Riders battle blizzard to finish H2i XC Marathon

Cannondale XCM series spring opener takes on decidedly wintery feel

Terry McKall April 17, 2018

Kaitlyn Shikaze, winner of the 2018 Women’s H2i XC Marathon

A week out from H2i, the first event in the Cannondale XCMarathon series, everything was on track for a nice, if frigid start to spring racing. The trails were clear and dry, and racers were registered and ready to go. Then, on the morning of the race, everything changed.

On Saturday morning, with some racers already on their way to the race, an unexpected ‘spring’ storm struck. “The H2i has a long history of diverse weather,” said Substance Projects race organizer, Dan Marshall, “but 2018 takes the cake.” When the storm rolled in over Dufferin County Forest, it started dumping ice pellets across the course and all over the roads leading to the Mansfield, Ont. venue.

Dominik Chomko crossing the finish line, which is buried somewhere under the snow at H2i XC Marathon

“By the start of the race, the course was covered in 2-4 cm of sugar-snow,” said Marshall. 92 brave racers decided to start the race, despite Mother Natures best efforts to dissuade them. Once on course in the properly Canadian conditions, racers “had a great time plowing through the granular precipitation.”

x2i AWI Racing 2018 — Brody Sanderson and Andrew Watson battling for a wintery win at H2i XCM

Brody Sanderson (AWI Racing) took the overall and U-35 win after battling through the blizzard with Andrew Watson (AWI Racing), who finished second overall and first in Men’s 35-49. Kaitlyn Shikaze won the Women’s race, while David Dermont took the Single Speed win and Paul Cooney was the fastest in the Fat Bike category.

The Cannondale XCMarathon series continues on May 19, when the Long Sock Classic takes over the trails of Ganaraska Forest.