying to stay with her. I wanted to beat her to the first preme, but I was going way too fast and burning up all my energy.
"I told myself to calm down and just ride my own race, which is what my dad always tells me, and ended up passing her on Nine Mile Hill. Its too long a race to sprint the whole time, so you really have to know when to pace yourself."
Meghan had one crash on the day, running into another rider who slid out on a section of the Powerhouse Plunge. Despite a bloodied knee she says she got right back up and kept riding.
"It was actually pretty gross, people were falling all over the place it was so greasy. I was pretty glad to get out of there so I could ride my own race," she said. "(The crash) didnt slow me up that much, I just felt stronger and stronger as the race went on."
As for finishing on top of the podium opposite her brother, she said it was a great day.
"It was pretty cool to come across the line and find out that he won," she said. "We spend a lot of time together and were really close. We train together a lot, ride a lot, and were always talking about biking and the whole time management thing because were both doing Canada Cup and World Cup this year and theres a lot going on."
Whistlers Joanna Harrington and Lesley Clements were sixth and seventh respectively with times of 3:41:57 and 3:47:42.
Whistler riders did well in the age categories. Tyler Allison, 14, finished fourth in the Under 20 category, but was easily the top junior in his own age group. His time was 3:25:28, just 10 minutes off the time of 3:15 that he wanted and better than he thought considering all the things that went wrong in the weeks leading up to the race.
"Im sick, Ive got this flu that was going around, and I sprained my back a little while ago," he said. "I bonked before I got to Nine Mile Hill, and cramped up when I got to the top."
Usually Allison comes alive on the singletrack, but this time he says it was worse than the climbing. Adding to his bad day, he also lost the bite valve on his water pack, and rode the whole race with a single bottle of water and some quick fuel at the feed stations.
"Still, I got pretty close to my goal so Im happy about that," he said.
Nicolas Geddes also raced, finishing seventh out of 25 riders in the category.
In the womens Under 20 race, the Whistler Mountain Ski Clubs Calindy Ramsden was second in 4:24:31, while Victoria Whitney was seventh in 4:54:09.
Tony Routley also had a strong race, winning the mens 50 to 59 category in 3:03:39, while Rob McSkimming just missed the podium in fourth with a time of 3:20:01.
Gary Baker was second in the mens 60-plus category in 4:23:00.
Too many Whistler and Pemberton riders were in the race to mention, but complete results are posted at http://www.testofmetal.com.
The race sold out all 800 spots in less than five hours this year, a new record for organizers. While he was thrilled to see locals win the two titles, race director Cliff Miller emphasized that the Test of Metal is not always about winning.
"This is a real community bike race," he said. "With almost 300 volunteers and countless locals lining the course, its nice for them to see our hometown talent come through. But theyre out there cheering just as loud for Uncle Bob and Aunt Sally who are finishing in five hours as they do for the pros, and each of those achievements is worth celebrating."