Day 4: Nipika to Whiteswan Lake
109.7km - 2567m
An incredibly long and scenic stage through one of the most remote areas in the Canadian Rockies, today's 109km ride will push even the most seasoned athletes to the brink. Completing today means riders are past the halfway mark, and motivation will be a key factor in getting everyone through today's trek.
Day 5: Whiteswan Lake to Elkford
88.5km - 2247m
It was a day of battles on the TransRockies trail, as a blazing sun and a slew of mechanical failures added an extra element of challenge to the day's grind.
Open Men
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 the heels of their heels all week.
Open Women
American's Carey Lowery and Lisa Randall have been riding away with the top Open Women's spot all week, with a sweep of five straight 1st place finishes. As of the close of Stage 5, the pair has put nearly two hours of lead time between themselves and 2nd place team Amy Guidinger and Meghan Osborne of Canada. Guidinger and Osborne have taken 2nd place every day thus far, and themselves maintain a hefty nearly-two-hour lead over 3rd place Canadian pair Angie Bryans and Inga Ivany in the overall standings.
Day 6: Elkford to Crowsnest Pass
102.4km - 2998m
There was no rest for the wicked today, as TransRockies traversed the Continental Divide in a grueling 103km stage punctuated by periods of long, steep climbing.
With temperatures climbing above 30 degrees Celsius, combined with the length and difficulty of the route, saw several teams drop out of competition throughout the day and those that made it to the finish line were feeling a little worse for wear. Still, the theme of the day was definitely “No Pain, No Gain” and those that pushed through were rewarded with the realization that the most difficult days of TransRockies VII are behind them.
Open Men
After losing a large chunk of padding in their overall time during stage 5, Italian cyclists Johhny Cattaneo and Marzio Deho careened across the finish line in 4:42:09 today, pushing their overall lead going into Stage 7 to nearly half an hour. Barring any major mechanical disasters on Saturday it's likely the pair will walk away TransRockies champions on their first attempt.
Prior multi-time TransRockies winner Andreas Hestler and his teammate Chris Sheppard appeared to hit their stride today, coming in 2nd place, 12 minutes off the leaders, but still sitting just off the podium in 4th place overall.
“It was a hard, 104km day,” said Hestler at the finish line. “Though I'm actually feeling better today (than previous days).”
According to Hestler, the top teams rode fairly close together until the second checkpoint, at which time the top riders pulled away and began to spread out the field. “I'm a little older now,” he quipped. “But I tend, when I warm up, to get better and better.”
Both Hestler and Sheppard are impressed by the larger field of competition in the Open Men category this year, attributing it to TransRockies' steadily growing profile as an international event.
“Overall, in the top 10, this is the most competitive TransRockies yet,” Hestler said.
Open Women
It appears that powerhouse duo Carey Lowery and Lisa Randall (USA) are poised to take the trophy in the Open Women category this year, as the team has a more than 2-hour lead time going into stage 7. Undefeated thus far in their category, their next closest competition is Canadians Amy Guidinger and Meghan Osborne, who have swept 2nd place in every stage thus far.
Scooping 3rd place today were Teri Majer and Shelley Mattson (CAN). Overall leaders are Lowery and Randall in 1st place, Guidinger and Osborne in 2nd and Angie Bryans and Inga Ivany (CAN) in third.
Results going into stage 7
Men
1. Marzio Deho/Johnny Cattaneo 18:59:46.81
2. Kris Sneddon/Max Plaxton 19:27:09.32
3. Stefan Widmer/Marty Lazarski 19:33:00.94
Top Brits:
22. Adrian Scott/Gavin Rumbles 25:30:17.70
33. Blake Crouch/Graham Jones 27:59:58.96
36. Matty Blayney/Samuel Craig 28:13:04.51
Women
1. Carey Lowery/Lisa Randall 28:31:53.33
2. Amy Guidinger/Meghan Osborne 30:48:58.72
3. Angie Bryans/Inga Ivany 33:58:28.49
Brits:
7. Jan Rogers/Emma Cransfield 40:01:03.96
www.transrockies.com
