Pemberton has built a reputation for hosting some of the hardest mountain bike races in the Sea to Sky Corridor, but on Saturday, Oct. 4, all bets were off for the third annual Lumpy’s Trifecta.
Only 23 racers braved the course, which consisted of three grinding laps in the One Mile Lake trails, including the classic Lumpy’s Epic.
“The Lumpy’s Trifecta is tough, really tough,” said Rocky Mountain Factory Team rider Greg Day, who won the Men’s category. “The climbs are super steep and it’s really technical all the way up. As soon as you’re at the top you’re coming right down so there’s no rest. The rain made it a little tricky too, Dave (Irving) was flying on the descents and actually caught me on the first lap. I had to dig ‘er in a little more and I was able to pull ahead.”
Day crossed the finish line in a time of one hour, 48 minutes and 24 seconds, just over a minute ahead of Pemberton’s Dave Irving (1:49:32). Carsten Ivany (1:57:28) from Langley followed in third.
Squamish’s Brandi Heisterman once again showed her endurance by winning the women’s field with a time of 2:08:27, followed by Leah Trudeau (2:25:13) and Sylvie Allen (2:27:45).
“Despite it raining over night I actually thought (the course) was perfect,” said Heisterman, who finished the race covered in mud splatters. “Maybe the horse trails by the river were a bit gross, but I thought (the course) was brilliant. I was riding a hard tail and ran my old sketchy tires at super low pressure to get enough traction. I couldn’t believe how amazing those trails were, I haven’t ridden them for about 10 years. Even on the hard tail, I couldn’t believe how much fun I had. Those descents were such good bang for your buck, there was no fire road and singletrack the whole way.”
The Lumpy’s Trifecta trophy, crafted from the front fork, stem and handlebar assembly from Geoff “Lumpy” Leidal’s bike was awarded to Day and Heisterman at the post-race celebration at One Mile Lake under blue skies. The Trifecta is the final race on the Pemberton calendar, though riding will continue well into the early winter.
“We don’t ever want to make it big, but it would be nice to get a few more people out,” said Russ Wood, who organized the race with fellow Pemberton local Terry Evans. “We got about three or four guys from the city, but most are Whistler and Pemberton locals. Riding Pemberton is really good in October. Summertime it gets a little blown out, but it was amazing today.” In the post-summer racing season Day would normally be riding and racing his bike for fun in October, but this year he’s training for the Rockyman Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, a multisport race that includes surfing, mountain biking, stand up paddle boarding, trail running, canoeing, road running and a skate event. Day will be joining a team of Canadian athletes for the Rockyman in November.
For full results head to the Lumpy’s Trifecta Facebook page.
