BC Cycling awards MTB honors

BC Cycling awarded their male and female mountain bikers of the year for 2007. Top honors went to Jeff Clarkson and Miranda Miller.

Clarkson is the 2007 Canadian Junior National mountain bike champion and the British Columbia road and mountain bike champion and has been the British Columbia Cup champion for three consecutive years (2005-2007). This year, he represented Canada at the World Mountain Bike Championships.

Miller hails from Squamish. The 17 year-old downhiller also raced for Canada at the World Championships and collected the BC junior champion's title.

"I am really pleased," Miller said to the Squamish Chief. "It has been an exciting year of racing, but I was badly disappointed at my two most important races – when I flatted at the Nationals and broke my collarbone at the Worlds. To be given this kind of recognition is very encouraging. It is so good to know that the hard work and effort riders put in for the whole season is appreciated too and people are looking beyond just whether you podium or not."

Miller is on literally on the road to recovery; she's out of her sling and back on a road bike. "I hope to get the go-ahead to get back on a cross-country bike and to head to the velodrome in a few weeks. Meanwhile, I'm supplementing with basketball and some swimming. My surgeon is strict, but that's because she knows about athletes."

BC Cycling also awarded Steve Sleep as mountain bike volunteer of the year.