Old school cross-country and Super-D mountain bike racing made its return to the Canmore Nordic Centre on Sunday (Aug. 11) when Matt Hadley defeated former world cup racer Jamie Lamb to win the third annual Kananaskiker.
The two-day event challenged riders to tackle an old downhill course at the Nordic Centre on Saturday, followed by a 55 kilometre mountain bike marathon on the Sunday. After the combined times were calculated, Hadley was the clear winner.
“It was a lot of fun. What you did on day one helped or hindered day two. The organizers did a great job picking the course, showcasing the best Super-D route. On the marathon, we raced every trail at the Nordic Centre except three of them,” Hadley said.
Super-D races were popular years ago in Canmore and many ski hills still host the events in the summer. Super-D courses must finish with an elevation loss, so the racer who handled the high-speed turns best succeeded. The course started at the top of the Nectar Noodle course, dropped onto Ziggys, Laundry Chutes, FYI and Long Road to Ruin.
“It’s really a pedaling downhill race. It favours racers with a lot of skill and fitness,” Hadley said. He was the last rider to ride the course and, as the chief trail builder at the Nordic Centre, he made no mistakes, finishing with a 56 second lead over Drew Simson. Jonathon Firth was third in the open men’s competition.
“The most important thing was to stay on the trail. I went last and I could see where people had blown corners. There were skid marks on every corner. Sometimes you have to go slow to go fast. Go into the corners slow and exit fast,” Hadley said.
Shawna Donaldson was the lone racer in the open women’s category, while Jessica Stoner, Suzanne Goertzen and Shauna Telford were on the podium in the sport women’s category. Richard Mulligan, Darren Robinson and Pat Doyle were top three in the master men’s category, while Matt Duggan, Alistair Jones and Thomas Grandi were the top three in the men’s sport category.
The winners had a slight advantage going into Sunday’s marathon. Hadley and Lamb rode together in the lead for the first third of the course, but Hadley was able to pull away on one of the larger climbs. Hadley put forth a big surge after gaining the gap, attempting to solidify his lead. The technique worked and Hadley cruised to an easy 14 minute victory.
“There was definitely solid competition. Jamie is a friend of mine I used to race Canada Cups and a few World Cups with. I knew he would be the toughest competition on the marathon day,” Hadley said.
Lamb did get lost on the course afterwards, but still managed to finish second. Houston Peschel finished third in the open men’s category.
“Jamie got lost a bit, so my lead was a little inflated. I think I paced it well,” said Hadley, who finished the race with a time of 2:39:14.
This was Hadley’s first Kananaskiker, and he loved the setup. Most of the season, he’s raced longer stage races, including B.C. Bike race and TransRockies TR3, so his legs and lungs were in good shape for the longer distance.
“It was fun to do the older trails – Terminator and No Homers. There was a lot of single track with a lot of tree roots. You had to be a skilled rider,” Hadley said. “It’s a locals stage race put on by locals, so it’s nice to support it.”
Most races at the Nordic Centre include several loops, but the marathon kept riders on new trails the entire time.
Donaldson again won the open women’s category, and Telford was the lone sport female competing in the marathon. Craig Bartlett won the Master’s category marathon, followed by Doyle and Eric Trouillot. Duggan also won the sport marathon, followed by Grandi and Jeremy Sebulsky. For full results visit www.zone4.ca
