BC Bike Race Stage 4 Results

Riders had to catch the ferry at dawn to make it to the Stage 4 Start

July 1, 2008 - Sechelt, BC - BC Bike Race staff showed their national pride by donning red and white garb to reflect Canada Day – the national holiday that celebrates Canadian independence from Britain. Red Canadian flag and ‘BOB’ (bear on bike) logo tattoos found their way onto many racers, staff and volunteers alike. With beautiful hot, sunny weather, why not celebrate Canada Day with a 42-mile mountain bike ride along the Sunshine Coast?

Though Stage 4 officially started at 11 a.m., the 400+ racers of the BC Bike Race were roused early from bed to begin their journey from Cumberland to the Sunshine Coast start line. The first three stages were all based on Vancouver Island, which is separated from the mainland by a deep, narrow body of water called the Georgia Strait. Currently, the only way to cross the Strait is by boat. And that’s where the daunting 4:30 a.m. wake up call came in to play.

To reach the start line at Earl’s Cove, racers were treated to two ferry sailings and one terrific breakfast facilitated by BC Ferries, the Bike Race Presenting sponsor. Amid pristine skies and calm seas, the first ferry and all the racers participated in the BCBR “Money Shot” – riders were permitted onto the topmost deck of the boat, normally off-limits for passengers. At 7:15, a helicopter circled overhead to capture an aerial shot of the racers.

Once off the ferry, racers crept up to the start line where they would trek up the hill out of the ferry terminal and up into beautiful singletrack trails. The Stage 4 course starts by winding its way down the Suncoast Trail, then turns into a meshing of old (circa 1906) logging roads, newer logging roads and tight, tough singletrack that leads into Sechelt.

The “home field advantage” appears to have contributed to a shake-up among the race leaders on the Sunshine Coast today. For the first three stages of BC Bike Race, Chris Sneddon and Barry Witz (Kona) have maintained a solid foothold in second place overall, while the leader’s jersey changed hands daily. That changed at the end of 37 miles of tight, twisting singletrack between Earls Cove and Sechelt.

Sunshine Coast native Chris Sneddon cut his teeth on these trails and has trained on them so much that he almost knows every pebble, and that advantage proved invaluable today. The front pack of riders had ripped through to the daily finish line at a blistering pace thanks to the wide-open feel of the trails that led up to Day 4.

The Stage 4 route put grins on riders’ faces, and gave Kona the chance to take the lead. Sneddon anticipated a tough singletrack session (a run on Millipede, meant to be a downhill but is still ridden uphill despite the high, tight singletrack) and made his move. Sneddon attacked, and he and Witz came out ahead. “Chris is from around here, so we didn’t have to dig too deep to take the jersey,“ Witz said. “Chris knew the trails, so we just let ‘er rip!”

And rip they did. First through the finish line was Team Kona in 3:11:30, with Flight Centre’s Tim Bennett and Adrian Jackson next, followed by Marvin Campos and Manuel Prado (Team La Ruta/Shoair/Economy-Rent-A-Car).

In the co-ed division, Wendy Simms and Norman Thibeault captured the stage and held onto the leader’s jersey. There were no changes in the women’s category, the 80+ category or the 100+category today.

Unfortunately, the Rocky Mountain Bikes pairing of Andreas Hester and Max Plaxton had a communication breakdown and ended up more than two minutes apart, which is against BCBR Racer Policy and required a one-hour penalty.

Next up for racers: Stage 5 in Sechelt with big singletrack and fireroad rides in the Rat Race trail system and beyond!

For Stage 1 and 2 Results, click HERE
For Stage 3 Results, click HERE