Banner Day for Cyclocross Racing in Whistler

Craig Richey repeats the pose. Saturday, number one. Sunday, yep, number one again.

North Vancouver’s Craig Richey proved himself one unstoppable force of nature this weekend, winning both Day One and Day Two action to take CycloCross Whistler by storm.

As the first race in Cycling BC’s CX Premier Series, Sunday’s challenging season opener had many racers in stitches, though not Richey, who had just returned from racing in China and Cross Vegas, the largest cyclocross race in North America.

“I was slower on the pavement sections, but way faster on the climbs. I was doing that consciously to rest in the places where you can, so then I could use my energy where it counts,” said Richey.

On your marks, the men's elite field was in position early Sunday ready for the grand finale.

With some serious elevation at the base of Whistler Mountain, not to mention a large mud pit created by heavy rain Saturday morning, the 15 laps elite racers threw down to finish the course did not come easy.

On the women’s side, the competition was stiff for national team member Sandra Walter, who won the first day, but finished second to Valemount’s Jean Ann Berkenpas, after battling a broken derailleur.

“I stopped several times in the pits to see if I could sort it and I couldn’t, so I ended up just riding it. It was fine. Good practice,” said Walter, who heads to nationals in Winnipeg for the end of October and the second BC Premier Series race, the Vanier Park Cyclocross Classic, next week.

Stuck in a high gear, Sandra Walter set her struggles aside and ran her bike up the hill each time, losing time, but not enough to lose out on second place.

Berkenpas knew something was wrong for Walter and, sensing she had a window, put her head down to get the job done.

“It went really well. I changed my gear a bit to make it up that steep wall in the course and then I had a bit of good luck too. I saw Sandra Walter had some trouble in the pits, so I think that probably helped,” she said.

Valemount, B.C. resident Jean Ann Berkenpas proved she has what it takes to beat Sandra Walter, one of the strongest female cyclocross racers in Canada.

Jean Ann Berkenpas switched up her gears to make the steep climb and soon found herself in first place.

Finishing a strong fifth place, 14-year-old Connor Martin looked just like a pro. Although clearly smaller in stature, the Kelowna kid rode stronger than most of the elite men’s field for the entire day, impressing one and all.

“An hour for a fourteen year old is super hard. You see how hard it is for most of these guys and they’re elite racers and he’s lapping guys. We haven’t seen a talent around like him for ages,” said Bruce Spicer, one-time Canadian Cyclocross champion and announcer.

A rare talent, Conor Martin was lapping elite riders more than twice his age.

Cyclocross Whistler saw near 200 registered riders compete over two days of competition in Creekside Village. This was the second annual event, organized by Crankwrox Events Inc.

Evelyn Martin took second to Hudson Kinnaird in the two to four-year-old category of Day 2 Cyclokids racing, concentrating all the way.
Mark Oldenburg, in Kiss makeup and suit, was dressed to kill for Saturday's fancy dress. Cyclocross Whistler (Photo by: Scott Robarts)

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