July 31, 2012 (Fernie, BC) – Day three of the 2012 TransRockies Challenge began in a similar fashion to the previous two. Exceptional weather blessed the field and the riders enjoyed a quick spin from Fernie proper up to the starting at line at Fernie Alpine Resort. Stage 3 would take the masses 31km from this renowned mountain bike playground to the finish at luxurious Island Lake Lodge. Today would be another day of epic climbs with the high alpine views offering a reward that riders would never forget.
The starter pistol sounded and the usual suspects sped quickly to the front. By midpoint the boys from Team Specialized, Neal Kindree and Evan McNeely along with Chris Sheppard of Rocky Mountain Factory Team, built a solid 5 minute lead on the rest of the field. Sheppard started the day down 5:21 to Kindree in the TR3 category and dropped the hammer on the final climb in an effort to close the gap. The lead built by Kindree over the first two days proved too much to overcome and, while Sheppard took the stage win by 1:46, Kindree would take the TR3 Open Men’s title. Mical Dyck continued her domination of the Women’s Open field and captured the overall with a third straight stage win. The 40+ TR3 field podium and overall remained unchanged as Ian Auld, Jeff Neilson and John O’Shannassy retained the same 1,2,3 positions of the previous two stages.
With two days down and 3 to go, the TR7 field was just starting to warm up. The effort of 1800 metres of climbing would pale in comparison to the reward of unending views. Women’s Open team of Jean Anne Berkenpas and Sandra Walter continued to widen the gap over their 2nd place competitors. Today Berkenpas and Walter would clock in at 2:47:45, over 35 minutes ahead Alana Heise and Nicole Muzechka of Terrascape Racing. The Men’s Open offered up a similar story as team Planetfoods/Honey stinger stretched their lead to 12:35 with a 4:37 victory over Greg Day and Colin Kerr. Normon Thibault and Wendy Simms continued to lead the Open Mixed category with a 3rd straight win pulling in 56 seconds ahead of Tristan Rawlence and Anja McDonald.
After a shake up in the standings on stage two, the team of Pat Doyle and Craig Bartlett, captured a 2nd straight win and padded their overall lead in the 80+ Men’s. The duo now leads 2nd place team Milan Spolc and Jiri Benes by nearly 56 minutes. Swiss husband and wife duo Marco and Eva Carrer came screaming down Mt. Baldy to stretch their 80+ lead to a substantial 3:20. Harry Johnson and Andrew Seessel were able to retain the lead they picked up on Stage 2 in the 100+ Open category with a 2nd victory in a row.
For complete results and images please log on HERE.
Stage 4 Preview
North Folk Recreation Area to Little Elbow
Kicking off the TR4 portion of the event, stage 4 starts with a bus transfer from Fernie to North Fork Recreation Area. This strategically placed transfer puts the athletes at the start of the best riding in the Rockies. From North Fork riders head south on the Gorge Creek Road and to the base of the biggest climb of the day to the top of Volcano Ridge. A rolling descent on trails brings you to the spectacular Black Rock Canyon. Then it’s onto the last climb of the day on Wildhorse trail, and a blast down one of the best descents of the week. Stage Animation.
Who’s in the Field?
The TransRockies Challenge is tough enough on a ‘regular’ bike. This year we have two teams in the field who have chosen the extended wheelbase of a tandem. Anyone who has ridden the tight trails of Fernie knows how difficult they are to navigate. Lengthening the wheelbase and adding an additional rider certainly ups the difficulty factor. As Robert Fletcher, riding with wife Brenda, stated, ‘Those trails are twisty’. Yes, indeed.
Thomas Miller and Karen Libsch have been riding tandem together since they first started dating 20 years ago. According to Karen, some have been known to call a tandem a ‘divorcycle’. For her the trust and communication that comes with sharing two wheels was what ‘sealed our relationship’. After an untold number of rides, and two TransRockies, these two continue to build a bond that only tandem riders can ever truly know.
2013 Registration Opens Friday!
Congrats on a great effort TR3 riders! We hope to see you and your friends next year. 2013 registration opens Friday with $200 off our lowest Early Bird price for TR3, TR4, TR7 team and the new TR7 Solo entries. Sale ends August 10th.
Registration opens HERE at noon mountain standard time. Event details can be found HERE.
