It was a grueling day for the 167 riders competing in the BC Cup cross-country finals and memorial Ken Quon Re/Max Corridor Cup Sunday (Aug. 8), and in the end, Squamish's contingent made a strong showing as four local elites earned podium finishes in three categories and one rider took fifth.
The Ken Quon Ride On held its fifth annual day of riding in Quon's memory.
The much-loved local IGA manager, bike guide and volunteer died of a congenital heart condition in 2005 after collapsing in Lost Lake Park while leading a group through the trails.
The day of events included the BC Cup and Corridor Cup, a one-lap Toonie-style race and family ride to the memorial dedicated to Quon.
The events and accompanying silent auction and raffle raised about $8,000 for local emergency services equipment.
The BC Cup was a challenging course by all accounts, as Lost Lake Park presented a healthy helping of "real mountain biking," according to overall winner Colin Kerr. Described by several riders as "unrelenting," the course had plenty of rocks, roots and bridges to keep riders thinking and reacting fast.
"It's such a good, solid, technical course. It's real mountain biking, it's nice to see," said the Lions Bay resident.
Kerr closed the 2010 B.C. Cup cross-country series with his win in the Elite Men's division, edging out North Vancouver's Kevin Calhoun and Prince George's Sullivan Reed to be the first man across the line, finishing three laps in one hour, 44 minutes, 46 seconds.
Squamish's Dwayne Kress came in fifth, and joined forces with Kerr to take the top spot in the Corridor Cup team challenge, giving Kress a second cup win in as many years with the duo's combined time of 3:32:20.
Squamish's Brandi Heisterman took first place in the Elite Women's category, with Whistler's Joanna Harrington settling for second after working her way back into contention following a slow start.
Harrington overtook Maple Ridge's Jean Ann McKirdy, who last week was named to Canada's team for the 2010 world championships.
"I feel Joanna and Jean Ann technically are quite fast. They've been doing this for longer, are more experienced than me. I just wanted to put some time on them, and I powered all the hills, where I feel that I'm strong, so I charged up those, and then just tried to stay loose and controlled on the descents," Heisterman said.
"Brandi's riding super strong, she deserved it," Harrington said. "I had a really shitty start. I was just playing catch-up the rest of the race, but she totally deserved it."
Heisterman also hoisted the Corridor Cup along with Whistler's Cathy Zeglinski for Team Northlands Medical Clinic.
Squamish's Lauren Rosser is continuing her stellar season with another win in the Junior Women's category.
Having just recently been chosen to compete 2010 UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships, where over 850 competitors from 50 nations will compete at Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec from Sept. 1 to 5, Rosser said she chose to pace herself accordingly.
"This is pre-race prep for worlds, so I decided to do what I did at worlds and keep a really strong pace and not let up. That kind of worked for me."
The Junior Men's section also had proud 麻豆社国产representation with Jereomy Pelletier and Nick Bruce taking second and third respectively.
