Widmer and Firth extend TransRockies lead

With stage five looming the riders woke to a fifth straight day of sunny skies. An overnight hailstorm pelted the camp but any evidence of wet weather was largely gone by start time. Today the field would be tested by some of the hardest climbs of the event with elevation gains of 2100 metres over 65 plus kilometers.

Men's Open TR7 leaders Jon Firth and Stefan Widmer built a solid lead through the first three stages with three victories. In stage 4, they were defeated by one second. Early on day 5, on the descent from Prairie Creek Trail, the boys were in the thick of things with the Rocky Mountain Factory Team. By day's end, the gap had opened up to 20:49, and Widmer and Firth took the win in four hours and 17 minutes.

Large gaps between first and second place would be the theme of the day with the Open Women's team of Jean Ann Berkenpas and Sandra Walter cruising in ahead of Alana Heise and Nicole Muzecheka by a margin of nearly 48 minutes.

The long climb up Moose Mountain continued to spread out the field with Pat Doyle and Craig Bartlet eventually crossing the line, for a win in the Men's 80+, in 4:35:34 over one hour and seven minutes ahead of stage 4 winners Milan Spolc and Jiri Benes.

Husband and wife team Eva and Marco Carrer continued to roll through the 80+ Mixed category with their fifth straight victory.

The closest finish of the day came in the Open Mixed category with the team of Normon Thibault and Wendy Simms improving on their second place finish of stage 4, winning by one minute and eight seconds.

Joe McCarthy and Randal Walker were able to outlast Darrell Jones and Tom Ebbern by a margin of 4:43 for victory in the 100+ Open.

40+ TR4 competitor Jeff Neilson seems to have hit his stride after his second place overall finish in the TR3. Two days and two stage wins into the TR4 he's leading the pack by almost 23 minutes over second place rider Geoff Clark.

TR4 Open Men's leader Neal Kindree of Team Specialized continued his winning ways with a three minute and 10 second win over Dougal Allan.

TR4 Open Women's winner Kristin Walters took her second straight stage in a time of 6:34:42.

Full Results

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TR7 Open Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jonathon Firth & Stefan Widmer (Honey stinger/ Rocky Mountain Bikes)4:17:39
2Greg Day & Colin Kerr (Rocky Mountain Bicycles Factory Team)0:20:49
3Gareth Jones & Andrew Royle (Redwood Singletrack)0:23:53
4Robin Dutton & Jay Latiff (Cowichan Cycles)0:31:28
5Raul Perez Iratxeta & Jose Antonio Arenzana Padilla (Euskadi Extreme Team)0:46:48
6Rhys Bowen & Philip Johnson (The Spencer Chapman Duo)0:50:26
7Morten Hofstad & Roar Øverås1:02:03
8Stepan Svacina & Michal Skoch (Rumovy Express)1:08:30
9Sam Ervin & Mark Grzanka (Los Juan Rambos)1:16:58
10Steven Furtado & Matt Ezrin (TPH Blacksmiths)1:19:13
11Chris Hooper & Jared Green (Speed Theory)1:51:26
12David Sloog & Wouter Sloog (Sloogriders)1:52:39
13Marco Aberson & Dennis Aberson (Simson)3:24:21
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TR7 Open Women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sandra Walter & Jean Ann Berkenpas (Xprezo-Borsao)5:13:06
2Alana Heise & Nicole Muzechka (Terrascape Racing)0:48:06
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TR7 Open Mixed
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Wendy Simms & Normon Thibault (Kona-Frontrunners)4:42:59
2Juan Garcia & Trish Grajczyk (JCT Racing / Deadgoat)0:01:09
3Tristan Rawlence & Anja Mcdonald (Hyperformance Santa Cruz NZ)0:06:50
4Margie Smith & Dirk Dorenbos (Wilson Mountain Sports)0:45:19
5Robin Bråtveit & Kari Bråtveit (Trondheim VK)0:54:53
6Meghan Smith & Jeffrey Underhill (C-Dale Bike)1:29:07
7Amy Gagnon & Marc Gagnon (Team Mito Canada)1:44:49
8Fortner, Anna Fortner & Ray Fortner (Hammer Nutrition California)1:46:39
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TR7 80+ Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Pat Doyle & Craig Bartlett (Deadgoat/Cafe)4:35:34
2Milan Spolc & Jiri Benes (Cycling point)1:07:03
3Brig Seidl & John Minerich (Alere Wellbeing)1:17:37
4Mathias Bolter & Freddy Bau (TBD)1:23:34
5Andrew Haliburton & Ted Lamb (On the Rocks)1:53:04
6David Hersey & Tiago Reis (Excuses R Us)5:24:26
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TR7 80+ Mixed
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Marco Carrer & Eva Carrer (Kraftwerk rockthisbike.ch)5:21:44
2Bill Benson & Jenna Benson (West Hawk Ymirs)1:17:25
3Brenda Fletcher & Robert Fletcher (Two Much Fun!)1:34:08
4Thomas Miller & Karen Libsch (Misery and Company)1:45:35
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TR7 100+ Open Gender
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Joe Mccarthy & Randal Walker (Mountaincruzers)5:34:50
2Darrell Jones & Tom Ebbern (LiveOutThere.com)0:04:44
3Harry Johnson & Andrew Seessel (Team Rockford/Clif)0:10:55
4Koos Pretorius & Willie Engelbrecht (Cape Town Coyotes)5:25:10
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TR4 Open Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Neal Kindree4:05:40
2Dougal Allan0:03:10
3Houston Peschl0:21:06
4Travis Hauck0:29:14
5Mark Shepherd0:37:05
6Matthew Spurgin0:48:17
7David Huntley0:51:57
8Mario Keller0:55:44
9Brent Rosvold0:55:45
10Evan Olauson1:01:28
11Eric Zilinski1:09:44
12David van Lopik1:12:48
13Michael McCutcheon1:14:06
14Shane Cooke1:18:57
15Michel Tessier1:21:33
16Jeff Smith1:43:46
17Liehann Loots1:52:03
18Sean Germaine2:16:53
19Gustavo Zermeno2:50:49
20Chris Evans2:53:48
21Viv Austin2:53:49
22Jason Dawson2:58:28
23Lennard Pretorius3:01:07
24Erik Silden3:14:22
25Wilson EdgarRow 24 - Cell 2
26Hans Dollerup3:14:54
27Kenneth Bjerg-NielsenRow 26 - Cell 2
28Raj Bhogal3:25:02
29Markus Jehl4:09:38
30Gonzalo Moya Torres5:54:20
31Russell SalonenRow 30 - Cell 2
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TR4 40+ Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jeff Neilson4:15:16
2Geoff Clark0:20:15
3Jon Gould0:38:33
4Rhett Losey0:39:52
5Mike Johnston0:43:14
6Tom Brodzinski0:46:08
7Ron Hewitson0:48:55
8Albie Malan0:58:09
9Bill Slater1:10:41
10Kirk Chambers1:15:18
11jody white1:17:05
12ian cartwright1:19:35
13Steven Phillips1:25:20
14russell thornton1:51:47
15Tom Hawks2:07:17
16Ken GermaineRow 15 - Cell 2
17John Berendt2:11:43
18Kevin Howlett2:20:13
19Gord Trainor2:31:55
20Steven Marsh2:42:51
21Walter Pavlic2:50:11
22Chris Johnston2:54:36
23Tor Gunnar Aksland3:00:31
24Jerry McClungRow 23 - Cell 2
25Erlend Kveinen3:00:33
26Johan AskelandRow 25 - Cell 2
27Sturle Omdal3:00:34
28David Verveda3:02:43
29kerry richards3:14:46
30Johan Henn3:29:55
31Ross Balharry3:45:08
32Robin Owens3:55:42
33David Roe4:03:22
34Rodrigo Zamora4:04:23
35Jon Harrison4:06:37
36Martin Zepler5:44:44
37Steve Walsh6:44:44
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TR4 Open Women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Kristin Walters6:35:42
2Ene Underwood0:37:58
3Riana Howlett0:44:49
4Jaime Salonen3:24:18
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TR7 Open Men general classification after stage 5
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jonathon Firth & Stefan Widmer (Honey stinger/ Rocky Mountain Bikes)13:36:06
2Greg Day & Colin Kerr (Rocky Mountain Bicycles Factory Team)0:33:23
3Gareth Jones & Andrew Royle (Redwood Singletrack)1:58:12
4Robin Dutton & Jay Latiff (Cowichan Cycles)2:34:08
5Rhys Bowen & Philip Johnson (The Spencer Chapman Duo)3:06:28
6Raul Perez Iratxeta & Jose Antonio Arenzana Padilla (Euskadi Extreme Team)3:37:09
7Morten Hofstad & Roar Øverås3:38:25
8Chris Hooper & Jared Green (Speed Theory)4:03:27
9Stepan Svacina & Michal Skoch (Rumovy Express)4:39:52
10Steven Furtado & Matt Ezrin (TPH Blacksmiths)4:40:11
11Sam Ervin & Mark Grzanka (Los Juan Rambos)5:23:32
12David Sloog & Wouter Sloog (Sloogriders)7:32:49
13Marco Aberson & Dennis Aberson (Simson)12:21:51
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TR7 Open Women general classification after stage 5
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sandra Walter & Jean Ann Berkenpas (Xprezo-Borsao)15:55:54
2Alana Heise & Nicole Muzechka (Terrascape Racing)2:56:01
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TR7 Open Mixed general classification after stage 5
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Wendy Simms & Normon Thibault (Kona-Frontrunners)15:14:17
2Tristan Rawlence & Anja Mcdonald (Hyperformance Santa Cruz NZ)0:19:21
3Juan Garcia & Trish Grajczyk (JCT Racing / Deadgoat)0:26:44
4Margie Smith & Dirk Dorenbos (Wilson Mountain Sports)1:48:40
5Robin Bråtveit & Kari Bråtveit (Trondheim VK)3:02:18
6Fortner, Anna Fortner & Ray Fortner (Hammer Nutrition California)3:56:52
7Meghan Smith & Jeffrey Underhill (C-Dale Bike)4:29:46
8Amy Gagnon & Marc Gagnon (Team Mito Canada)5:32:51
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TR7 80+ Men general classification after stage 5
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Pat Doyle & Craig Bartlett (Deadgoat/Cafe)14:55:47
2Milan Spolc & Jiri Benes (Cycling point)2:02:09
3Brig Seidl & John Minerich (Alere Wellbeing)4:21:53
4Mathias Bolter & Freddy Bau (TBD)4:50:18
5Andrew Haliburton & Ted Lamb (On the Rocks)8:23:07
6David Hersey & Tiago Reis (Excuses R Us)10:08:54
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TR7 80+ Mixed general classification after stage 5
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Marco Carrer & Eva Carrer (Kraftwerk rockthisbike.ch)17:30:26
2Bill Benson & Jenna Benson (West Hawk Ymirs)5:32:53
3Brenda Fletcher & Robert Fletcher (Two Much Fun!)5:39:46
4Thomas Miller & Karen Libsch (Misery and Company)6:32:41
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TR7 100+ Open Gender general classification after stage 5
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Darrell Jones & Tom Ebbern (LiveOutThere.com)18:22:14
2Harry Johnson & Andrew Seessel (Team Rockford/Clif)0:02:13
3Joe Mccarthy & Randal Walker (Mountaincruzers)0:11:22
4Koos Pretorius & Willie Engelbrecht (Cape Town Coyotes)14:17:15
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TR4 Open Men general classification after stage 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Neal Kindree6:29:59
2Dougal Allan0:05:03
3Houston Peschl0:31:20
4Travis Hauck0:44:34
5Mark Shepherd1:03:10
6Matthew Spurgin1:08:47
7Mario Keller1:16:15
8Brent Rosvold1:16:56
9David Huntley1:21:37
10Evan Olauson1:26:51
11Michel Tessier1:51:21
12David van Lopik1:51:37
13Eric Zilinski1:58:33
14Michael McCutcheon2:06:07
15Shane Cooke2:12:40
16Jeff Smith2:39:29
17Liehann Loots2:45:45
18Gustavo Zermeno3:59:30
19Sean Germaine4:02:52
20Lennard Pretorius4:10:13
21Chris Evans4:27:41
22Erik Silden4:45:19
23Wilson Edgar4:45:20
24Viv Austin4:45:47
25Hans Dollerup5:00:15
26Kenneth Bjerg-Nielsen5:00:16
27Jason Dawson5:03:21
28Raj Bhogal5:16:02
29Markus Jehl5:48:42
30Gonzalo Moya Torres8:02:47
31Russell Salonen8:30:33
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TR4 40+ Men general classification after stage 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jeff Neilson6:56:10
2Geoff Clark0:22:54
3Jon Gould0:41:36
4Mike Johnston0:59:39
5Rhett Losey1:01:59
6Tom Brodzinski1:03:09
7Ron Hewitson1:06:42
8Albie Malan1:23:45
9jody white1:34:43
10Bill Slater1:37:31
11Kirk Chambers1:39:39
12Steven Phillips1:51:22
13ian cartwright2:03:30
14russell thornton2:31:34
15Tom Hawks3:04:11
16John Berendt3:08:41
17Kevin Howlett3:23:17
18Ken Germaine3:36:41
19Gord Trainor3:40:05
20Steven Marsh3:53:50
21Walter Pavlic3:55:24
22Chris Johnston4:13:46
23Tor Gunnar Aksland4:30:16
24Erlend Kveinen4:30:19
25Sturle Omdal4:30:22
26Johan AskelandRow 25 - Cell 2
27David Verveda4:32:06
28Johan Henn4:38:51
29Jerry McClung4:45:18
30kerry richards4:51:52
31Ross Balharry4:59:48
32Robin Owens5:16:29
33David Roe5:24:09
34Rodrigo Zamora5:43:58
35Jon Harrison6:27:08
36Steve Walsh7:00:26
37Martin Zepler9:20:19
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TR4 Open Women general classification after stage 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Kristin Walters10:00:36
2Ene Underwood1:06:17
3Riana Howlett1:19:50
4Jaime Salonen4:59:56

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