24-hour solo Worlds favorites visit Canmore

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Some of the favorites for the 2012 24-Hour Solo World Championships travelled north this past weekend to Canmore, Alberta, Canada. Although the race isn't until September 14, Tinker Juarez, Cory Wallace and Leighton Poidevin made the trip to drum up support for the event and to join in on a local winter festival.

Earlier this winter, organizers of the race had staged a contest to "Train with Tinker, Cory Wallace and Leighton Poidevin". Last Saturday, the four contest winners got to do just that. Given the Canmore climate this time of year, the lucky winners hopped onto their road bikes at a local performance lab for an stationary bike time trial indoors with Juarez.

The man with the most famous dreadlocks in mountain biking pulled away from the group early on, while Canadian 24-hour veteran Poidevin cruised in for second place. It was a good opportunity for everyone to see where they stand next to Juarez, who is logging 30 hours a week this time of year and routinely does six-hour road rides back home in Whittier, California, to build his fitness.

The festivities didn't end with a trainer ride. Afterwards, Juarez and Wallace each climbed aboard a dogsled and dueled it out on Main Street as part of the Canmore Winter Carnival festivities. Wallace, the reigning 24-hour solo Canadian champion from Jasper, Alberta, took the win with Juarez finishing close behind.

Finally, the trio attended a Q & A session that evening with topics including: 29ers versus 26ers, nutrition, pacing, lighting systems, seeing things in the dark and the domination of Australian rider Jason English, who has won the 24-hour solo Worlds twice.