Words by Kevin Koopmans.
“No injuries!” warned FVMBA president Collin Burke as he addressed riders lined up at the start for the third of six races in the 2011 toonie race series. But if his words weren’t forgotten by the end of the oxygen depleting sprint from the start line to the entrance of Chain Crazy, they were certainly lost by the time the adrenaline kicked in on Skidder. The great minds back in the FVMBA race planning war room certainly didn’t disappoint, stringing together an incredibly fast and flowing course that served up plenty of thrills and spills.
While the trails were in excellent condition, riders pushing a little too hard through the corners or choosing the wrong lines over wet rooty sections paid their dues. In spite of the difficulty of the course, the top riders finished in a blistering eleven minutes. Smiles were huge as riders crossed the finish line after another short sprint from the bottom of Dilemma. And to Collin’s satisfaction, nobody came through with anything worse than a bruised ego.
Rich Vigurs photo
“Oh my goodness, the course was amazing” Arthur Gaillot raved “The trails are loose enough to keep it interesting, not too much to be scary. The whole series has been really well organized, and all are well planned out and every course is one where the athlete is king!”
Credit: Rich Vigurs
The course was the perfect mixture of xc and dh, making bike selection more difficult than ever for this race. Riders at the start were sorted into 3 basic groups; DH, XC, and AM. When the results came in, it became clear just how balanced the course was, with times for each of the three groups being virtually indistinguishable.
Matt Scott Photo
Rich Vigurs photo
Jaclyn Delacroix (above) representing the Mudbunnies was glowing at the end of the course: “The trails were nice and smooth, really fun. All of the toonie races have been awesome!”
Thanks to incredible sponsors, including Jacks Cycle, Pinkbike, SRAM/Rockshox, Suspension Werx, Avenue Body Shop, Urge, and Kintec, there was plenty of swag for everybody, including a sweet Park tools BBQ set and a Rock Shox seat post (Thanks Tyler Moreland and Pinkbike!) .
Steve Rosset photo
The toonie series have drawn plenty of riders from throughout the Lower Mainland to the race, including Lindsay Trimble from Burnaby. “Overall, the races are really really fun” said Trimble. “I’ve enjoyed every one. They’ve all been different, and it’s great to get to ride new trails”
Abbreviated Race Results (FULL RESULTS HERE):
Male:
Chris Johnston: 10:59
Ricky Federau: 11:05
Scott Simpson: 11:33
Female:
Lindsay Trimble: 14:52
Jaclyn Delacroix 15:28
Karen Rodgers 15:39
June 5th 2011, the series returns to Sumas Mountain for another Super D format.
