Race Report: Thursday Evening Whistler Toonie XC Race

Every Thursday evening throughout the summer, Whistler and Sea to Sky residents converge on a local trail to take part in a Toonie Race. This classic mass start XC race is named after its entry fee - a two dollar Canadian coin, fondly nicknamed the 'Toonie'. The race ends with a cold beer and food courtesy of the race sponsors. This July, with beautiful weather, the stage was set for the second annual Alba Distribution Toonie Race.

Smiles and high-fives abound! Welcome to the second annual Alba Toonie!

WORCA staff and amazing volunteers arrived early to run registration and marshal the course

Reminiscing on last Thursday's Toonie or friendly banter for the upcoming race?

Don’t forget your tickets! Food and beer await provided by our sponsors Earls and Gibbons

Sorry Django, you will have to meet everyone at the Apres

Hungry volunteers are not happy volunteers!

The course this week is a gnarly one, Billy Epic, racers climbed almost 500m before descending a classic westside Whistler trail

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The views certainly do not disappoint as riders began to descend

Shane Gayton on his way to the top spot.

Kate Whiteley on her way to the top spot for the ladies.

The power couple of Shane Gayton and Kate Whiteley each heading down to the top spot in their respective categories

Being a course marshal is hard work, refreshments are a must

Some of the marshal might have gotten too cheeky, the sweep puts them back into their place

Pete Fowler, Chromag mechanic and machinist behind Pinner Tools, navigates one of the spicier sections of trail aboard his Chromag Rootdown

Will Clifford took a break from building trails to sweep the course and keep the marshals in line

A welcomed sight for tired racers, beer, food and tunes! It is bound to be a good time

Earls has got the girls ... and also delicious burgers.

Earls has burgers grilling, while Gibbons is serving up cold Apres Lager and Hey Yalls

Look closely! Lots of unique details on Ben's Geometron

Raise some money for cultured climbs and a chance to win great prizes.

Don’t forget the raffle, every racer got an entry with more tickets available for purchase. The money raised went to WORCA's cultured climbs fundraiser

Whistler Performance Lubes sponsored the Toonie and had lots of raffle prizes

J2U spinning beats while raffle winners collect prizes.

J to the U kept the music spinning while racers listened to see if their raffle number was a winner

Christina Chappetta takes a break from racing the EWS to enjoy some local fun

A beer in hand and a ticket to spare, smiles abound

If wasn't for amazing sponsors events like this would not come together.

C.McKenzie Photography, Earls Whistler, WPL, Alba Distribution, WORCA, Stark Architecture, Gibbons Whistler, J to the U, Formula & Flat Tire Defender.

Volunteers make all of this possible, and thanks to our sponsor Gibbons Whistler they don't go thirsty

Until next year!

Alba Distribution is the Canadian distributor of Formula Italy, Flat Tire Defender and Onyx Hubs, based out of Whistler, BC.

Check out more photos of the good times here

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Racing and Events

Author Info:

AlbaDistribution
Member since Feb 24, 2017
1 articles

4 Comments

leggatt (Aug 7, 2018 at 13:05)

Banter before race... Well, knowing me and Dale, that shot was us discussing ways to ride more and work less! It was a great ride and great shots!

gonecoastal (Aug 7, 2018 at 18:53)

Three photos of you!

evolutionwhistler (Aug 7, 2018 at 11:35)

Amazing shots Chels!!! Way to capture the spirit of Toonie Time x

iamdavid (Aug 7, 2018 at 12:14)

awesome shots and such a good vibe!