CANMORE – If the old training method of practicing harder than the competition was any indication, then the course designers of the weekend’s mountain bike races in Canmore had riders more than ready for national championships.
Mountain bikers from across the west were in town to boost national ranking spots at the Western Challenge Cyclocross at the Canmore Nordic Centre on Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 23-24), which was jointly run by Rundle Mountain Cycling Club (RMCC) and Cyclemeisters Calgary.
Cyclocross consists of racing laps on pavement, hills, grass, and mountain trails, with barriers or hurdles providing extra challenges, sometimes causing riders to jump off their bikes to carry them over the barriers before getting back on to ride.
“Cyclocross races are great,” said Banff’s Gregory Patychuk. “They’re short, so the pain is only 40 minutes to an hour. You can survive that.”
Having a hand in course design, 67-year-old Patychuk said the championship-level course was made tough for the competitors preparing for nationals in November.
The weekend featured two races, Saturday’s Western Challenge (WC), which is sanctioned by Cycle Canada, and is a rare opportunity for local bikers to gain points toward the national championships and ranking. The more points earned, the better the starting spot for big races.
On Sunday, bikers hit the trails for the 10th annual Drie Zussen Superprestige, a provincially sanctioned race.
“There’s little recovery on the course, it’s technical, the ground is loose – that’s probably why there were so many flat tires,” said Patychuk with a laugh. “I did not have any mechanical issues, that’s why I probably won.”
Looking strong and fast, the Banff rider took top prize at the WC’s master men’s 65+ category.
Like many in the Bow Valley battling a nasty bug right now, a couple of RMCC’s top young riders, Ashton Thomson and Larix Hallett, were also just getting over colds.
“On Saturday, I was under the weather and my legs weren’t feeling it,” said Hallett, who competes in U17 boys. The next day though, Hallett got back on track with a silver in his second ever expert men’s race.
The Canmore teen powered to the finish line, barely missing out on gold by five seconds.
“I was quite happy with how I performed,” Hallett said. “It was quite a flat, power course. There are some good technical corners in there I quite like. I would have liked to win, but it was my second race in expert men, so second place is pretty good.”
Hallett is eyeballing nationals in Victoria, B.C. at the end of November, in what is likely going to be a rainy, mucky course. Fellow RMCC rider Thomson also has her sights set on Victoria. Though, she was mainly out to have fun last weekend after her cold forced her off her bike for a week.
“Everyone has a different strength in the course and it’s just about who plays their cards right,” said Thomson, who’s a second year rider in the U23 women’s category – or the “bottom of the barrel” as she calls it.
“I have seen improvements in my second year – I was at the back of the pack and now mid pack, while sick.
“This is good preparation for nationals because it’s harder than what nationals will be and it’s a lot of the same competition.”
Top local results over the weekend included Banff’s Finn Borstmayer finishing sixth and second in the top men’s races; RMCC’s Quinton Macklem was third in WC U17 boys, RMCC’s Daena Sidney was second in the sport women’s Superprestige, and Mitch Roberts and Emmett Macklen were second and third, respectively, in the novice men’s Superprestige.
For a full list of results, visit www.zone4.ca.
