Stage 6 would find the riders waking to light rain and dense could cover. The blue skies of the previous 5 days disappeared overnight and by 8:30 am the light rain had turned into a steady downpour. The previous night the TransRockies organizers put their team on notice that an alternate route may be required in order to keep the riders off the higher passes, out of the cold and minimize the risk of accidents on the descents. When the 9 o’clock start rolled around the call was made to shorten the course by approximately 17km and exclude two climbs on the day: Cox Hill and Jumpingpound Ridge.

In retrospect, the decision to re-route was the correct one as the conditions worsened throughout the morning. When the athletes began to trickle across the Rafter 6 finish line it was obvious that the day had turned into a ‘mud bath’. TR3 champion and TR4 Men’s Open leader Neal Kindree was first across the line in 2:41:59 and was thoroughly coated. After a flat on the course, TR4 40+ overall leader Jeff Neilson was relegated to 5th place on the stage with John Gould taking the win. Kristin Walters maintained her lead in the Women’s Open with a 3 minute and 39 second win over Ene Underwood.

The TR7 Open Men saw the Rocky Mountain Factory team of Colin Kerr and Greg Day overcome mechanical problems on stage 5 and claim a stage win ahead of overall leaders Jon Firth and Stefan Widmer. Impressively, 80+ Mixed team Eva and Marco Carrer, along with Jean Ann Berkenpass and Sandra Walter in the Women’s Open field, each clocked their 6th straight stage win.

The Open Mixed continued to show strong competition between the  top 3 teams with less than 10 minutes separating them on a tough day. Wendy Simms and Normon Thibault came out on top for the second day in a row and maintained their overall lead. After a 1 hour and 12 minute victory on Stage 5, 80+ Men’s overall leading team of Pat Doyle and Craig Bartlett took a slim 1 minute and 41 second win and their 4th stage win.

Undoubtedly the most competitive category at this years event has been the 100+ Open. The six stages have seen 3 different winning teams with a time gap between 1st and 2nd standing at a mere 5 minutes and 4 seconds. Darrell Johnson and Tom Ebbern notched their 3rd stage win and will look to hold onto their overall lead heading into the finish in downtown Canmore.