Masters of the Iron Maiden, Liah Harvie and Matt Hadley dominated the competition at the first Canmore Nordic Centre mountain bike race at the of the season, winning gold on Saturday (June 8).
Hadley, the chief trail builder at the Nordic Centre and noted speed demon battled it out with Shaun Bunnin for the win.
“I was surprised how close he was staying on. I was having a lot of fun on Soft Yoghurt, trying to double up some of the rollers, so I was trying to set a PB down there. Then I saw him closing, so I thought I had to focus,”
He was able to hold off the Deadgoat racer, winning in a time of 1:32:53, more than a minute and a half ahead of Bunnin.
“My legs are definitely a bit tired today. It was a lot of fun out there. Shaun Bunnin was really putting the pressure on there. I really had to keep it cranked up. On lap four he was close, so I had to go faster and faster,” Hadley said.
The tune-up race is a warmup for Hadley, who plans to tackle the B.C. Bike Race and TransRockies. He said conditions were perfect compared to last year’s mud fest at the Iron Maiden.
“It was dry and dusty. There was great traction,” Hadley said.
Sam Amberiadis finished third with a time of 1:35:39.
Kate Aardal won the elite women’s race, finishing 24 kilometres in 1:26:19. Trish Grajczyk was second (1:30:43), followed by Olympian and former Canmore resident Tara Whitten (1:31:17).
Harvie, 15, was the class of her field in the Expert Women’s category, winning the 18 km race by nearly seven minutes with a time of 1:07:02. Brianna Roth was second (1:13:56) and Julie Beveridge was third (1:14:46). Harvie led the entire race, which was her strategy going in.
“The course was very fun. It has a lot of climbing, which was good. You kinda take the lead off the front and hold it the whole way,” Harvie said.
With another race under her belt, she’s off to compete in the Canadian Road Bike and Mountain Bike championships in Quebec and Ontario.
“I’d like to go pro one day. That would be nice,” Harvie said, stating she looks up to Dutch racer Marianne Vos for inspiration.
In the men’s category, Rafael Krezalek won gold with a time of 1:17.52 on the 24 km course. Canmore’s Darren Anderson was second and Allistair Hill was third. Thirteen-year-old Robin Pollard won the sport category, followed by Ramona Hill and Danielle LaRocque.
On Sunday, rain and mud tested the limits of Organ Grinder enduro riders.
Kate Aardal won the women’s open event, completing 60 km in 4:47:47, averaging a speed of 12.5 km per hour. Shantel Koenig finished second, followed by Kristin Walters.
Devin Erfle of Deadgoat Racing won the men’s open race, completing 72 km in 5:10:20 and reaching an average speed of 13.92 km/h. Jon Firth of Canmore finished second, completing 72 km in 5:11:05. Alistair Hill was third, finishing 60 km in 4:24:14.
Other medal winners included Dan Peters, Pat Doyle and Darren Robinson (Solo Master Men 40+), Lisa Le Poole, Alana Heise and Carole Beaton (Solo Master Women 35 +), team riders Grant Robertson and Mike Macklem, Mike Dickey and Brian Whatley, Ian Murray and Craig Bartlett (Male pair), Pepper Harlton and Judy Harlton, Robin Pollard and Anna Talman and Sidney McGill and Abbey McGill (women’s pair).
