The Epic comes to a close
Rocky Mountain team take stage and overall win
After four consecutive days of unseasonable cold and rain, riders left Blairmore, Alberta, for the final stage of the 2009 TransRockies with the finish line in Fernie squarely in their sights. The euphoria of completion added an extra level of excitement to the morning, as did an extra hour’s sleep. A later start was made possible by slightly shorter and flatter route than those of the previous three days, which had seen most riders on course for at least seven hours a day in tough conditions.
At 75km long with 1,300 metres of climbing, stage 7 looked like a mere blip compared to the 300km and 6,700 metres of climbing they’d overcome in the previous three stages. It would still mean nearly four hours on course for the winners and much longer for most of the field thanks to conditions that remained slick after the wettest edition in eight years of TransRockies riding.
The leading group of riders stayed together through the first two feed stations before the leading Rocky Mountain Factory Team duo of Stefan Widmer and Marty Lazarski dropped the hammer, determined to celebrate their GC win with a solo ride down Victoria St. in Fernie. They had been the fastest team on the singletrack all week and again, they were able to open a sizeable lead on the technical sections and rolled into the finish alone for another impressive stage win.
Next across the line was Pete Turnbull of the United Kingdom, who has been riding solo since his partner was forced to pull out on day 1 with a serious virus. Though only teams are eligible for prizing, Pete has been in the action all week pushing the leaders and being one of the top finishers every day.
Even though the GC gaps were often very big, riders did not treat this as a ceremonial ride to the finish. Pushing for a podium finish on the last day, the Bow Cycles/Specialized duo of Ryan Correy and Brian Bain overcame a broken chain on one of the singletrack sections. Correy used his elite running skills to get to the bottom then Bain took over towing his chain-less teammate to the line to hold onto third place on the day as Team visitPA.com breathed down their necks.
In the Mixed 80+ category, Pat Doyle and Trish Grajczyk of Team Deadgoat took the suspense out of things early with a dominant ride and a sweep of all seven stages. Doyle was one of two competitors who was completing their fifth TransRockies and was honoured with a commemorative belt buckle that will go nicely with the pile of leaders' jerseys he's got. The other five-time TransRockies finisher was Dean Irvine of North Vancouver who finished third in the Open Mixed division.
Team Cox of Norway held on to their gap to win the 100+ division, while the Czechmasters did the same in 80+ and Team Terrascape/Trek Toronto won the Open Mixed division. The latter two pairs had diced with the leading teams all week in win their respective categories. Finally, event host Nipika Mountain Resort also put their name on top of the standings as their Open Women’s team of Magi and Kate Scallion held off a hard challenge from the Velobella/Vanderkitten team to win the gold.
In every category and from front to back, riders made heroic and repeated efforts to get to the end of each stage. The TransRockies is considered to be the most difficult and epic mountain bike stage race and this was the most difficult edition of the TransRockies yet. The machined aluminum finisher medals will be only the smallest part of the reward that the competitors take home after overcoming the worst that the Rockies could throw at them over seven days, 532km and 14,300 metres of climbing.
Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Stefan Widmer & Marty Lazarski (Rocky Mtn Factory Team) | 3:47:37 |
2 | João Marinho & José Silva (Team Amarante Bike Zone - Onbike) | 0:09:26 |
3 | Ryan Correy & Brian Bain (Bow Cycle / Specialized) | 0:23:06 |
4 | Tom Smets & Tom Luyten (Green Force - T2) | 0:23:29 |
5 | Ray Adams & Ryan Leech (visitPA.com) | 0:23:50 |
6 | Pascal De Meulanear & Ives Verbruggen (Born2bike Team) | 0:28:15 |
7 | Andrew Fairhurst & Jeff Smith (Team Crowsnest Pass) | 0:39:34 |
8 | Johan Erlandsson & Per Andreas Norseng (Rye) | 0:39:52 |
9 | Dean Etienne & Jeremy Trask (Gears and Beers) | 0:54:26 |
10 | Javier Lopez & Luciano Sanchez (Caribbean Motors Kia Puerto Rico) | 0:58:16 |
11 | Ross Farrell & Trevor Innes (Tasmania) | 0:59:55 |
12 | Nicholas Ringwood & Philip Richmond (Team Hayland) | 1:00:05 |
13 | Pierre Boivin & David Gauvreau (Couloir Racing) | 1:01:08 |
14 | Rob Russell & Matt Russell (DOA) | 1:02:45 |
15 | Westley Richards & Roger Violette (Tonik Cycling) | 1:05:44 |
16 | David Jones & Kurt Shanski (The Fishermen) | 1:06:30 |
17 | Netzer Quan & Carlos Sanchez (elretodelquetzal.com) | 1:09:40 |
18 | Ryan Leibel & Shane MacNaughton (Biking Skillz or Stapleford Billz) | 1:09:57 |
19 | Stuart Dewar & Robert Cameron (Chemical Crew) | 1:18:37 |
20 | Paul Cockshott & Bart Hallmark (The Pom & Limey) | 1:25:06 |
21 | Chris Smith & David Warren (Wrecsam Tri) | 1:25:26 |
22 | Peter Reijmer & Raymond Brummelhuis (Kooyman Techniek 2) | 1:26:19 |
23 | Patrick Stewart & Shaun Stewart (The Pigs Back) | 1:31:44 |
24 | Ian Owen & Jim Gaffney (Oneplanet Adventure) | 1:34:45 |
25 | James Moyle & Matthew Kitchin (Matt and Moyle) | 1:40:48 |
26 | Luis Manuel Gonzalez & Rene Lopez (Dominican Republic) | 1:49:50 |
27 | Jan Hnizdo & Wayne Brunyee (RSA 1) | 1:52:48 |
28 | Per Oskar Jr. Ternsten & Jan Erik Søvig (midlife madness) | 1:54:03 |
29 | Maximilian Schmeding & Ulf Neumann (Berlin Turtles) | 1:54:53 |
30 | Ken Hurd & Sheldon Smart (Bikeridr) | 2:05:33 |
31 | Matthew Wilkie & Kevan Wilkie (Team Elkford) | 2:08:40 |
32 | Schalk Greyling & Johannes Koen (Maplotters) | 2:16:47 |
33 | Mark Crook & Daniel Flynn (Tally Ho) | 2:16:57 |
34 | Andrew Williams & Garret Sowchuk (Incyclophobiacs) | 2:19:07 |
35 | Shaun Ellis & Mike Radakovic (Vino Fino) | 2:21:42 |
36 | Richard Batteram & Reinoud Wolter (Rocky Riders) | 2:27:22 |
37 | Kris Binder & Stephan (Challenge 09) | 2:31:23 |
38 | Michael Spoerri & Tobias Jakob (Zahnknirscher & Zahnknisterer) | 2:42:04 |
39 | Bruce Cockburn & Wayne MacFarlane (Achilles Heels) | 2:54:45 |
40 | Frans Cronje & Oestergaard (FJ No Fear) | 3:14:40 |
41 | Rob Sedgwick & Antony Britten (Team INstall) | 3:47:18 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Magi Scallion & Kate Scallion (Team Nipika) | 5:26:36 |
2 | Erika Krumpelman & Shannon Holden (Velo Bella/ Vanderkitten) | 0:18:55 |
3 | Giselle Weybrecht & Angelique Van Oort (TEC2) | 4:07:26 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Milan Spolc & Martin Horak (Czechmasters) | 4:06:58 |
2 | Sergio Vairetto & Ettore Bollati (Dream Team) | 0:03:51 |
3 | Thane Wright & Dax Massey (Breck Epic) | 0:19:29 |
4 | Daniel Cyr & Conrad Audet (Dalbix) | 0:40:50 |
5 | Erno Dongen & Jeroen Kerkhof (EDO Rham team) | 0:50:27 |
6 | Helder Carvalho & Joao Mendes (Team Arruda) | 0:52:33 |
7 | Mark Butschler & Keith Nicoll (Tinhorn Creek Crush Club) | 1:03:54 |
8 | Tom McKee & Darcy Verhun (River Valley Cycle) | 1:16:49 |
9 | Brendan Morgan & Arthur Sombrowski (Park Place Pedal Pushers) | 1:19:56 |
10 | Gary Bruce Turner & Hallgeir Bakken (Old Guys Rule) | 1:34:42 |
11 | Mark Smith & Philippe Leroy (Team BVI) | 1:34:55 |
12 | Pat Gilmar & Franck Gimard (Fernie Blackstone) | 1:40:04 |
13 | Scott Allan & Phil Roadley (Prairie Storm) | 1:54:14 |
14 | Stephen Bourne & Wayne Aussem (Team Warthog) | 1:59:22 |
15 | Christian Arsenault & Mario Poirier (Le Pedalier) | 2:01:57 |
16 | Tony Timberlake & Ian Grist (Cyclelife Dunstable UK) | 2:08:05 |
17 | Mark Millichip & Richard Lloyd (Team Darkside-Fubar) | 2:20:54 |
18 | Erik Van Oort & Richard Mills (TEC) | 2:21:37 |
19 | Mark Groome & Rob Williams (Head Cases) | 2:23:35 |
20 | Allan Knabe & Dennis Knabe (Are we nearly there Yet?) | 2:31:02 |
21 | Santiago Ramirez & Juan Carlos lopez (Trope Shago) | 2:34:44 |
22 | Sean Bell & Jeremy Tomalin-Reeves (Un For Deux) | 2:38:39 |
23 | Wesley Arthur & Dan Janzen (No Return) | 2:42:21 |
24 | Gary Stirrup & Ian Kaye (North Wales Monkeys) | 3:35:29 |
25 | James Cullen & Kevin Howlett (Team AFG Ireland) | 3:59:48 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Jeff Neilson & Mical Dyck (Terrascape/Trek Toronto) | 4:13:05 |
2 | Xavier Vermeeren & Mieke Deroo (Team Detrog-Granville Men) | 0:07:50 |
3 | Kristof Schoonbaert & Sofie De Wulf (Detroggranville 3) | 0:16:19 |
4 | Dean Irvine & Alena Irvine (Steed Cycles) | 0:29:46 |
5 | Rolf Reimann & Ingrid Hohermuth (Swisslys) | 1:21:49 |
6 | David Randall & Victoria Randall (Bavarian Brits) | 1:33:25 |
7 | Charlotte Ireland & Tim Collinson (Grizzlers) | 1:50:46 |
8 | Giuseppe Salerno & Milena Bettocchi (Ruote Quadre Tandem) | 2:08:54 |
9 | Viktor Sundberg & Sylvia Kammerer (Sweden - Italy) | 2:14:23 |
10 | Thomas Schneeberger & Andrea Kyburz (TooBee) | 2:26:29 |
11 | Chris Jeske & Chantal Requier (Done Tri-ing) | 2:37:12 |
12 | Simon Hirota & Christina Hirota (Two Wide Fields) | 2:37:57 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Pat Doyle & Trish Grajczyk (Deadgoat Racing) | 4:55:56 |
2 | Margo Downey & Craig Gillett (Harland Hammers) | 1:04:46 |
3 | Tanya Martin & Ray Vermette (Team Loupgarou) | 1:27:35 |
4 | Marion Hemmerling & Hansjoerg Bosler (Bavarian Bears) | 1:56:29 |
5 | Janet Jones & Bruce Jones (Two Jones) | 2:01:20 |
6 | Derek Higgins & Charmaine Lingard (Team Charek) | 2:02:43 |
7 | Rick Metzger & Alison Metzger (Like Father, Like Daughter) | 2:03:47 |
8 | Nick Meek & Martha Tullberg (Chalet la Foret) | 3:10:53 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | David Sudbury & Robin Willard (Derailleur Noir) | 4:42:21 |
2 | Hans-Tore Støen & Gisle Langslet (Team Cox) | 0:05:21 |
3 | Garth Patterson & Gary Goplen (Bike Doctor) | 0:25:10 |
4 | Kurt Anderau & Judith Locher (Poco Loco) | 0:45:32 |
5 | Andy Hodgson & Steve Salt (World Famous Team Salty Balls) | 0:59:55 |
6 | George King & Jerome Salvador (Team Comanche) | 1:04:41 |
7 | John Engelberts & Ben Engelberts (Booster Juice) | 1:20:37 |
8 | Bryan Sveinson & Ross Maylor (Qball & Lefty) | 1:39:30 |
9 | Jane Hilt & Richard VanGytenbeek (Aktermacti) | 1:56:30 |
10 | Don Martin & Gerald Martin (Brothers in Arms) | 2:25:55 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Stefan Widmer & Marty Lazarski (Rocky Mtn Factory Team) | 29:01:02 |
2 | João Marinho & José Silva (Team Amarante Bike Zone - Onbike) | 1:14:13 |
3 | Ray Adams & Ryan Leech (visitPA.com) | 3:36:00 |
4 | Ryan Correy & Brian Bain (Bow Cycle / Specialized) | 4:55:45 |
5 | Pascal De Meulanear & Ives Verbruggen (Born2bike Team) | 6:20:36 |
6 | Tom Smets & Tom Luyten (Green Force - T2) | 6:26:18 |
7 | Johan Erlandsson & Per Andreas Norseng (Rye) | 7:08:35 |
8 | Dean Etienne & Jeremy Trask (Gears and Beers) | 7:26:04 |
9 | Andrew Fairhurst & Jeff Smith (Team Crowsnest Pass) | 8:00:46 |
10 | Pierre Boivin & David Gauvreau (Couloir Racing) | 8:08:51 |
11 | Netzer Quan & Carlos Sanchez (elretodelquetzal.com) | 9:14:41 |
12 | Javier Lopez & Luciano Sanchez (Caribbean Motors Kia Puerto Rico) | 10:06:41 |
13 | Ryan Leibel & Shane MacNaughton (Biking Skillz or Stapleford Billz) | 10:24:25 |
14 | Nicholas Ringwood & Philip Richmond (Team Hayland) | 10:55:17 |
15 | Westley Richards & Roger Violette (Tonik Cycling) | 11:13:44 |
16 | Stuart Dewar & Robert Cameron (Chemical Crew) | 11:49:49 |
17 | Rob Russell & Matt Russell (DOA) | 12:17:13 |
18 | Paul Cockshott & Bart Hallmark (The Pom & Limey) | 12:37:30 |
19 | Ross Farrell & Trevor Innes (Tasmania) | 13:14:47 |
20 | Per Oskar Jr. Ternsten & Jan Erik Søvig (midlife madness) | 13:39:56 |
21 | David Jones & Kurt Shanski (The Fishermen) | 14:26:21 |
22 | Chris Smith & David Warren (Wrecsam Tri) | 14:59:29 |
23 | Ian Owen & Jim Gaffney (Oneplanet Adventure) | 15:04:02 |
24 | Luis Manuel Gonzalez & Rene Lopez (Dominican Republic) | 15:31:19 |
25 | Patrick Stewart & Shaun Stewart (The Pigs Back) | 16:04:22 |
26 | Jan Hnizdo & Wayne Brunyee (RSA 1) | 16:21:55 |
27 | Peter Reijmer & Raymond Brummelhuis (Kooyman Techniek 2) | 16:48:47 |
28 | Maximilian Schmeding & Ulf Neumann (Berlin Turtles) | 16:56:53 |
29 | Matthew Wilkie & Kevan Wilkie (Team Elkford) | 16:57:36 |
30 | Richard Batteram & Reinoud Wolter (Rocky Riders) | 17:53:43 |
31 | Mark Crook & Daniel Flynn (Tally Ho) | 17:58:13 |
32 | Schalk Greyling & Johannes Koen (Maplotters) | 18:47:31 |
33 | James Moyle & Matthew Kitchin (Matt and Moyle) | 19:06:08 |
34 | Ken Hurd & Sheldon Smart (Bikeridr) | 19:55:36 |
35 | Michael Spoerri & Tobias Jakob (Zahnknirscher & Zahnknisterer) | 20:48:54 |
36 | Kris Binder & Stephan (Challenge 09) | 22:32:28 |
37 | Andrew Williams & Garret Sowchuk (Incyclophobiacs) | 22:55:37 |
38 | Shaun Ellis & Mike Radakovic (Vino Fino) | 23:22:37 |
39 | Bruce Cockburn & Wayne MacFarlane (Achilles Heels) | 26:55:58 |
40 | Frans Cronje & Oestergaard (FJ No Fear) | 28:54:06 |
41 | Rob Sedgwick & Antony Britten (Team INstall) | 30:54:06 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Magi Scallion & Kate Scallion (Team Nipika) | 42:15:17 |
2 | Erika Krumpelman & Shannon Holden (Velo Bella/ Vanderkitten) | 2:05:42 |
3 | Giselle Weybrecht & Angelique Van Oort (TEC2) | 30:37:34 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Milan Spolc & Martin Horak (Czechmasters) | 30:41:10 |
2 | Thane Wright & Dax Massey (Breck Epic) | 2:01:59 |
3 | Sergio Vairetto & Ettore Bollati (Dream Team) | 3:45:09 |
4 | Daniel Cyr & Conrad Audet (Dalbix) | 8:13:57 |
5 | Mark Butschler & Keith Nicoll (Tinhorn Creek Crush Club) | 9:41:03 |
6 | Erno Dongen & Jeroen Kerkhof (EDO Rham team) | 9:54:01 |
7 | Brendan Morgan & Arthur Sombrowski (Park Place Pedal Pushers) | 10:56:19 |
8 | Helder Carvalho & Joao Mendes (Team Arruda) | 11:53:24 |
9 | Scott Allan & Phil Roadley (Prairie Storm) | 13:33:52 |
10 | Gary Bruce Turner & Hallgeir Bakken (Old Guys Rule) | 13:47:10 |
11 | Pat Gilmar & Franck Gimard (Fernie Blackstone) | 14:19:21 |
12 | Mark Smith & Philippe Leroy (Team BVI) | 15:31:10 |
13 | Stephen Bourne & Wayne Aussem (Team Warthog) | 16:14:52 |
14 | Tom McKee & Darcy Verhun (River Valley Cycle) | 16:40:37 |
15 | Erik Van Oort & Richard Mills (TEC) | 18:27:56 |
16 | Santiago Ramirez & Juan Carlos lopez (Trope Shago) | 18:56:42 |
17 | Mark Groome & Rob Williams (Head Cases) | 20:48:02 |
18 | Christian Arsenault & Mario Poirier (Le Pedalier) | 22:19:35 |
19 | Tony Timberlake & Ian Grist (Cyclelife Dunstable UK) | 22:25:05 |
20 | Mark Millichip & Richard Lloyd (Team Darkside-Fubar) | 22:53:58 |
21 | Allan Knabe & Dennis Knabe (Are we nearly there Yet?) | 23:04:36 |
22 | Wesley Arthur & Dan Janzen (No Return) | 23:38:43 |
23 | Sean Bell & Jeremy Tomalin-Reeves (Un For Deux) | 24:19:48 |
24 | Gary Stirrup & Ian Kaye (North Wales Monkeys) | 30:34:14 |
25 | James Cullen & Kevin Howlett (Team AFG Ireland) | 36:37:36 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Jeff Neilson & Mical Dyck (Terrascape/Trek Toronto) | 32:49:05 |
2 | Xavier Vermeeren & Mieke Deroo (Team Detrog-Granville Men) | 2:08:11 |
3 | Dean Irvine & Alena Irvine (Steed Cycles) | 3:30:57 |
4 | Kristof Schoonbaert & Sofie De Wulf (Detroggranville 3) | 3:59:03 |
5 | Rolf Reimann & Ingrid Hohermuth (Swisslys) | 9:16:15 |
6 | David Randall & Victoria Randall (Bavarian Brits) | 13:23:37 |
7 | Thomas Schneeberger & Andrea Kyburz (TooBee) | 14:37:37 |
8 | Charlotte Ireland & Tim Collinson (Grizzlers) | 16:21:17 |
9 | Chris Jeske & Chantal Requier (Done Tri-ing) | 19:45:17 |
10 | Viktor Sundberg & Sylvia Kammerer (Sweden - Italy) | 20:34:09 |
11 | Giuseppe Salerno & Milena Bettocchi (Ruote Quadre Tandem) | 20:53:15 |
12 | Simon Hirota & Christina Hirota (Two Wide Fields) | 21:37:57 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Pat Doyle & Trish Grajczyk (Deadgoat Racing) | 36:58:42 |
2 | Margo Downey & Craig Gillett (Harland Hammers) | 8:17:22 |
3 | Tanya Martin & Ray Vermette (Team Loupgarou) | 12:58:51 |
4 | Derek Higgins & Charmaine Lingard (Team Charek) | 18:38:02 |
5 | Marion Hemmerling & Hansjoerg Bosler (Bavarian Bears) | 19:40:13 |
6 | Rick Metzger & Alison Metzger (Like Father, Like Daughter) | 20:26:55 |
7 | Nick Meek & Martha Tullberg (Chalet la Foret) | 21:52:34 |
8 | Janet Jones & Bruce Jones (Two Jones) | 23:31:28 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Hans-Tore Støen & Gisle Langslet (Team Cox) | 38:29:25 |
2 | David Sudbury & Robin Willard (Derailleur Noir) | 0:31:16 |
3 | Garth Patterson & Gary Goplen (Bike Doctor) | 1:42:26 |
4 | Kurt Anderau & Judith Locher (Poco Loco) | 2:39:00 |
5 | George King & Jerome Salvador (Team Comanche) | 9:31:56 |
6 | Jane Hilt & Richard VanGytenbeek (Aktermacti) | 11:25:45 |
7 | Andy Hodgson & Steve Salt (World Famous Team Salty Balls) | 13:52:05 |
8 | John Engelberts & Ben Engelberts (Booster Juice) | 14:18:29 |
9 | Bryan Sveinson & Ross Maylor (Qball & Lefty) | 17:38:40 |
10 | Don Martin & Gerald Martin (Brothers in Arms) | 21:53:40 |
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