2007 Cross Country

Post by **Ynot303** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 8:41 pm

Unfortunately I couldn't make it today

I was very disappointed to say the least! I have been looking forward to it for months... perhaps someone will take me on the course in the near future?

How did everyone do? I'm dying to know!

MotorEd · Post by **MotorEd** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 6:12 am

dirtyboy wrote:
MotorEd wrote: soooooo who be the KING OF THE FOREST?
Mr. Pelltier

Thats pretty awesome....way to go wildman!!!!

Brent · Post by **Brent** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 2:48 pm

Iron Man finishers:
1. Kevin Pelletier 6:30 (hours/minutes)
2. Jason Shrage 6:44
3. Shane Cuthbertson 6:54
4. Marty Halmazna 6:57
5. Jack Sawatzki 7:09

2 loops at about 83 Km's requires a huge volunteer effort, so thank you to everyone that has helped in the last 5 months. Even the guys at the clean up days back in May helped open trail that these loops were a part of. With all the blow down and limited trail options, it went smoother then i thought. I made both loops easier then i first layed out, and then easier again a week before the race. This coarse layout is designed to push everyone to their limits, that is the only way to improve your skill. choppy quad trails for 2.5 hours is the same as holding onto a jackhammer.....and in my opinion, much more dangerous.
i will post all finishers tomorrow as well as times. congrats to all finishers!!!

Oh yeah, a couple of international/national racers that were at the event claim this is the toughest race in Canada!!!
So, we just completed the toughest race in Canada!

crazy2wheeler · Post by **crazy2wheeler** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 5:24 pm

Did ya race? How did it go - tell us your story!

KanadianIceMan · Post by **KanadianIceMan** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 6:39 pm

Heres some quick shots from the race.

Check out the photos!

Did 1 lap sweeping on the Junior loop about 1 hour 30 min after everyone started, roots were a showin & there were some pretty knarly hills that the juniors tore up, had a great playride minus the 250sxf acting terrible iwth new pipe, jetting off, valves tight

Post by **dirtyboy** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:02 pm

Big Dog wrote:I made both loops easier then i first layed out, and then easier again a week before the race.

I respectfully disagree. Since I GPS'ed the Pro loop prior to the race and then later rode the Pro loop in the race, IMO the Pro loop became exponentially more difficult compared to the way that it was originally laid out. It appeared that the course was deliberately altered from it's original routing to be extremely difficult, kind of like a Last Man Standing format where only a small percentage of the competitors were expected to complete the Pro loop.

One competitor, talking about the Pro loop, was very polite I thought:

I'm always up for a challenge, but that was more challenging than I wanted.

Post by **cladoo** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:35 pm

Deleted

Post by **thirtyseven** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:44 pm

Between you and me Cladoo, I passed a couple of intermediates on hills that needed your attention, but wernt that tough on the first loop, Ill agree the course was tough but isnt that what its all about? I personally have never hit a tree as hard as I did 10minutes into the race, took the wind out of me litterally and figuratively. Dirtyboy how did the second loop go?

markvfr · Post by **markvfr** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 8:02 am

I agree thirtyseven, thats what its all about. It was challenging but thats what separates the men from the boys (I was definitely the boy)... This was my first race ever and I loved it! Even I beat a few intermediates on the first loop! And I didn't place very well I must say.

Over the past two nights, the race is all I've been dreaming about... it might be due to the fact that I can't get out of bed 'cause I'm so sore.

Good times.

Brent · Post by **Brent** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 8:48 am

Mark, that is cool to hear that. Some people like the really nasty stuff and some people like the challenging but rider friendly coarse. actually, most people like the hare scramble format that is a little easier riding. this XC from day 1 was planned to be as tuff as we could make it. that's the definition of The Grizzly.
Dirtyboy, the original A loop was not even close to what we were first going to run. in fact, it was reverse in direction. plus, the first 8 KM's were on someone else's trail. if there are guys out there building trail i respect that fact and don't run races on the trails that they built. that is why the beginning changed. then i added in the "Befus" climb which has the first check on the top of it. Plus, you and me agreed when we first GPS'ed these loops that they were general guidelines because we had to rush to get the maps into SRD. there were only 3 small deviations on the A loop and yes it was tough, good job on you finish, you earned 3rd because the other guy didn't finish the A loop.

check out the results and times. i did not enter the intermediate and vet master offset times from the pro's. i did not take down any offset times for other classes.
let's hear some more stories!

markvfr · Post by **markvfr** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 9:47 am

Sweet, I got eighth!!!

However, I'm a little confused... My time was 2:50mins and since I missed the 2:30 cutoff I didn't run the second lap. There are guys that beat me big time on the first lap, made the cutoff, but because they DNF'd the second lap they placed lower than I did?
I'm not complaining but it seems weird to me.

Just wanted to thank Darren, BigDog and everyone involved in organizing this race. I didn't end up flagging since Zeal and I didn't know where the course was and it was just the two of us, but sign me up for helping out next year. It was a fantastic race minus the day license thingy. Dennis spotted Chucker and I some extra money since we didn't bring enough. Thanks Dennis, I still need to pay you back.
It was expensive for one race, but this means I'll have to buy a race license next year and race more.

darren · Post by **darren** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 10:22 am

I would like to start off by saying a huge thank you to all who helped out...this was a HUGE event! Big Dog and me have been thinking 'what if' for at least four years about putting an event on like this, so thanks to everyone, we could not have done it without you. Of course Big Dog put 2X the amount of effort than any one individual, and without his knowledge of mclean creek we would not have had this caliber of a race, so the biggest thanks to him.

I believe that this is one of the best races Canada has ever seen. From talking to the pros to the beginners the vast majority of the people were very impressed. In fact, talking to the iron men, who have all raced nationally and some internationally, said that this was an extremely high caliber event and that it was the toughest race in Canada! At this point, with all things considered my dream of a mclean XC was a complete success and I am very happy to anounce that there were no serious injuries and that every one made it out before dark.

Hopefully this shows that tough races are not a thing of the past. Hopefully this race shows that we are good well rounded riders that can take on challenging terrain and conquor it.

Anyways, thanks again and already looking forward to an even better Grizzly for next year!

D

YouTube · Post by **Dobi** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 10:37 am

62% DNF rate in the intermediate class and 33% overall. French would have to start shooting people off their bikes to beat that.

Glad to hear that some of the racers had a good time.

Brent · Post by **Brent** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 11:24 am

Mark, the guys that came in after 1 lap under the cutoff of 2.5 hours are required to complete another loop. if they did not complete another loop, then they are dnf'ed. you must of come in after the cutoff.

De-ribboning help required. meet at Fisher staging area on thursday at 5 PM....or when ever you can make it out. B & A loops, as well as the expert kids loop from the upper field needs cleaning as well. i will bring left over hot dogs and buns for everyone...and pop.

crazy2wheeler · Post by **crazy2wheeler** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 11:43 am

Thirtyseven and markvfr - I think Dirtyboy is referring to the second loop as being perhaps overly difficult, not the first loop which each of you rode. The fact is that only 6 of 15 intermediates who completed the first loop, were able to complete the second loop, and several pros who rode the first loop in under 1:45, took almost twice as long to do the second loop!

I'm only looking at the results, I certainly can not comment as I did not ride the second loop and won't even challenge what the objective was for this second loop. I do know that there are many riders in the intermediate class who don't appear to have the skill to be starting behind the pros.

I will put forth 3 comments for future races:

1. If there is a single loop with sections of it omitted for the "lower skill level classes" - ie junior and vet junior, we should still avoid running on high speed sections as much as possible - 5th gear crashes cause serious injuries. In a way it's ironic the riders we have implied do not have higher level skills, wind up travelling the fastest with probably the greatest risk of injury because of routing them onto cut lines, quad trails and fire roads. I do know that this has not ocurred in the past (that I am aware of), but we certainly don't want to be the persons holding the race that it occurs at in the future.

2. If there is a split off for the "lower level classes", it should still be challenging for those riders!! I don't think anyone in those classes would find quad trails and fire roads at all challenging.

3. Where there is a split off from the main route to separate different classes, it needs to be VERY WELL MARKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We have 3 blue markers for high speed corners, and MANY obvious white markers for dead checks. If there is a split it needs to be AT LEAST as obvious as these! To miss a corner is one thing, to miss a split effectively terminates the racers day, as they have no way of knowing that they are no longer on the correct course.

I now understand that a person was standing at this junction in the "Grizzly" race, but had no indication ahead of time that there would be a person, or to watch for a person at this location. There was not an intersection in the trail - only a road crossing - I was watching the trail and for ribbons/flags to mark the route. I made eye contact with the person who was standing at that intersection, as I knew this person. I nodded at him, and he nodded at me. This I recall. I was not stopped, or directed to take a route other than the FLAGGED route I could see. If, in the future the course is split at some point, and the respective direction changes are not obvious to a racer travelling at race pace, then each racer should be stopped, asked what class they are in and the pointed in the correct direction.

I rode very well on Sunday - but I rode the FULL first loop, and not the abbreviated version that Juniors were supposed to ride. The full loop was about 30 minutes longer than the abbreviated loop. I was mad, I was pi**ed off, and then very disappointed - this was my most important race of the season, and missing the critical turn, effectively blew my entire season from a points perspective.

I was, as far as I know the only one who missed this turn. Perhaps it was because I missed the obvious signage, or perhaps it is because I was the first "lower level racer" to come through this point and after I went through the person working this junction made sure everyone else who came through went the correct way. Whatever, I guess that's racing. I'm still a little ticked, but it was certainly not anyone's intention and was perhaps a planning/race management oversight. Although it didn't work out for me, it doesn't diminish the huge amount of work that I know was put in by the Kroekers, Mike and others - which I do respect and appreciate.

I know only those who volunteer really have a right to expect to influence the process, but I would like to ask that races in the future address the needs of all those who pay to participate, and give equal consideration to the various "skill levels" rather than perhaps being focused on a particular class.

Cheers.