Women's leaders Taint Slo (Image credit: Jason Berry)
With six long days of racing behind them, BC Bike Race competitors were given no break on the final stage seven. They had to dig deep right out of the start gate on this day as almost 300m of vertical - translating into at least 15 minutes of climbing - welcomed them to the course for one last day of competition, after which the race's final GC winners would be decided.
As the saying goes, riders had to "earn their turns", and the investment in the uphill grind paid off in the reward of Whistler's best singletrack offerings. By the time racers hit the undulating 3km of trail running alongside the Cheakamus River, grins had spread from ear to ear. The day would be hard-fought for many riders in the pack, but the reward of crossing the finish line at Spruce Grove Park would make it all worthwhile for the hundreds of racers.
Seamus McGrath and Chris Shepard (Team Old School) proved to be the top finishers for the final day, although they were not competing for the overall, and there weren't many surprises in the remaining categories. The fastest women were Sara Bresnick-Zocchi and Kelli Emmett (Team Taint Slo); the top mixed were Wendy Simms and Normon Thibault (Team Kona - Riding in Memory of Denis Fontaine) in 3:37:23.
When all was said and done, Kona's Kris Sneddon and Barry Wicks took the men's GC and Taint Slo's Sara Bresnick-Zocchi and Kelli Emmett won the women's GC.
See Cyclingnews' full coverage of the BC Bike Race or read daily diaries from Jason Berry, Jon Posner, Chris Eatough and Jeff Schalk.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
