A quick glance at Test of Metal (TOM) racers as they waited en masse for the event to begin on Saturday (June 16), and one would have hardly noticed the rain.
Brightly clad and buoyant, the 800-plus hardcore bikers were full of glee - laughing, limbering and giving off the same slightly manic air of bright-eyed school children in helmets waiting for the class picnic to begin.
Of course, the end of the race was entirely a different story - those same clean-skinned, chipper athletes were now delirious, mud-soaked and shaky-legged.
But they somehow still managed to laugh despite the carnage of a 67-kilometer cross-country course that had been doused liberally by the very wet hand of Mother Nature.
"The rain made for a very slick course - sections that people could ride when dry became un-ridable, and for the volunteers who are out at Bonk Hill, 9 Mile and the top of The Rip it made for a long and cold day," said race director Cliff Miller. "I am grateful that there are people who are as committed to the event as those Mettle Crewers who had those stations."
Squamish superstar Neal Kindree won the race, again, with a personal best time of 2:40:04 in the Men's Pro-Elite category. His entry in the TOM demonstrated a cool confidence in skill as Kindree risked his Canada Cup points lead to race in his hometown event for the second year in a row.
"The first time around was a little bit bigger, but it sort of confirmed that I deserve to win," he said. "It was a good feeling."Kindree said he felt good despite not achieving his goal of breaking the course record, which he fell short of by just over two minutes.
"Given the conditions of the course, it was an incredibly fast time, so I was really pleased with that."
Kindree was off to a strong start, getting the first and the second prime, and then long time riding partner Ryan Edwards took over the lead when the duo approached the Hike a Bike section and Kindree dropped his chain.
"He got about 20 seconds on me," said Kindree. "I guess he really hammered after he got that gap and it took me about half an hour to close it."
Edwards made the best of his lead, getting five primes in that half hour.
"I was a little bit concerned," said Kindree. "It was in the back of my head that I might not catch him."
It came down to Nine Mile Hill.
"When I got there I caught Ryan and passed him. It was a nerve-wracking little while."
Edwards finished second with a time if 2:45:14 ahead of numerous noteworthy athletes, including third place finisher, ex-National Team member Andreas Hestler who finished with a time of 2:49:20.
"He works full time," said Kindree of Edwards. "It's incredibly impressive the time that he finished in." Kindree says he intends to continue racing the Test of Metal races, as long as they don't conflict with Olympic qualifying events."I'll do the Test of Metal over the World Cups."
In the women's pro-elite category, World Cup racer Catherine Pendrel, whose ranked in the top 20 of the world, reigned victorious with a time of 3:19:08, and was immediately swarmed by television cameras and photographers.
Pendrel beat out last year's winner (and breaking up the sibling domination-dynasty) Meghan Kindree by just over three minutes. Meghan beamed a broad smile after finishing with a time of 3:22:31. Joanna Harrington came in third at 3:33:49.
While other racers may not have come close to securing times like those in the winner's circle, they did demonstrate endurance in times of hardship, and proved that there is fun to be had, even on a broken bike with over 15 kilometres of a grueling mud-coated track left to go.
"I had felt very good the whole race," said racer Jesse Horn. "I had saved the right amount of energy to feel good riding up Nine Mile and Lava Flow, but just as I was about to enjoy the decent that I had worked so hard to get to, my free wheel exploded and the drive train just spun without turning the wheel. I was horrified. I ended up having to run from the top of the plunge 15 kilometres to the end. "As bad as this sounds I oddly had a great time, I challenged myself to do something that I was not expecting to have to do that day."By all accounts, the volunteers made the race a joyous event the competitors.
"I was awed by the community support of this event," said West Vancouver's Justin Webb in a letter to the Chief."It seemed that the entire course had supporters cheering on the riders and ringing their cow bells."
