After 400 kilometres of gut-wrenching, gear-pounding, bike-busting mountain bike riding through some of the best white-knuckle single track in the world, the 10th annual TransRockies race is in the bag.
But even after seven days of gruelling single track, there was no clearcut winner and two teams had to share the yellow jersey in the 10th incarnation of the world-renowned TransRockies race that wrapped up on Saturday, Aug. 13.
Switzerland’s team of Matthais Haussener and Damian Perrin was the first to cross the finish line in Canmore, however, the result was contested. Poor trail marking tape was blamed and Martin Vale and Carter Hovey of Fernie – two former world mountain bike tour competitors – were eventually rewarded with yellow jerseys of their own, capping off a wild week.
“It was a long week,” Hovey said. “But I don’t think I was allowed to go back to work in Fernie without coming back with a medal.”
The seven-day challenge boiled down to a three-team race, with the Swiss team, followed by Canmore’s own Brian Cooke and Travis Hauck and the Fernie team battling it out for top spot.
The Fernie team, consisting of 1996 Canadian national mountain bike champ Vale and former junior Canadian champ Hovey were considered favourites to win the 10th TransRockies, however, their mettle and patience was severely tested over the seven stages.
During Stage Two, disaster struck. Vale’s bike was damaged beyond repair when he blew a rear shock. On top of falling 30 minutes behind the rest of the field, the team appeared unable to continue do to the extensive damage.
Luckily, their friend and fellow rider Marty Lazarski, a former TransRockies winner, selflessly donated his bike to their cause, ending his race, but allowing the top duo to continue.
“That was a game changer,” Hovey said. “I think he’s getting a nice bottle of scotch.”
Outfitted with the new bike, Team Fernie went on a tear, eating kilometres and reeling in other riders at an incredible pace. Remarkably, when the dust settled, they were sitting in fifth place.
“After what happened on the second day, we knew we were still in it,” Hovey said.
In Stage Three, the bad luck appeared to return to the Fernie team, as they promptly punctured a tire. However, they stayed positive and targeted the top riders.
“It was just a matter of if we could chip away at the leaders,” Hovey said.
Ahead of them, The Swiss team – Team Zaboo – carried on.
Like clockwork, the Swiss team consistently finished their stages efficiently and with few mechanical issues. A broken seat on the second day forced Perrin to ride without a saddle, however, the rest of the ride was smooth for the European squad. Haussener, a 36-year-old systems engineer, set the pace while Perrin, 30, laid out the attack.
“It was still really close after 20 hours of riding,” Perrin said. “but we were the most consistent team. We never won a stage but we were always on the podium.”
“The trails were great fun and there wasn’t much wide road,” Haussener said.
Also in the mix were Cooke and Hauck. After Stage Three, Cooke got to wear the yellow jersey on his birthday – the first TransRockies yellow jersey of his career – as his younger teammate refused to let him slow down.
“Travis pushed me up the hills,” Cooke said. “Winning on my birthday was a good present to have, but Travis saved me and got me back on with the group when my fitness was down.”
Cooke, who has competed in three TransRockies races, relished the experience despite the cold.
“This was the best and the hardest,” Cooke said. “The average speed was around 15 km/h. Some years with the road, it was closer to 23 km/h. “
“I tried not to get him too sick,” Hauck said.
On top of Cooke’s illness, the team suffered flat tires in Stages 5 and 6 when the weather turned sour. Yet they were able to hold off the fourth-place team.
The race was still in question by Stage 7, as the Swiss had a two-minute lead over Team Fernie. The B.C. riders, drawing on their competitive background, smelled blood and bursted out to a 1:10 lead by kilometre 20 of the 45 km stage. However, a wrong turn put three teams: Swiss Team Zaboo, Bicycle Cage/Gericks and Team Honey Stinger, ahead of the Fernie frontrunners, creating confusion on the course. The Fernie team regained the lead, and finished the stage 54 seconds ahead of the Swiss.
TransRockies judges penalized the three teams for the shortcut, resulting in a tie between the top two teams – a first in TransRockies history.
RMCC racer Alaric Fish opted to finish the four-day race solo, finishing third in his age category.
“I did the seven day race before as a team, and there was a special camaraderie you form with your partner that ends in pain and suffering. This also ended in pain and suffering,” Fish said.
He saw huge improvements in this year’s race, which eliminated much of the fire road and farmer’s field cycling in favour of single track.
“This was a huge improvement over previous years. This was a far better course,” Fish said.
Gary Brown, another RMCC rider, finished one spot behind Fish.
“I had a little less pressure without a partner. You push yourself in different ways,” Brown said, although he’s unsure if he’ll race again.
Bow Valley representation was strong. Notable local finishers include Stan Magee (first, TR7 100+) Pam Hauck and Seabird Urtasun (fifth, TR7 open women), Tom Zidek and Anna Carin Zidek (second, open mixed), John Chambers and Eric De Nys (fifth, TR7 80+ men), Craig Bartlett and Pat Doyle (third, TR7 80+ men), Ryan Draper (sixth, TR4), Thomas Grandi (eighth, TR4), Scott Edmunds (twelfth, TR4), Brent Rosvold (13th, TR4), Brad Dixon (20th TR4), Fish (third, TR4 40+), Gary Brown (fourth, TR4 40+), Mike Cavaliere (fifth, TR4 40+), Craig McLaren (ninth, TR4 40+).
For full results, visit www.transrockies.com
