Runnels and Wallace ride – and hike – away with BCBR Gravel Explorer Day 2
Hike-a-bikes and hard climbs as stage race kicks into high gear
Photo by:
Chris Stenberg
After a steady sampling of rail grade and singletrack on Monday, stage 2 of the BCBR Gravel Explorer kicked into high gear in all aspects. The stage opened with a lengthy paved climb before transitioning to singletrack and climbing even further. All in, racers ascended 1,239 metres over the day’s racing, including the first sampling of mid-stage hike-a-bike.
Canada’s Cory Wallace (Kona) and the U.S.A.’s Sammi Runnels (CNCPT Team) repeat their wins from day one, padding their overall leads as the stage race starts to get serious.
BCBR Gravel Explorer – Stage 2
As a still-emerging discipline, gravel racing can be pretty much anything you want it to be. Tuesday’s racing definitely veered into the “adventure ride” end of the sport, mixing tarmac, rail grade, singletrack and unrideable hike-a-bike sections.
Riders eased into the day, at least technically, with a sustained road climb out of Naramata and up to the KVR (Kettle Valley Railway). After taking in the views, racers turned into the Three Blind Mice singletrack network for more climbing – topped off by a short hike-a-bike section.
Wallace, coming from years of mountain bike and adventure racing, was on solid footing all day and loving the changing surfaces of Stage 2.
“It had everything in it, flowy singletrack, a bit of road, a bit of gnarly singletrack ,a hike-a-bike,” said Wallace, “That was a sweet mix!”
Wallace used the stage to extend his lead in the overall. The Canadian was joined by Karsten Madsen (Clif Bar, Oakley, Enve, Ryzon), Lucas Strain (CNCPT Team) and Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes’ duo of Alexander Fraser-Maraun and Declan Kelly, with the lead group reforming after the paved climb. Wallace attacked going into the singletrack climb, opening a two minute lead over Madsen. Strain and Fraser-Maraun worked together to limit losses in third and fourth.
On the women’s side, Easton’s gravel phenom Amity Rockwell was thriving in the challenging terrain.
“That long singletrack climb, once you got into a groove, it was fun, everything was right on that perfect edge of – I can do this if I just focus the right amount, come at it right – and having that challenge every now and then was a really nice way to mix up the fitness/suffering aspect of it. I loved it!” said Rockwell. The Easton rider is still chasing CNCPT Team’s Sami Runnels in the overall. But, with some big days left on course, nothing is set in stone yet. “I”m Excited to see how everything shapes up over the next few days, I mean its’ definitely a long week, I’m hoping the legs hold out.”
It was Runnels taking the win on Tuesday, though. The CNCPT Team rider hit the singletrack with a solid lead. While Rockwell worked hard to close that gap, nearly making contact by the time the course returned to more stable footing, Runnels pushed her lead back out to nearly 2.5 minutes by the finish line.
While the overall leaders have to be ready to race whatever the race organizers throw at them, other riders are able to play more to their individual strengths. Jesse Sholtes (CDN Controls) is thriving on the technical opening stages. Sholtes leads the men’s 30+ category and, on Tuesday, rode through the race leaders to finish third overall.
“I loved that stage, I liked the technical climbing stuff, that’s my jam,” Sholtes said after the race.
In the women’s 50+ category, it is Jodi Merckx thriving in the challenging conditions. Through the tech – and even some B.C. ‘gnar’ – Merckx is steadily building a lead over Knolly Bicycle’s Brenda Ryujin.
Amity Rockwell, Sami Runnels and May Constabel on the women's podium for Day 2.
Karsten Madsen, Cory Wallace and Lucas Strain on the open men's podium after Day 2.
BCBR Gravel Explorer returns to more traditional gravel territory to mark the event’s halfway point. Just shy of 100km of FSR roads are interspersed with KVR rail grade for a more fitness-focused race after two days of technical riding.
