Sneddon and Wicks widen the gap

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Stage three of the 2010 TransRockies was officially the most remote day of the event with a route that travelled deep into some of the wildest, most spectacular terrain in the lower Canadian Rockies and included a new crossing of the Great Divide that dropped riders in a place more remote and further from civilization than many of them had been before.

The weather added to the untamed feel of the day with swirling, scudding dark clouds that moved in and out of the area rapidly threatening rain but not delivering. The remote Etherington Creek Campground was subject to the same weather with clear sky thunderclaps and ominous clouds that, luckily, did little more than sweep past the valley campground located at more than 1600 metres above sea level.

While the open men's and open women's standings had been relatively static over the first two stages, the open mixed and 80+ men's divisions were much more open and stage three continued the trend with a change of overall leader in the open mixed division and another tight three-way finish in the 80+ men setting up a dramatic last half of the race.

After two straight stage wins in the open mixed division, Gretchen Reeves and Cannon Shockley (Tokyo Joes) suffered through a tough stage three, giving up 15 minutes to stage winners and new overall leaders Mical Dyck and Jeff Neilson (Terrscape/Trek Canada), the 2009 TransRockies champions. Normon Thibault and Wendy Simms moved one step up the podium to second but remain in third place overall.

In the 80+ men's division, 2009 champions Czech Masters won their second straight stage with a narrow four-minute gap over the British Duo of Team Mule Bar/Abergavenny RC, who are hanging tight and preparing for a big push to overcome their eight-minute overall deficit on the more technical stages where they feel they have an advantage.

In the open men's division, the Kona duo of Kris Sneddon and Barry Wicks extended their lead with a dominant ride to grab their third straight stage win. Making their first appearance on the podium were Team Timex/Sugoi duo Will Kelsay and Matt Boobar, a pair of elite multisport athletes who put their running legs to good use on the big climb to place second on the stage.

This finish was even more impressive considering Will's broken derailleur hanger that forced him to turn it into an emergency single speed for the last part of the stage. Kelsay, who also completed last year's race is seeking to become the first athlete to finish the TransRockies Bike and TransRockies Run double in the same year.

The open women's category maintained the status quo with the Terrascape/Deadgoat Racing duo of Alana Heise and Trish Graczyk winning their third straight stage over the Matching Jerseys Scallion sisters duo. In the 100+ category, the Mountaincruzers (Joe McCarthy/Randy Walker) have established a big lead and look like they're going to run away with the overall. Multiple TransRockies finishers Simon Parker and Jim Seethram are having their best ride yet and sit in second place overall in the 100+ Division.

After the wildest ride of the year, the TransRockies riders head out into the spectacular trails of Kananaskis Country for stage four. The style of riding will change and you can expect the top finishers to shuffle again. It would be a surprise if at least one or two sets of leaders' jerseys don't move again after the day.

Plaxton and Emmett wrap up TR3 titles

The final stage of the 2010 TR3 took riders from the civilised surroundings of Elkford, British Columbia, deep into the wilds of the Canadian Rockies and represented the last chance for the closely bunched top riders in the open men's division to move up in their divisions and grab more of the UCI points and cash on offer.

Having split the first two stages, Max Plaxton (Shoair/Specialized) and Cory Wallace (KONA) were battling with Adam Craig for the overall title with everything to ride for on the final day. The stage had three distinct phases; a long rolling approach climb followed by a sheer 1000-plus metre grind up to the day's high point at the crossing of the Great Divide and finally a raw, steep and technical 15km descent to the finish line.

Off the start, pace groups quickly formed to better check off the 40km until the steepest sections began. Plaxton, Craig and Wallace rode together until the 35km mark when Wallace and Plaxton upped the tempo, dropping Craig just a couple of kilometres before the second feed station.

They rode and pushed together up the climb but disaster struck Wallace on the roughest early part of the technical descent when he cut the sidewall on his lightweight tubeless tyre and had to stop for an emergency trailside repair. "I was worried the whole time on the descent and thought about stopping to put tubes in my tyres," said Wallace.

Wallace was able to hold off a rapidly closing Matt Hadley (Canadian National Team) to grab second place in a time of 3:35:10. He also moved up to second place in the overall standings when Adam Craig also struggled and ended up finishing fourth, 12 minutes behind Wallace but grabbing third in the overall standings. The top five was rounded out by Matt Hadley and Carl Decker (Team Giant).

Free to descend more conservatively, Plaxton got to the bottom unscathed and rode across the finish line solo in 3:30:04 to confirm his second stage win and the overall title. "I felt great through the whole race and am looking forward to getting home for a quick break and another training block before the World Cup Finals and World Championships," said Plaxton.

"I really want to thank the organisers of the TransRockies for sanctioning the event with the UCI. It's really important for guys who race world cups like me and Adam (Craig) to be able to get some UCI points and get better start line positions at those races."

After two dominant performances in stages one and two, it was no surprise that Kelli Emmett tore through stage three to a clear 20-minute win and victory in the overall standings. Rosemarie Gerspacher had held down second place since stage one and she again finished second on stage to confirm her overall placing.

Carrie Edwards grabbed fourth on stage three to confirm third place in the overall standings, holding off a hard-charging Heidi Volpe who managed to move up from eighth on stage one and finish in fourth overall, just two minutes ahead of local hero Christine Misseghers of Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, who grabbed fifth place overall.

In the master men (40+) division, Alec Petro from Massachusetts held onto the lead he had grabbed on stage two with another stage victory and strong performance to hold off endurance sport legend Calvin Zaryski of Calgary, who was able to take second place overall from fellow Calgarian and first stage winner Geoff Clark, who held onto third place overall despite a tough ride which saw him finish half an hour behind the winners.

For some TR3 riders, three days in the Rockies was more than enough but many more will board the shuttles after the awards ceremony wishing that they could stick around for another day or two of epic scenery, great trails and unbeatable camaraderie. After a sellout in its second year, the TR3 is bound to be even more in demand in 2011 when the TransRockies will celebrate its 10th anniversary.

TransRockies stage 3

TR3 stage 3

TransRockies general classification after stage 3

TR3 final general classification