Firth and Widmer claim overall TransRockies TR7 victory

Riders were delivered to Rafter 6 Ranch wet and battle weary at the end of the penultimate stage. As the evening approached, the clouds gave way to blue skies and the hope that the final day of racing would once again be bathed in sunlight. Overnight, however, the clouds returned along with the rain. By morning on the final day of racing the downpour had begun again. An 8:30 am start sent the field off from Rafter 6 for the last stretch to main street Canmore.

This stage would be one of more enjoyable of the week with just over 45km of riding and 1200 metres of elevation gain. Early on, TR4 Open Men's leader Neal Kindree would suffer a flat tire and be forced to work his way through roughly 80 riders in an effort to catch the leaders. By the time he made the turn for home, he had passed all but two: Greg Day and Colin Kerr of Rocky Mountain Factory team. Day and Kerr would take the stage win for the TR7 Open Men and seal a second place overall finish behind Planetfoods/Honeystinger riders Jon Firth and Stef Widmer.

Kindree took his fourth straight stage win and the overall Open Men's TR4 crown to go with his TR3 win earlier in the week.

Fortunately for the rest of the field, the weather began to quickly improve as the morning progressed. By noon the sun was out and temperatures were rising into the teens from an overnight low of five degrees Celsius. Jeff Neilson, TR4 40+ Men's overall leader, finished his seventh TransRockies atop the podium in his class.

The Open Women's leader, Kristin Walters, continued her winning ways with her fourth stage win capturing the overall title.

There's nothing quite like the feeling of finishing on Main Street Canmore after seven days of the TransRockies Challenge. The smiles were ear to ear as the field continued to work its way across the line after a stop on the trails of the Canmore Nordic Centre.

TR7 Open Women`s team of Jean Ann Berkenpas and Sandra Walter hit Main Street with their seventh straight stage victory thus securing their overall title.

Just as dominant, Marco and Eva Carrer of Switzerland, matched the Open Women's ladies stage win count to take home the 80+ Mixed overall.

The 80+ Open Men's team composed of Craig Bartlett and Pat Doyle were able to take five of seven stage wins and finished in Canmore the overall winners.

On only one occasion in the 2012 edition of the TransRockies Challenge did Normon Thibault and Wendy Simms not reach the top of the podium. Today they claimed their sixth win of the week and the Open Mixed crown.

100+ Open leaders Darell Jones and Tom Ebbern picked up where they left off on stage 6. By taking their fifth win, they secured their first place overall position.

As always, The 2012 TransRockies Challenge lived up to its name. Early on, the Fernie route tested riders with heat, long climbs and technical descents. Leaving the relative comfort of hotel living for Kananaskis camp life brought a change in the weather and the opportunity for riders to test themselves under less than ideal conditions. A little bit of everything from North America's original, epic, singletrack adventure.

Full Results

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TR7 Open Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Greg Day & Colin Kerr (Rocky Mountain Bicycles Factory Team)2:21:05
2Jonathon Firth & Stefan Widmer (Honey stinger/ Rocky Mountain Bikes)0:04:22
3Gareth Jones & Andrew Royle (Redwood Singletrack)0:16:55
4Robin Dutton & Jay Latiff (Cowichan Cycles)0:21:20
5Raul Perez Iratxeta & Jose Antonio Arenzana Padilla (Euskadi Extreme Team)0:30:27
6Rhys Bowen & Philip Johnson (The Spencer Chapman Duo)0:32:34
7Stepan Svacina & Michal Skoch (Rumovy Express)0:43:14
8Chris Hooper & Jared Green (Speed Theory)0:44:34
9Morten Hofstad & Roar Øverås0:47:56
10Steven Furtado & Matt Ezrin (TPH Blacksmiths)0:48:34
11Sam Ervin & Mark Grzanka (Los Juan Rambos)0:54:01
12David Sloog & Wouter Sloog (Sloogriders)1:10:02
13Marco Aberson & Dennis Aberson (Simson)1:50:31
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TR7 Open Women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sandra Walter & Jean Ann Berkenpas (Xprezo-Borsao)2:55:27
2Alana Heise & Nicole Muzechka (Terrascape Racing)0:26:15
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TR7 Open Mixed
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Wendy Simms & Normon Thibault (Kona-Frontrunners)2:40:54
2Juan Garcia & Trish Grajczyk (JCT Racing / Deadgoat)0:01:08
3Tristan Rawlence & Anja Mcdonald (Hyperformance Santa Cruz NZ)0:03:08
4Margie Smith & Dirk Dorenbos (Wilson Mountain Sports)0:18:22
5Meghan Smith & Jeffrey Underhill (C-Dale Bike)0:25:48
6Robin Bråtveit & Kari Bråtveit (Trondheim VK)0:28:38
7Fortner, Anna Fortner & Ray Fortner (Hammer Nutrition California)0:34:06
8Amy Gagnon & Marc Gagnon (Team Mito Canada)0:36:07
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TR7 80+ Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Pat Doyle & Craig Bartlett (Deadgoat/Cafe)2:39:38
2Milan Spolc & Jiri Benes (Cycling point)0:10:55
3Brig Seidl & John Minerich (Alere Wellbeing)0:30:33
4Mathias Bolter & Freddy Bau (TBD)0:38:11
5Andrew Haliburton & Ted Lamb (On the Rocks)0:49:27
6David Hersey & Tiago Reis (Excuses R Us)1:11:33
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TR7 80+ Mixed
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Marco Carrer & Eva Carrer (Kraftwerk rockthisbike.ch)3:01:07
2Bill Benson & Jenna Benson (West Hawk Ymirs)0:58:45
3Brenda Fletcher & Robert Fletcher (Two Much Fun!)1:03:45
4Thomas Miller & Karen Libsch (Misery and Company)1:17:06
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TR7 100+ Open Gender
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Darrell Jones & Tom Ebbern (LiveOutThere.com)3:09:59
2Joe Mccarthy & Randal Walker (Mountaincruzers)0:14:59
3Harry Johnson & Andrew Seessel (Team Rockford/Clif)0:15:00
4Koos Pretorius & Willie Engelbrecht (Cape Town Coyotes)1:21:32
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TR4 Open Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Neal Kindree2:21:06
2Dougal Allan0:05:44
3Houston Peschl0:11:57
4Travis Hauck0:12:34
5Mario Keller0:16:14
6Matthew Spurgin0:17:08
7Brent Rosvold0:17:24
8Eric Zilinski0:19:08
9David Huntley0:19:59
11Evan Olauson0:23:56
12Mark Shepherd0:25:52
13Michael McCutcheon0:36:38
14David van Lopik0:37:32
15Liehann Loots0:44:43
16Sean Germaine0:50:26
17Jeff Smith0:56:04
18Kenneth Bjerg-Nielsen1:04:27
19Chris Evans1:06:31
20Shane Cooke1:15:17
21Lennard Pretorius1:22:57
22Erik Silden1:27:32
23Wilson EdgarRow 21 - Cell 2
24Hans Dollerup1:29:22
25Viv Austin1:35:58
26Gustavo Zermeno1:37:37
27Raj Bhogal1:38:50
28Jason Dawson1:43:54
29Markus Jehl2:02:58
30Russell Salonen2:06:04
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TR4 40+ Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Geoff Clark2:34:11
2Jeff Neilson0:00:02
3Michel Tessier0:03:08
4Jon Gould0:06:03
5Rhett Losey0:07:52
6Mike Johnston0:17:58
7Ron Hewitson0:23:26
8Albie Malan0:26:23
9jody white0:29:37
10Bill Slater0:29:48
11ian cartwright0:34:20
12Ken Germaine0:37:21
13russell thornton0:39:14
14Kevin Howlett0:45:18
15Tom Hawks1:02:39
16Chris Johnston1:11:35
17Ross Balharry1:13:46
18kerry richards1:24:39
19Walter Pavlic1:30:48
20Tor Gunnar Aksland1:34:38
21Erlend KveinenRow 20 - Cell 2
22Johan AskelandRow 21 - Cell 2
23Sturle Omdal1:34:39
24Steven Marsh1:40:04
25Jerry McClung1:40:21
26Robin Owens1:51:49
27Johan Henn1:52:58
28Jon Harrison1:55:01
29Rodrigo Zamora2:05:41
30Martin Zepler2:28:03
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TR4 Open Women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Kristin Walters3:29:22
2Ene Underwood0:22:07
3Riana Howlett0:46:04
4Jaime Salonen0:57:46
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TR7 Open Men final general classification
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jonathon Firth & Stefan Widmer (Honey stinger/ Rocky Mountain Bikes)18:49:37
2Greg Day & Colin Kerr (Rocky Mountain Bicycles Factory Team)0:26:17
3Gareth Jones & Andrew Royle (Redwood Singletrack)2:29:21
4Robin Dutton & Jay Latiff (Cowichan Cycles)3:26:03
5Rhys Bowen & Philip Johnson (The Spencer Chapman Duo)4:07:41
6Raul Perez Iratxeta & Jose Antonio Arenzana Padilla (Euskadi Extreme Team)4:25:09
7Morten Hofstad & Roar Øverås4:59:14
8Chris Hooper & Jared Green (Speed Theory)5:37:55
9Stepan Svacina & Michal Skoch (Rumovy Express)6:02:21
10Steven Furtado & Matt Ezrin (TPH Blacksmiths)6:44:52
11Sam Ervin & Mark Grzanka (Los Juan Rambos)7:11:36
12David Sloog & Wouter Sloog (Sloogriders)9:43:52
13Marco Aberson & Dennis Aberson (Simson)16:31:40
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TR7 Open Women final general classification
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sandra Walter & Jean Ann Berkenpas (Xprezo-Borsao)22:08:04
2Alana Heise & Nicole Muzechka (Terrascape Racing)4:30:46
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TR7 Open Mixed final general classification
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Wendy Simms & Normon Thibault (Kona-Frontrunners)21:01:31
2Tristan Rawlence & Anja Mcdonald (Hyperformance Santa Cruz NZ)0:26:06
3Juan Garcia & Trish Grajczyk (JCT Racing / Deadgoat)0:37:41
4Margie Smith & Dirk Dorenbos (Wilson Mountain Sports)2:30:32
5Robin Bråtveit & Kari Bråtveit (Trondheim VK)4:05:46
6Fortner, Anna Fortner & Ray Fortner (Hammer Nutrition California)5:18:24
7Meghan Smith & Jeffrey Underhill (C-Dale Bike)6:06:12
8Amy Gagnon & Marc Gagnon (Team Mito Canada)6:58:39
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TR7 80+ Men final general classification
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Pat Doyle & Craig Bartlett (Deadgoat/Cafe)20:41:58
2Milan Spolc & Jiri Benes (Cycling point)2:14:45
3Brig Seidl & John Minerich (Alere Wellbeing)5:40:07
4Mathias Bolter & Freddy Bau (TBD)6:52:03
5Andrew Haliburton & Ted Lamb (On the Rocks)10:17:09
6David Hersey & Tiago Reis (Excuses R Us)12:51:06
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TR7 80+ Mixed final general classification
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Marco Carrer & Eva Carrer (Kraftwerk rockthisbike.ch)24:07:44
2Bill Benson & Jenna Benson (West Hawk Ymirs)7:35:10
3Brenda Fletcher & Robert Fletcher (Two Much Fun!)8:58:32
4Thomas Miller & Karen Libsch (Misery and Company)9:03:12
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TR7 100+ Open Gender final general classification
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Darrell Jones & Tom Ebbern (LiveOutThere.com)25:10:53
2Harry Johnson & Andrew Seessel (Team Rockford/Clif)0:25:05
3Joe Mccarthy & Randal Walker (Mountaincruzers)0:54:29
4Koos Pretorius & Willie Engelbrecht (Cape Town Coyotes)14:04:35
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TR4 Open Men final general classification
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Neal Kindree11:33:05
2Dougal Allan0:15:43
3Houston Peschl1:01:11
4Travis Hauck1:05:10
5Mark Shepherd1:52:59
6Matthew Spurgin2:01:47
7Mario Keller2:06:08
8Brent Rosvold2:11:35
9David Huntley2:17:17
11Evan Olauson2:50:58
12Eric Zilinski2:51:59
13David van Lopik3:10:50
14Michael McCutcheon3:31:47
15Liehann Loots4:34:20
16Shane Cooke4:38:36
17Jeff Smith4:39:20
18Sean Germaine6:04:31
19Chris Evans6:54:58
20Gustavo Zermeno7:24:28
21Lennard Pretorius7:42:23
22Kenneth Bjerg-Nielsen7:56:16
23Hans Dollerup8:21:11
24Viv Austin8:24:01
25Erik Silden8:33:58
26Wilson Edgar8:34:00
27Jason Dawson8:57:00
28Raj Bhogal9:40:06
29Markus Jehl10:05:20
30Russell Salonen18:54:37
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TR4 40+ Men final general classification
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jeff Neilson12:46:32
2Jon Gould0:36:26
3Geoff Clark1:05:52
4Rhett Losey1:09:23
5Mike Johnston1:15:08
6Michel Tessier1:20:07
7Ron Hewitson1:32:35
8Albie Malan2:09:33
9jody white2:23:20
10Bill Slater2:39:06
11ian cartwright3:07:51
12russell thornton3:51:03
13Ken Germaine4:51:04
14Kevin Howlett4:56:28
15Tom Hawks5:36:27
16Steven Marsh6:49:45
17Chris Johnston6:50:23
18Walter Pavlic7:11:02
19Tor Gunnar Aksland7:34:15
20Erlend Kveinen7:34:19
21Johan Askeland7:34:22
22Sturle Omdal7:34:23
23Ross Balharry7:55:36
24Jerry McClung7:59:35
25Johan Henn8:11:43
26Robin Owens8:36:55
27kerry richards9:17:43
28Jon Harrison10:33:00
29Rodrigo Zamora15:33:28
30Martin Zepler19:32:11
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TR4 Open Women final general classification
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Kristin Walters18:12:07
2Ene Underwood1:32:04
3Riana Howlett2:41:22
4Jaime Salonen12:15:33

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