Sheppard, McQuaid continue winning ways at BC Bike Race

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Racers awoke to an idyllic setting with waves gently lapping against the sandy Powell River shoreline and the Vancouver Island mountain range reflecting in the placid Pacific waters on the horizon. It was a fitting farewell to the most picturesque Base Camp location BC Bike Race has seen.

Another scenic ferry ride kicked off the day, as a small BC Ferries vessel transported the racers and race crew to the stage 4 start location in Earls Cove. As the ferry pulled up to the dock, the start location was just metres away. Racers walked off the ferry, located their bikes and warmed up for a big day of singletrack.

Stage 4 was the first point-to-point stage in this year's race. Epic riders journeyed 62km from the ferry terminal to the finish line in the centre of Sechelt. Approximately 10-15km of singletrack on this course was hand built just in the last two years.

Rod Camposano, the Course Director for this stage and the next, has a long history of trail building and course design and is known for rewarding tough climbs with outrageously fun swoopy singletrack. Today didn't disappoint. As Camposano stood trailside at various points along the route, racers thanked him - and others jokingly cursed him - for the terrific ride. Many racers proclaimed Day Four to be their favourite stage. "Despite the tough climbs, the downhill was amazing!" said one racer as he stopped to shake Camposano's hand on course.

These trails didn't cause any major shake-ups on the leader board, but there are some nailbitingly close contests developing, including the mere five-second spread separating the solo masters men. Chris Sheppard (Rocky Mountain Bikes) still holds the course record for the fastest time, though there were less than three minutes separating him from the next solo man, Jason Sager (Jamis) on the day.

Alana Alana Heise & Kate Aardal (Terralandscape-Hardcore Racing) won the stage among the duo women's teams in 4:27:29 and Geoff Kabush & Catharine Pendrel (Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain/Luna) won the mixed duo category stage in 4:41:06. Kabush & Pendrel continue to lead the mixed category as do Brandi Helstermen & Cathy Zeglinski (Team Northlands Medical Clinic).

Kris Sneddon and Barry Wicks (Team Kona) won the men's duo category stage and also lead the overall in their category.

Chris Sheppard (Team Rocky Mountain Bikes) was the first solo man across the line in 2:29:31. He was folowed by Jason Sager and Colin Kerr. Sheppard and McQuaid are the leaders among the solo men and women.

A long, multi-day, high-mileage event makes bike mechanicals inevitable and fine-tuning absolutely necessary. Up until this year, racers had to tend to their own mechanical issues on course. New for 2010, the Shimano team has being setting up a daily "on course" service area at the second aid station. Countless riders have taken advantage of the new service offering - from chain lubes to funky shifters, from broken chains to snapped derailleurs.

Stage 5

The last leg of Sunshine Coast singletrack is next. Always a standout with riders of all levels, Highway 103 serves up a 7km long descent into the BC Ferries Langdale terminal where they'll blast across the finish line, wash up their bikes and hop onto the final ferry trip of the race.

Stage 4 Results

General classification after stage 4