Stage 5: Sechelt to Langdale (Ferry/Bus to Squamish)

BC Bike Race repeat competitors knew what was in store for Day 5 of the seven-day mountain bike stage race from Victoria to Whistler. In fact, they’ve been eagerly counting the days to get to this stage. And new comers quickly found out what all the hype was about.

On Day 5, racers were treated to the highlight tour of all the classic Brodie Rat Race and Sunshine Coast singletrack trails that cover 65km that they can see as it climbs and rips its way from Sechelt right into the Langdale ferry terminal and onto a BC Ferries vessel bound for Horseshoe Bay. Then it’s a short bus jaunt up the Sea to Sky Highway to the picturesque town of Squamish where racers will settle in for the next two nights.

The Sunshine Coast area has some of the most renowned swooping, twisting, turning singletrack trails in the province – they’re meant to be ridden with some intensity, but not so much so that you miss all the beautiful vistas. And the trails are most certainly built and lovingly maintained with considerable passion and deliberation.


Enter Rod Camposano course builder: Rod Camposano, returning BCBR Bike Race Stages 4 & 5 Course Manager, is instrumental in shaping and maintaining trail, and filling in the gaps that he sees when out riding the Sunshine Coast. Rod spends countless hours riding and hiking the backcountry, forever looking for the perfect line to turn into the next version of BC Bike Race, or, perhaps the Brodie Rat Race, should he choose to take on its management/development again.

One backcountry drive with Rod is enough to show how deeply rooted his passion for trail building really lies. As he rips through the deep backcountry roads, Rod tells stories of his adventures looking for, creating or riding trails up here. He scans the surrounding environment, hopeful that he would pick just the right starting point up on a ridge in the trees to come ambling down the barely visible former use trail on the right hand side.

“Dre and I rode this the other week and he suggested putting a trail along that knuckle right over there. I’m going to work on that this summer – I’ll probably have two lines coming down right there and there,” he said. And as Rod scours the gnarly terrain, an excited grin spreads across his face. I’m witnessing the birth of another Rod Camposano trail, and am privileged to be there.

BC Bike Race competitors spent the better part of Day 5 drinking from Rod’s overflowing singletrack cup, including trails like lower Jekyll & Hyde, which Rod described as, “…very intense. Very intense…but it’s so much fun!!” Rod was rubbing his hands together with delight waiting to see the leaders come ripping through his trail selection.


If the expression on racers’ faces was any indication of the level of enjoyment of Stage 5, then Rod’s course was once again a hit! And, it clearly seems to be a strong contender of the best Stage contest, for which Rod is defending champion. With access to such an amazing, growing network of singletrack trails, the BC Bike Race could be spending considerable time here.


Ryan Draper (Team Canmore) flew into the finish area with the most infectious grin on his face, threw back his head and let out a string of hoots and hollers before turning to Andreas Hestler and saying, “That was honestly the best singletrack day I’ve ever had in my entire life!” Countless other Stage 5 riders rolled across the Langdale finish with similar enthusiasm. “Memories of greatness,” shared Nat Ross of Team Subaru/Gary Fisher, “But we missed you out there, Dre.


Andrea Heslter (Team Rocky Mountain Bikes), who was having a fantastic day riding with his partner Max Plaxton, pulled himself out of the race due to a mechanical problem. This week has been a tough one for Dre.

As far as race results go, Seamus McGrath and his partner, Chris Sheppherd (MON AV/CANNONDALE) absolutely tore up the course to claim the top podium prize with a time of 3:43:38. Despite this, their second blazing podium win this week (the pair won Stage 3 that ended in Cumberland), McGrath and Sheppherd are not officially ranked and therefore don’t qualify for the daily jersey. But that has not stopped them from flying through the course to trounce their competition.
McGrath, a strong Canadian Olympic contender for Beijing, raced all 7 days in preparation for his races there.


Taking the overall position was hometown local, Chris Sneddon, along with partner Barry Wicks (Team Kona). Team Kona now holds the leader’s jersey with just a 10 second margin over Teak Trek and a 28 second margin over Mona Vie Cannondale.

The remaining categories have shown no signs of change among the category leaders – Open Women’s category won by Sara Bresnik-Zocchi and Kelli Emmett (Team Taint Slo); Open Mixed category won by Wendy Simms and Normon Thibeault (Team Kona – In Memory of Denis Fontaine; 80+ won by Andrew Hartford and Pay Doyle (Different Bikes Deadgoat Racing); and 100+ category won by Brian and Bruce Johnson (Double Shot).


The Stage 5 finish area was wildly impressive – racers rolled straight into the BC Ferries’ Langdale terminal parking lot where the gigantic arch and Bears Den tent were inflated and waiting for racers. Depending on their finish time, racers could practically roll right onto the ferry, relax and watch the beautiful Georgia Strait scenery glide past as it journeyed to Horseshoe Bay. Once again, the BC Ferries went above and beyond to make things happen smoothly for BC Bike Race racers, staff and crew.

Tomorrow? Stage 6 brings together two challenging and classic mountain bike race courses: Gearjammer and Test of Metal. The BC Bike Race singletrack offerings keep getting bigger and better! Stay tuned for highlights of tomorrow’s event.