Racers awoke to an idyllic setting with waves gently lapping against the sandy Powell River shoreline and the Vancouver Island mountain range reflecting in the placid Pacific waters on the horizon. It was a fitting farewell to the most picturesque Base Camp location BC Bike Race has seen.
Another scenic ferry ride kicked off the day, as a small BC Ferries vessel transported the racers and race crew to the stage 4 start location in Earls Cove. As the ferry pulled up to the dock, the start location was just metres away. Racers walked off the ferry, located their bikes and warmed up for a big day of singletrack.
Stage 4 was the first point-to-point stage in this year's race. Epic riders journeyed 62km from the ferry terminal to the finish line in the centre of Sechelt. Approximately 10-15km of singletrack on this course was hand built just in the last two years.
Rod Camposano, the Course Director for this stage and the next, has a long history of trail building and course design and is known for rewarding tough climbs with outrageously fun swoopy singletrack. Today didn't disappoint. As Camposano stood trailside at various points along the route, racers thanked him - and others jokingly cursed him - for the terrific ride. Many racers proclaimed Day Four to be their favourite stage. "Despite the tough climbs, the downhill was amazing!" said one racer as he stopped to shake Camposano's hand on course.
These trails didn't cause any major shake-ups on the leader board, but there are some nailbitingly close contests developing, including the mere five-second spread separating the solo masters men. Chris Sheppard (Rocky Mountain Bikes) still holds the course record for the fastest time, though there were less than three minutes separating him from the next solo man, Jason Sager (Jamis) on the day.
Alana Alana Heise & Kate Aardal (Terralandscape-Hardcore Racing) won the stage among the duo women's teams in 4:27:29 and Geoff Kabush & Catharine Pendrel (Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain/Luna) won the mixed duo category stage in 4:41:06. Kabush & Pendrel continue to lead the mixed category as do Brandi Helstermen & Cathy Zeglinski (Team Northlands Medical Clinic).
Kris Sneddon and Barry Wicks (Team Kona) won the men's duo category stage and also lead the overall in their category.
Chris Sheppard (Team Rocky Mountain Bikes) was the first solo man across the line in 2:29:31. He was folowed by Jason Sager and Colin Kerr. Sheppard and McQuaid are the leaders among the solo men and women.
A long, multi-day, high-mileage event makes bike mechanicals inevitable and fine-tuning absolutely necessary. Up until this year, racers had to tend to their own mechanical issues on course. New for 2010, the Shimano team has being setting up a daily "on course" service area at the second aid station. Countless riders have taken advantage of the new service offering - from chain lubes to funky shifters, from broken chains to snapped derailleurs.
Stage 5
The last leg of Sunshine Coast singletrack is next. Always a standout with riders of all levels, Highway 103 serves up a 7km long descent into the BC Ferries Langdale terminal where they'll blast across the finish line, wash up their bikes and hop onto the final ferry trip of the race.
Stage 4 Results
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Chris Sheppard (USA)
3:11:12
2
Jason Sager (USA)
0:03:23
3
Colin Kerr (Can)
0:13:51
4
Ben Thompson (USA)
0:14:00
5
Erik Tonkin (USA)
0:15:16
6
Cory Wallace (Can)
0:20:04
7
Ron Ellis (Can)
0:25:11
8
Harlan Price (USA)
0:27:54
9
Manuel Prado (USA)
0:28:00
10
Elias Van Hoeydonck (Bel)
0:29:42
11
Blake Harlan (USA)
0:31:47
12
Warren Ellis (Can)
0:36:55
13
Evan Plews (USA)
0:39:06
14
Jon Firth (Can)
0:39:17
15
Josh Ibbett (GBr)
0:44:19
16
Erik Keniston (USA)
0:49:15
17
Peter Butt (Aus)
0:51:52
18
Gian Malaer (Swi)
0:53:05
19
Greg Day (Can)
0:57:13
20
Jay Balabas (Can)
1:03:25
21
Andy Rigel (USA)
1:04:20
22
Elliot Long (Can)
1:05:33
23
Jon Hayes (GBr)
1:05:43
24
Justen Winster (Can)
1:05:53
25
Duncan Mackenzie (Can)
1:06:51
26
Stuart King (GBr)
1:08:09
27
Regan Pringle (Can)
1:11:18
28
Justin Claridge (Aus)
1:11:34
29
Neil Gledhill (Aus)
1:15:06
30
Allister Darichuk (Can)
1:15:12
31
Erik Bakke (Can)
1:16:38
32
Jonathan Kerr (Can)
1:22:29
33
Paul Spencer (USA)
1:24:16
34
Steve Mitchell (Can)
1:24:45
35
Rafael Negron (PRc)
1:24:55
36
Matthias Ruzek (Swi)
1:31:52
37
Gareth Boyd (RSA)
1:33:29
38
Ryan Labar (USA)
1:37:38
39
Andreas Hestler (Can)
1:37:45
40
Matthew Hale (USA)
1:38:25
41
Guillaume Dumas (Can)
1:43:25
42
Mathieu Laberge (Can)
1:43:34
43
Ryan Wilkinson (Can)
1:43:39
44
Eric Mckeegan (USA)
1:45:55
45
David Scheer (Can)
1:49:11
46
Tim O'Rourke (GBr)
2:02:12
47
Francis Le Brun (Aus)
2:12:37
48
Dirk Kotze (Can)
2:18:31
49
Ted Gabriel (GBr)
2:20:50
50
Marcus Henry(Can)
2:25:05
51
Justin Mcpherson (Can)
2:29:25
52
Jesse Smith (HKg)
2:31:10
53
Dave Devisser (USA)
2:35:21
54
Stephen Maher (USA)
2:43:00
55
Trevor Nicholson (Can)
2:49:25
56
Andrew Armour (Can)
2:49:26
57
Kevin Turner (GBr)
2:53:32
58
Karl Verbruggen(Bel)
2:58:24
59
Gunter Braem(Bel)
2:58:50
60
Drew Rohde (USA)
3:09:09
61
Colby Weber (USA)
3:09:10
62
Simpson Colin (Can)
3:12:08
63
Matthew Smart (Can)
3:12:32
64
Cory Lanovaz (Can)
3:18:45
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Melanie Mcquaid (Can)
3:56:34
2
Ingrid Rolles (USA)
0:23:31
3
Jennifer Schulz (Can)
0:24:47
4
Katy Curtis (Can)
0:26:43
5
Karen Trueman (Can)
0:37:44
6
Natalie Pronovost (Can)
0:44:33
7
Carena Dean (Can)
0:45:17
8
Angela Sucich (USA)
1:04:35
9
Les Tee (Can)
1:05:03
10
Debra Mucha (Can)
1:37:12
11
Sarah O'Byrne (Can)
1:39:07
12
Isabel Van De Voorde(Bel)
1:49:44
13
Shantel Koenig (Can)
1:53:45
14
Kate Simmonds (GBr)
2:26:17
15
Claire Garcia-Webb (Aus)
2:26:47
16
Marie Bursinger (Can)
3:19:01
17
Jessica Fewless (USA)
3:32:30
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo Master men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Simon Pulfrey (Can)
3:50:17
2
Ted Russo (Can)
Row 1 - Cell 2
3
Paul Thomasberg (USA)
0:06:23
4
Craig Bartlett (Can)
0:12:09
5
Derek Milne (NZl)
0:18:35
6
Scott Rolles (USA)
0:18:44
7
Craig Gillett (Can)
0:20:02
8
Rod Dagneau (Can)
0:29:02
9
Craig Marshall (Can)
0:29:09
10
Marc Cousineau (Can)
0:29:54
11
Philippe Meylemans (Bel)
0:32:19
12
Doug Richards (Can)
0:32:28
13
Gordon Ruder (Can)
0:33:42
14
Angus Nesbitt (USA)
0:33:46
15
Greg Heyes (Can)
0:35:11
16
Torben Jensen
0:35:16
17
Andrew Caputo (USA)
0:37:23
18
Matthew Handford (Can)
0:37:59
19
Richard Sawiris (USA)
0:38:06
20
Michael Brewster (Can)
0:38:26
21
Erik Cramer (Can)
0:39:51
22
Tom Ebbern (Can)
0:40:11
23
Urs Guentensperger (Swi)
0:40:25
24
Jeff Odom (USA)
0:40:53
25
John Ramsden (Can)
0:41:46
26
Thomas Tetz (Can)
0:42:02
27
Chris Mckillican (Can)
0:44:26
28
Brig Seidl (USA)
0:45:38
29
Mark Husken (Can)
0:46:06
30
Marcus Waterreus (Can)
0:46:46
31
Bill Glore (USA)
0:48:38
32
Greg Burghardt (Aus)
0:49:36
33
Reed Melton (USA)
0:54:14
34
Craig Mclaren (Can)
0:56:21
35
Robert Bleeker (Aus)
0:58:06
36
Matthew Blunn (Aus)
0:58:07
37
Pieter Vuylsteke (Bel)
0:59:15
38
Greig Gjerdalen (Can)
1:01:56
39
Rick Metzger (Can)
1:08:24
40
David Moody (USA)
1:08:27
41
Graeme Tuck (Can)
1:12:22
42
Ross Phillips (Can)
1:14:19
43
Darren Leslie (NZl)
1:14:29
44
Howie Hall (Can)
1:16:06
45
Bruce Johnson (Can)
1:20:43
46
Ian Daffern (Can)
1:20:44
47
Paul Labissonniere (Can)
1:23:03
48
Glen Pendry (HKg)
1:26:39
49
Beat Zimmermann (Swi)
1:30:01
50
David Meban (Can)
1:32:25
51
Andy Mckean (Can)
1:36:05
52
Joseph Krznaric (Can)
1:36:40
53
Dan Swanson (Can)
1:37:04
54
Richard Dustan (Can)
1:37:06
55
Jeffrey Frank (USA)
1:37:46
56
Patrick Leary (RSA)
1:41:44
57
Anthony Ocana (Can)
1:42:37
58
Michael Kehler (Can)
1:47:19
59
Bruce Nash (Can)
1:47:27
60
Jeff Mcpherson (Can)
1:56:32
61
Colin Cole (Aus)
1:56:50
62
Dj Brooks (USA)
1:58:44
63
Kerry Richards (Aus)
1:59:54
64
Jan Beliën (Bel)
2:03:50
65
Joel Johnston (Can)
2:06:16
66
David Price (Can)
Row 65 - Cell 2
67
Henry Yau (Can)
2:06:29
68
Steve Swenson (Can)
2:10:19
69
Marco Ovalles (Mex)
2:14:24
70
Reginald Jager (RSA)
2:19:31
71
Ben Tice (Can)
2:20:16
72
Dan Wray (Can)
2:20:23
73
David Hope (Can)
2:22:45
74
Jan Zwijsen (Bel)
2:23:07
75
Isaac Stokes (USA)
2:28:45
76
Jose Diaz (PRc)
2:29:03
77
Ian Sandover (Aus)
2:32:23
78
Jorge R Schiller Azcona (Mex)
2:33:03
79
Leo Vinckx (Bel)
2:35:20
80
Michael Hersey (USA)
2:37:29
81
Paul Godman (Can)
2:39:51
82
Juan Benitez (Can)
2:41:54
83
Eric Cheung (USA)
2:55:23
84
Benjamin Kauffmann (PRc)
3:07:11
85
Ramon Vega (PRc)
3:14:57
86
Jan Vissers (Bel)
3:51:08
87
Greg Vannucci (USA)
4:02:21
88
Bart Viaene (Bel)
4:05:00
89
Terry Amyott (Can)
4:05:29
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo master women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Lisa Le Poole (Can)
4:45:33
2
Nicky Phear (USA)
0:13:32
3
Laureen Coffelt (USA)
0:26:19
4
Brenda Morawa (USA)
0:28:25
5
Penny Cameron (Can)
0:36:53
6
Denise Roman (Can)
1:19:35
7
Carthy Chan (Can)
1:22:46
8
Dee Holzman (USA)
1:53:55
9
Mary Mark (Can)
2:23:39
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Men duo teams
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Kona - Kris Sneddon (Can) & Barry Wicks (USA)
3:14:25
2
Dcm 1 - Branden Stewart (RSA) & Max Knox (RSA)
0:07:50
3
Rocky Mountain Factory Team - Marty Lazarski (Can) & Stefan Widmer (Can)
0:18:15
4
Team Squamish - Kelly Servinski (Can) & Dwayne Kress (Can)
0:25:39
5
Simson - Drew Simson (Can) & Hugh Simson (Can)
0:45:42
6
Team Osprey Hydraulics - Simon Williams (Can) & Mark Williams (Swi)
0:50:16
7
Andrew Robinson - Andrew Robinson (Can) & Wai-Ben Wong (USA)
0:56:12
8
Ryders Eyewear - Mike Traslin (Can) & Andy Traslin (Can)
0:58:13
9
Bromance - Lars Andrews (Can) & Sean Staniforth (Can)
1:06:14
10
Firefly - Pieter Smith (RSA) & Francois Millard (USA)
1:21:08
11
Moneybuttons Racing - Daniel Gifford (USA) & Eric Comeau (USA)
1:25:12
12
Gravel - Chris Gravel (Can) & J-R Bouchard (Can)
1:33:07
13
Team Rager - Neil Van Geest (GBr) & Jeremy Thom (GBr)
1:48:01
14
Izlakar - David Izlakar (Can) & Joe Czempoyesh (Can)
1:49:59
15
Golden Gears - Morgan Rosvold (Can) & Greg Long (Can)
1:50:41
16
Slow Up Speed Down - James Beresford-Lambert (GBr) & Ewan Nicholson (Can)
1:57:47
17
Fulkerson - Mike Fulkerson (USA) & Robert Gaffney (USA)
1:59:39
18
Matthew Hillhouse - Matthew Hillhouse (Can) & Peter Macphie (Can)
2:04:36
19
Scumbags - Stuart Taylor (USA) & Scott Guillaudeu (USA)
2:11:10
20
On The Rivet - Troy Meives (USA) & Jim Chapman (USA)
2:16:48
21
Team Sanchez - Jay Isaacson (USA) & David Mai (USA)
2:16:56
22
Verticale De La Terre - Graham Christensen (USA) & Randy Opp (USA)
2:23:10
23
Swooth - Isabel Van De Voorde (Bel) & Rob Bruyndonckx (Bel) &Jef Wouters (Bel) & Gunter Braem (Bel)
2:24:10
24
Spun Studios - Jonathan Matlock (Can) & Jeff Chandler (Can)
2:24:44
25
Team Active Inn - Roderick Proudfoot (GBr) & Les Ross (GBr)