More than 230 riders took to the field on Sunday for the annual Squamish Gearjammer, a challenging 47 km point-to-point race that takes place almost entirely on singletrack mountain bike trails. Riders have almost no chance to rest for the duration of the ride, and have to rely on their upper body as much as their legs to get them to the finish.
It’s the kind of riding that definitely appealed to Whistler riders, with racers earning 12 podiums on race day.
Squamish’s own Neal Kindree placed first in the race and Male Elite category with a time of two hours, 26 minutes and 53 seconds. Whistler’s Matt Ryan placed second in 2:30:14, while Ryan Taylor, a rider from Prince Edward Island, placed third in 2:32:40. Pemberton’s Dustin Gordon placed fifth in 2:39:32.
In the Female Elite category, Whistler’s Joanna Harrington placed first in 2:59:37, followed by Melanie Vaughan in 3:17:36. Lesley Clements of Whistler was third in 3:27:57, earning the third podium for Whistler riders in the elite categories.
Whistler riders also earned several podiums in the Gearjammer age categories.
In the Female Under 20 category, Victoria Whitney placed third in 4:25:50.
In 20 to 29, Lina Augaitis placed third in 5:14:30.
In 30 to 39, Katherine Mulvihill was eighth in 4:57:10.
On the men’s side, Jonny Lloyd placed first in the Male 20 to 29 category in 2:59:51, followed closely by Pemberton’s Josh Stott in 3:01:14.
In 30 to 34, Michael Boehm finished in 2:34:34, which would have been good enough for fourth in the elite category. As it was, Boehm had almost 14 minutes on the next racer in his category.
Trevor Hopkins of Pemberton won the Male 35 to 39 category in 2:44:42, more than five minutes faster than the next racer. Matteo Abel was 20 th in 3:37:14, and Chris Susko 25 th in 3:46:43.
In 40 to 44, Keith Ray came out on top in 2:40:07, edging out North Vancouver endurance racer David Kvick by almost five minutes. Mike Charuk was third in 2:56:24, and Richard Potter sixth in 3:07:54.
In Male 60-Plus, David Thornhill placed first in 3:49:42, while Gary Baker was third in 4:46:18.
