The GearJammer is Colin Kerr's kind of race. The North Shore rider, and new record-holder, powered through the 45-km technical romp with a time of two hours, 22 minutes and 54 seconds to beat Matt Martindill's previous best time of 2:26:44 set in 2005. Whistler's Matt Ryan also beat the record with a time of 2:23:16.And with the success of the fifth annual event as a feather in his cap, the race's creator, Curtis Roberts, announced he's passing the reigns of race director to another, yet-to-be-determined organizer.The GearJammer boasts nearly 70 per cent singletrack - the most Kerr has ever raced at one time. The seemingly endless web of trails is a big part of what is propelling him to move here within the year, he said."麻豆社国产has my favourite trails," said Kerr, who has been commuting for 麻豆社国产Off Road Cycling Association (SORCA) toonie races this season. "That's probably why I did well, because I'm a really good technical rider. I'm not so good on the long fire road climbs."Kerr led the group of 212 riders through most of the race. Ryan managed to pass Kerr on a couple of the climbs, but couldn't hold on through the descents. In hot pursuit entering the Powerhouse Plunge, Ryan crashed when his front tire washed out in the dirt."Colin was killing it out there," said Ryan. "I was following his wheel for awhile but it's pretty easy to get dusted out, and once I fell he got out of sight. Unfortunately, it's hard to push when people disappear. "It was a good rivalry out there today. I was stoked."Ryan placed eighth in the seven-day BC Bike Race last month so he's presently geared a bit more for long distances. With a little more time he could have caught Kerr, he said.Kerr agreed and said the key to winning technical races is budgeting your effort perfectly so that the tank empties just as you cross the finish line."I think if the race was five minutes longer I would have fallen over," he laughed. "I was pretty tired by the end of it."Don Ross Secondary School cycling coach Olivier Gendron recorded the best local finish with a time of 2:45:12. The time earned him 14th overall and second place in the Male 30-34 category. North Vancouver's Annie Kvick was the first female racer across the line, 72nd overall, with a time of 3:17:46. Squamish's Stacey Spencer followed her as the second best female with a time of 3:21:27, 82nd overall.Roberts said the last-minute change to the end of the course went over very well. To make the final kilometre as good as the rest of the race, Roberts avoided the Smoke Bluffs and sent riders up to Hospital Hill, through the gully and around the Blind Channel to the finish line at Rose Park."The racers who I talked to all said it was way better," he said, adding that he was a bit surprised that two racers broke the record. "[The course] was dry so I expected it to be fast but there were sections of it that were pretty crumbly and I thought that would have slowed people down. Clearly it didn't."Roberts's retirement as race director means he will finally get a chance to race the course himself after creating it out of all his favourite trails back in 2003. "I'll race it until I fall down and hurt myself," joked Roberts, who has raced the Test of Metal six times. "It'll be interesting. There may be blood involved."
