Plaxton and Emmett Confirm overall TR3 victories on Stage 3
Elkford, BC – Etherington Camp, AB
65km, 1950m climbing/1550m descending
The final stage of the 2010 TR3 took riders from the civilized surroundings of Elkford, BC deep into the wilds of the Canadian Rockies and represented the last chance for the closely bunched top riders in the Open Men’s Division to move up in their divisions and grab more of the UCI points and Cash on offer.
Having split the first two stages, Max Plaxton (Shoair/Specialized) and Cory Wallace (KONA) were battling with Adam Craig for the overall title with everything to ride for on Stage 3. The race had three distinct stages, a long rolling approach climb followed by a sheer 1000-plus metre grind up to the day’s high point at the crossing of the Great Divide and finally a raw, steep and technical 15km descent to the finish line.
Off the start, pace groups quickly formed to better check of the 40+ km until the steepest sections began. Plaxton, Craig and Wallace rode together until the 35km mark when Wallace and Plaxton upped the tempo dropping Craig just a couple of km before the second feed station. They rode and pushed together up the climb but disaster struck Wallace on the roughest early part of the technical descent when he cut the sidewall on his lightweight tubeless tire and had to stop for an emergency trailside repair. “I was worried the whole time on the descent and thought about stopping to put tubes in my tires,” said Wallace.
Wallace was able to hold off a rapidly closing Matt Hadley (Canadian National Team) to grab second place in a time of 3:35:10. He also moved up to second place in the overall standings when Adam Craig also struggled and ended up finishing 4th, 12 minutes behind Wallace but grabbed third in the overall standings. The top five was filled out by Matt Hadley in 4th and Carl Decker (Team Giant) in 5th.
Free to descend more conservatively, Plaxton got to the bottom unscathed and rode across the finish line solo in 3:30:04 to confirm his second stage win and the overall title. “I felt great through the whole race and am looking forward to getting home for a quick break and another training block before the World Cup Finals and World Championships,” said Plaxton. “I really want to thank the organizers of the TransRockies for sanctioning the event with the UCI. It’s really important for guys who race world cups like me and Adam (Craig) to be able to get some UCI points and get better start line positions at those races.
After two dominant performances in stages 1 and 2, it was no surprise that Kelli Emmett again tore through Stage 3 to a clear 20-minute win and a clear victory in the overall standings. Rosemarie Gerspacher had held down 2nd place since stage 1 and she finished 2nd again on Stage 3 to confirm her overall placing. Carrie Edwards grabbed 4th on Stage 3 to confirm 3rd place in the overall standings holding off a hard-charging Heidi Volpe who managed to move up from 8th on Stage 1 to finish in 4th overall just 2 minute ahead of local hero Christine Misseghers of Crowsnest Pass, AB who grabbed 5th place overall.
In the Master Men (40+) Division, Alec Petro from Massachusetts held onto the lead he had grabbed on Stage 2 with another stage victory and strong performance to hold off endurance sport legend Calvin Zaryski of Calgary who was able to grab second place overall from fellow Calgarian and first-stage winner Geoff Clark who held onto third place overall despite a tough ride which saw him finish a half hour behind the winners.
For some TR3 riders, three days in the Rockies was more than enough but many more will board the shuttles after the awards ceremony wishing that they could stick around for another day or two of epic scenery, great trails and unbeatable camaraderie. After a sellout in year 2, the TR3 is bound to be even more in demand in 2011 when the TransRockies will celebrate its 10th anniversary.
Stay tuned to www.transrockies.com for results and photos.
