BCBR midweek madness shakes up standings
Maple Mountain and Nanaimo deliver epic battles in the trails
Photo by:
Margus Riga
Two big mid-week stages shook up the standings at BC Bike Race. With the temperatures almost as spicy as the racing, and the first real taste of the B.C. gnar, racers were on the limits all day.
Evelyn Dong continues to push Katerina Nash in the women’s race while Peter Disera and Andrew L’Esperance have taken over taking swings at New Zealand’s Craig Oliver in the men’s race.
Everyone versus Craig Oliver
After two days of going toe-to-toe with Quinton Disera, Craig Oliver faced new mid-week challengers in the men’s race. First, Peter Disera stepped into his brother’s shoes as BCBR returned to Maple Mountain for a full serving of the double-black trail, Maple Syrup. The result was the widest men’s winning margin yet at this year’s race, with Oliver taking the win by a full four seconds.
On Thursday, BCBR travelled north to Nanaimo for a hefty sampling of the mid-island trails. The course quickly proved why the city’s nicknamed Gnarnaimo by locals, dropping racers into long, high-speed descents on Max Power and Rollercoaster before finishing with a more low-angle descend down Shenanigan’s to finish things off.
Andrew L’Esperance took on the role of providing what is now a Canadian team-effort to challenge Oliver’s BCBR dominance. L’Espy managed to squeeze out a win by three seconds after 40km of racing. Oliver’s lead in the overall, though, remains intact.
Not far behind, Carter Nieuwesteeg and Canadian legend Geoff Kabush drew into a to-the-second tie for fourth place in the overall standings. With those two pushing for placings, the lead riders won’t have a second to relax on course as the race moves to Cumberland.
Nash rules in Nanaimo
On the women’s side, Katerina Nash continues her perfect streak at the 2023 BC Bike Race. But dig a bit deeper into the results and there’s more going on than shows on the podium. Evelyn Dong and Alberta’s Eva Poidevin have pushed the veteran California-based Czech all week. On Thursday in Nanaimo, Sandra Walter joined the fray in earnest. The Liv Canada racer, and defending BCBR champion, landed her first podium of the week after a heated day in the sweltering Nanaimo trails.
With three days of racing remaining, Nash leads Dong and Poidevin, but it is most definitely a four-way race.
2023 BC Bike Race relocates to Cumberland for the final three days of racing, including a quick stop-over in Campbell River on Day 6.
