Epic Racers Road Trip to the 2006 Brodie Rat Race

Epic Rat Race Road Trip :

Finally the first real big mountain bike race of the season had arrived & we were all looking forward to testing our legs against the best riders from all over BC. The Brodie Rat Race is not only a huge event in itself attracting over 250 XC & 100 DH riders (both events sold out), but is stage 1 of the 3 leg Hell of a series: also consisting of the other BC Epic’s: the Test of metal & Gearjammer – both held in Squamish.We jumped in the Epic Riders shuttle wagon with the knowledge that not only was this one of the hardest/ most grueling races of the season, but the threat of rain was also an almost certainty for the 48km XC marathon. The Friday we arrived we were given fair warning that although this race is 20 kilometers shorter than the TOM it was every bit as hard if not harder due to the almost 5000 ft of relentless climbing involved & we were advised not to go out too hard at the start. This sentiment was also echoed by the Epic Ride sponsored Team Whistler riders & Rat Race veterans: Trevor Hopkins, Dustin Gordon & Mike Churak all agreed they actually found this race harder than the Test.


Of course the gorgeous weather of the Friday was replaced by good old BC rain come Saturday am, absolutely drenching the Team Whistler guys who decided to ride from the Langdale Ferry Port, still don’t understand that call. After the usual pre-race nerves it was 10:30 & time to embark on our Epic journey through rain, pain & eventually pure joy of just completing it & marking off another one from the life long list of challenges. Boy did you need to earn this one though.


The youth racers had a much smaller loop to complete, probably too easy for the top junior under 17’s becoming more akin to a short track race. Once the mud had settled, Whistler & Squamish had proved it was indeed one of the top breeding grounds for XC racers with Epic Racer Kerry-Anne Hamilton not only winning the under 13 category (she is only 11) but actually being the first junior female across the finish line. Our other Epic Racer, new boy Mason Protter put up a great rookie race performance finishing 6th in a highly competitive boys under 13 category. Mason found out the hard way that the lame & tame XC image was simply not true by being beat up & eventually run over in the mass start jostle for position going into the single-track. The always strong Sebastian Sleep of On The Edge won the under 15 category, while Tyler Allison held on for second.


These youth riders had finished their racers before the adults had even completed the first big climb, a grueling 45 min grunt up the legendary pumpkin patch & those who had not warmed up effectively (like me) paid the price. That climb set the stage for the entire race, a very non technical climbing fest with super fast downhill’s mainly on logging roads meaning over 80% of your time in the saddle was spent going skyward. & because of the heavy rain, some of the real nice single-track climbing was reduced to hike-a-bike because of the killer wet roots. A real shame as on the Friday we found some amazing technical single-track but the organizers really felt that they wanted this event to be for everyone so they focused on making it rideable for novices & experts alike. Team Whistler Racers put up some admirable results with:


Dustin Gordon finishing 15th in Male Elite time 3.11
Joshua Stott finishing 4th in Male 20-29 a time of 3.13
Dustin Gordon finishing 15th in Male Elite time 3.11
Mike Charuk 11th in Male 40-44 time 3.18
Craig Hamilton (Epic Racers) 27th in Male 40-44 time 3.57

The XC was dominated by Team Squamish racers with the Kindreas cleaning up with Neil winning the men’s elite in an amazing 2 hrs 28 mins & his sister Meghan in 3 hours 15 minutes.


Onto the Sunday & the DH which is one of the very rare races that actually caters for the youth of BC, kind of strange when you consider the depth of talent in the province. Again the heavy rain had made the course very tricky with a bunch of killer wet roots just waiting for you to break, over turn or over weight your front tire & spit you off into a tree. It also wasn’t all gravity fed adrenalin, with various places where pedaling efficiency would be the difference in winning & losing.


Again it was up to the Epic Racers youth to show up & represent being the one the few Whistler riders to ride both events. After a coaching preride run with local veteran & legend Chris Armstrong (Patent Pending, Kona & Tantalus) to scoop out the best lines & jumps it was time to put the pedal to the metal. Up very first was Epic Racer Kerry-Anne & she set a time of 5mins 45 that not only beat every under 15 female but also many of the boys. Mason was soon afterwards & despite a couple of big slams came through in a very respectable 6mins 51 seconds & Epic Coach Chris Armstrong coming down in a strong 4mins 9 seconds. Whistler owned this event with Tyler Allison (Nike/ Trek) joining Kerry-Anne as the only double gold of the weekend with a win in the under 15 male category with a blistering 3.36 & Alex Prochazka (Rocky Mountain) taking the under 17 Expert title with a 3.26.

Simply an amazing weekend of BC's best grassroots mountain bike racing & riding & we boarded the ferry raving about how we will for sure be back next year. If you too either want to race like these immense Whistler athletes or simply ride your bike better, look for the all new replacement of Storm BC, Epic Riders will be offering a comprehensive youth development bike camp summer program both in Whistler & throughout the Sea to Sky Corridor – call Craig at 604 932 EPIC (3742) or email info@epicridebc.com & see you on the trails this summer.