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Carter Nieuwesteeg sweeps first half of Singletrack 6

Emily Williams leads Emma Maaranen in women's contest

TransRockies Singletrack 6 is blazing its way through the Kootenay Rockies for the 2022 edition of the cross country stage race. With three of six race days finished, Carter Nieuwesteeg and Emily Williams lead the standings.

Nieuwesteeg (Santa Cruz/Clif) dominated the first half of the race, sweeping all three stages. The Fernie local used his home-trail advantage to win the first two stages, in Fernie and at Fernie Alpine Resort, and establish a solid advantage over U.S. riders Macky Franklin (Niner Bikes) of New Mexico and Logan Connell (Go4Graham) of Colorado.  Nieuwesteeg extended that lead further when the race moved west to Kimberly, B.C.

2022 Island Cup XC - Hammerfest
Emily Williams (Ellevate XC) racing on Vancouver Island early in 2022. Photo: Patrick Burnham

Emily Williams (Ellevate XC) leads the women’s standings after three stages. After claiming victory the opening two stages, the Canadian’s winning streak was disrupted by U.S. stage-race specialist Emma Maaranen (KS Kenda Women’s Elite Team). Maaranen outsprinted Williams in Kimberly to land the stage three win, but couldn’t pull back more than 0.2 seconds of the Canadian’s advantage in the overall standings.

Elyse Nieuwold (Pendrel Racing) is back on a cross country bike and sitting third after three days of racing. Williams’ Ellevate XC teammate Jenny Lehmann is also in the hunt in fourth, including a podium finish on stage two.

Singletrack 6 stays in Kimberly for stage four before finishing off with two days of racing on the iconic trails of Rossland, B.C. on Saturday and Sunday.