June 20/04 1:07 am - Squamish Test of Metal

Posted by Editoress on 06/20/04
 

Squamish Test of Metal Squamish BC June 19
Ron Enns, Test of Metal Media Relations

A searing temperature of 31 C under cloudless skies did not seem to slow down many of the more than 800 racers in the 2004 Squamish Test of Metal Mountain Bike Festival, presented by North Shore Credit Union.

In the women‚s pro field, Sarah Noble took care of some unfinished business. In 2003, Noble led most of the race until being passed near the end, but this year she made no mistake of it, leading all the way and winning with an impressive women‚s course record of 3:11:42. Her dominance was evident, as she finished 4:54 ahead of Wendy Simms. Third, fourth and fifth places went to Melanie McQuaid, Catharine Pendrel and Sandra Walter.

While a course record was not set in the men‚s race, pro racer Carter Hovey did post an impressive time of 2:40:33 in winning this year‚s Test. He did it in fine style, battling back after last year‚s winner, Andrew Kyle, led from the start and took all 10 primes along the course. With about 10 kilometres remaining in the 67- kilometre point-to-point epic, Hovey had closed the gap to about 15 seconds and passed Kyle in the technical singletrack of Crumpit Woods to win by a 39-second margin. Third place went to Ricky Federeau, 2:52 behind the Hovey. Rounding out the podium were Matthew Green and Ruedi Schnyder.

In a new event for 2004, the Ultra Test (also known as So You Think You‚re Tough, Eh?), Seattle racer Steven Williams won the 105-kilometre epic (with more than 8,000 feet of climbing) in 5:38:58, followed closely by Andrew Handford who finished 1:15 back. Third place went to Mike Charuk. Maribeth Evezich won the women‚s race in 7:58:14. The Ultra Test combined the B.C. Cross-Country Championship Gear Jammer and Test of Metal courses.

One of more impressive feats of the day was the back-to-back completion of two of Squamish‚s hallowed classics. Kevin McLane was up at 4 a.m. on the morning of the race, rock climbing the 11 pitches of the Grand Wall on the Stawamus Chief. After scrambling down the backside trail of the 2,200-foot granite monolith that towers over Squamish, he arrived back at home at 9 a.m., giving him plenty of time to refuel and then race in the Test of Metal, which he founded back in 1996 with current race director Cliff Miller.

Women
1. Sarah Noble (Senior Elite Women), 3:11:42
2. Wendy Simms (Senior Elite Women), 3:16:36
3. Melanie Mcquiad (Senior Elite Women), 3:16:37
4. Catharine Pendrel (Senior Elite Women), 3:17:46
5. Sandra Walter (Senior Elite Women), 3:21:42
6. Tanis Banks (Senior Elite Women), 3:21:47
7. Trish Grajczyk (Senior Elite Women), 3:29:21
8. Heather Rochetta (Junior Expert Women), 3:32:03
9. Jean Ann Mckirdy (Senior Elite Women), 3:34:11
10. Meghan Kindree (Senior Expert Women), 3:37:37

Men
1. Carter Hovey (Senior Elite Men), 2:40:33
2. Andrew Kyle (Senior Elite Men), 2:41:12
3. Ricky Federeau (Senior Elite Men), 2:43:25
4. Matthew Green ((U23) Senior Elite Men), 2:48:35
5. Ruedi Schnyder (Senior Elite Men), 2:48:45
6. Steve Bachop (Senior Elite Men), 2:49:25
7. Ben Thompson (Senior Elite Men), 2:49:32
8. Menno Hubregtse (Senior Elite Men), 2:50:39
9. David Kvick (Master Expert 30-39 Men), 2:52:49
10. Drew Mackenzie (Senior Elite Men), 2:53:20

Click on complete results for all categories.