The youth movement was in full effect for the Bow Valley’s showing at Banff Bike Fest, and Reid McLure led the way for the junior Rundle Mountain Cycling Club team, finishing third overall in Cat 4.
He finished second in the miserable Lake Louise road race stage, where temperatures hovered around zero and the driving rain fell sideways for a good hour and a half. McClure partnered that result with a fifth-place result in the time trial and sixth in the prologue to cap the five-part stage race.
After growing up as a downhill ski racer, McLure switched to mountain biking before settling on the skinny tires, where he loves the challenge.
“It’s fast, there’s lots of strategy. You learn how to ride in a pack, try to stay at the front and not get dropped,” McLure said.
His results were so strong he was able to move up to Cat 3 races for the rest of the season.
Mitch Fennell, 18, had a great weekend of his own in Cat. 4, where he grabbed three top 10 finishes, including a bronze in the prologue. He was knocked out of the Lake Louise ride, which dropped him down the overall standings, but otherwise had a solid weekend.
Liah Harvie, 16, had another strong weekend, as her road riding continues to improve. The teenage speedster cracked the top 10 in four of five races, finishing 11th in the Tunnel Mountain race on Sunday (June 15). The strong result left Harvie in eighth overall on the weekend, behind the extremely experienced Team Trek Red Truck.
Sara Poidevin, riding for Bicisport, just missed the podium twice over the weekend. She finished fourth in the Lake Louise Road Race and the Tunnel Mountain stage, and was less than 20 seconds behind Harvie on the whole and six minutes back of top rider Kinley Gibson.
RMCC junior coach Matt Hadley was happy with the progress his team accomplished at Bike Fest and said riders such as Harvie, Fennel and McClure have a bright future in the sport. The current crop of RMCC riders are either teenagers or pushing 40.
“It’s coming along really well. There’s lots of skill development for tactics and lots of skill development for pack riding. We did a lot of work on that to make them comfortable in packs and safe around other riders. Hopefully they can fill in more with the club,” said Hadley.
The young riders are improving their efficiency and comfort in the peleton, Hadley said, as well as their strength. He works with the junior riders once a week on road tactics and encourages them to mountain bike as well.
“You can learn a lot on the road and transfer that to the trail,” Hadley said.
Colin Croston, 41, was the top Cat 1/2 rider for RMCC. He was fourth in the prologue, crashed 100 metres from the finish in the Lake Louise Road Race and struggled in the time trial without a TT bike. He rebounded nicely with an eighth-place finish in the crit race and an excellent second-place finish in the Tunnel Mountain Road Race.
