Stage 7 Full of Surprises for Open Men

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Hestler and Sheppard Take Stage; Deho and Cattaneo Finish 5th but Take the Overall Title

No ceremonial Stage 7 cakewalk, the final leg of this year's TransRockies was the toughest in the event's history and took place on another blistering day above 30-degrees Celsius. Longer than it has been in prior years and with more famous Fernie, B.C. singletrack, the last leg of TransRockies VII proved a rewarding but tough slog for many teams, even those at the front of the pack.

Jesse Jakomait of Sobe Cannondale, who came in 3rd with teammate Mike Garrigan in Stage 7 and 5th overall summed up the week by saying, "The first 20 minutes of the first day and the last 20 minutes of the last day were the toughest. It started with a bang and ended with a bang."

Jakomait said the top five Open Men's teams went pretty hard from the last control station to the finish in Fernie, which was evident at the finish line in the form of some surprising twists.

Multiple-time TransRockies winner in years past, Andreas Hestler and his first-time TR teammate Chris Sheppard crossed the finish line first, cheered on by crowds enthusiastic about a Canadian team coming in first, ahead of expected stage winners Marzio Deho and Johhny Cattaneo of Italy. Hestler said upon finishing that he was happy to get his teammate atop the podium at least once this week and that the plan that morning had been to attack early and stay ahead with the goal of crossing the line first.

"Shep attacked early and I went with him," Hestler said of the first punishing ascent in the lead group. "It hurt though. They all fought pretty hard."

"The Italians were dangling just behind us and then about 10 to 12 kilometres in on the logging road we noticed all of a sudden they were gone."

Deho suffered a broken seat around the 10-kilometre mark but managed to hold it together for 70+ km by wrapping a tube around it. In the end, Deho and Cattaneo came in 5th for the last stage, but easily swept the overall Open Men's title with a time of 22:39:40 - 25 minutes ahead of 2nd place overall winners Kris Sneddon and Max Plaxton (CAN), who also came in 2nd place during Stage 7. Third place overall went to Marty Lazarski and Stefan Widmer (CAN), who came in 4th for Stage 7.

Despite the last day's grind on a broken bike, Deho was all smiles at the finish line, nodding happily when asked if he felt good about the week. "Today I am happy," he said.

"It was a great opportunity and I appreciate the chance to do this with Andreas," Sheppard said, acknowledging he may be back next year. "If you had asked me two days ago on top of a mountain my answer would have been no," he laughed, "but today is a good day."

Hestler admitted he approached the week with a more laid-back attitude than he has in year's past.
"I'm getting old," he laughed. "It hurts too much."

"I have always had a good friend to do TransRockies with," he said. "Just about any of the pro guys can race together because they all ride about the same level, but at the end of the day you have to be able to spend eight hours in an RV with them. I have rode every day of all seven TransRockies races - never missed a day - and always had a good friend to do it with."

"He drank the last beer in the RV last night," Sheppard interjected. "That hurt."

"This was a tough, tough, tough year. There's no two ways about it. It was a good course and a tough field (of competitors)," Hestler said.

So is this it for the TransRockies veteran? Hestler said the question is not so much about what to expect from a potential new course or other event-related unknowns, but rather what to expect of himself.

"It's more about knowing what to expect of your body at this stage," he said.

Deho and Cattaneo's Quick Change

Friday, August 15, 2008

In the prolific Open Men's category, the impressive Italian duo of Marzio Deho and Johnny Cattaneo, who nabbed three 1st place finishes in the first four days of racing, managed to hang on to the overall lead after suffering five flats and a broken chain in Stage 5. Though placing 5th in today's stage, Deho and Cattaneo have a 10 minute lead in the overall standings ahead of Kris Sneddon and Max Plaxton of Canada, who have been persistently nipping at their heels all week.

Course marshals and photographers on the Stage 5 course reported seeing Deho and Cattaneo changing their flats in anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute - perhaps scrutinizing this photo will help their competitors polish their own off-road pit stop routine. After all, 10 minutes is only 10 minutes and as it currently stands the first place Open Men's title is up for grabs.

The Paul Files: Stage 3

Thursday, August 14, 2008

By Paul Newitt, Special to TransRockies

It seems like eons ago that we filed into the Copper Crown room in Panorama to register for the start of this year's TransRockies. But in fact it was only three days ago, much to the chagrin of those with cramped calves, aching backs and low energy reserves. But today was touted as a bit of a recovery stage from the previous two days of climbing-- obviously by someone who hadn't been out on the course!

Nipika to Nipika was an adventure in single track and a whole new Time Trial format for the TransRockies. Riders were set up into three groups based on their overall standings in the General Classification (GC). The first salvo was fired into the woods around Nipika at 9:00 am at 30-second intervals, the next at 11:00 am, and the final Group, the top of the GC, at 1:00 pm, in 1-minute intervals.

The new format provided spectators with a full day of entertainment as teams continuously passed through camp throughout the day. Riders had the luxury of sleeping in a little and getting many things done they would normally have to sacrifice to an 8:00 am start. The other big advantage of the day was that of having the course route consist of about 80-90% single track, and single track that wasn't backed up by having all 250 teams on the course simultaneously.

The trail network around Nipika is extensive, and winds around some spectacular scenery. Through out the day riders found themselves skirting the cliffs high above the Kootenay River Gorge, often perilously close the precipice. The rich, inviting turquoise waters flowing far below contrasted the chalky white cliffs it had carved over the millennium. It was all eye candy for the parade of teams ripping around the network of single track, but not always an easy view to take in. The majority of the single track was technically challenging in that it was laced with roots, logs, and holes that demanded full focus on the trail ahead. A slight deviation from the task at hand often resulted in a trip over the bars into the brush. Luckily most learned this quickly and kept themselves upright most of the day.

The course was definitely not a rest day. Continuous pounding on the body and a lot of upper body work on the trail took it out of riders who had already spent two days climbing over some massive mountains. Most wanted to go easy, knowing full well tomorrows stage is a long one and a bit daunting in its distance, but the Time trial format made it to tempting to go all out. Teams were only thirty seconds to a minute ahead. It's pretty hard not to reach for those carrots when they're placed directly in front of you! But tomorrow is another day. Tonight we get to spend in Nipika once again. A gift those of us in the TR always appreciate.

Nipika is gem in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. The area boasts a huge network of trails that are used for Mountain biking and trail running in the summer months and cross county skiing in the winter. Other self-propelled activities, like river rafting and canoeing are also available. Lyle, the owner and operator of Nipika is proud to note that the resort was built entirely from trees from the surrounding area, is now solar powered and caters exclusively to human powered activities. Multiple cabins dot the property and can easily, and comfortably accommodate families and groups like TransRockies riders. It will be tough to leave such a stunning setting and hospitable hosts but Whiteswan is on the radar and we have a day to reach it. See you tomorrow at 5:30am!