Squamish's Neal Kindree has, once again, passed the Test with flying colours.
Kindree picked up his second consecutive Test of Metal win on Saturday (June 15) and is now the first competitor in the 17-year history of the race to win back-to-back races on two separate occasions.
He tore through the course with a time of 2:34:28 and said he was battling with second place finisher Kris Sneddon for much of the race. Kindree had built up a considerable lead just past the Rollercoaster section and carried that lead to Nine Mile Hill.
Once I hit Nine Mile I slowed down a bit and held a pace that was comfortable, he said. And try to get the guys to chase me a bit.
He said Sneddon eventually got close but Kindree turned it on in between Lava Flow Hill and the Ring Creek Rip and cruised his way to the win. Kindree said it was a special win.
I think it ranks second to my initial win [2006], he said. It's hard to beat the first one because the Test is a race I watched when I was a kid but this one is really nice too.
Kindree said he enjoyed the slight alterations made to this year's course and the warm weather.
I thought the course was better [this year], he said, of the additional singletrack down the Ring Creek Rip. It takes a little longer on the descent but it's super fast and flowy. A big thank you to the Squamish Dirt Bike Association for letting us use their land it really adds to the course.
With the win, both Kindree and Sneddon qualify for a trip to the Tour of the Dragon race in Bhutan coming up in September. A random draw will determine who goes out of six total entrants and Kindree said he'd like to go if he gets selected.
Squamish's Quinn Moberg may not have delivered the knockout punch to Kindree in the title bout for the Test of Metal but he told The Chief he was pleased with his fifth place finish.
I gave him a little bit of a fight, Moberg said with a smile. I actually got a stick stuck in my derailleur going across from Rollercoaster and that slowed me down a lot. I really suffered on Nine Mile but after the [Ring Creek] Rip and Plunge I got a second wind and felt pretty good.
Moberg said he fell behind Kindree shortly after the stick incident and was about 20 seconds back coming through Perth Drive.
I wanted to do a bit better but fifth isn't too bad, he said.
Moberg posted a time of 2:41:57 to snag fifth out of the hands of Sean Babcock from Oregon. Cory Wallace from Jasper, AB was third, with Giancarlo Dalle Angelini from Washington State in fourth.
Meanwhile for the women, Coquitlam's Sandra Walter is probably spending Saturday night partying like it's 2001 after taking home the top prize in the women's race.
Walter last won the Test of Metal 12 years ago and said it was a battle all race long to reach first place.
I thought the race had gotten away from me early on, she said. I fell back to fourth pretty early and had to recuperate and just went on my own pace.
Brackendale's Brandi Heisterman was in the lead for the much of the race but Walter said she passed her on the Ring Creek Rip and then overtook Jean-Ann Berkenpas after she flatted near the Powerhouse Plunge. She then passed Kate Aardal shortly after that and held the lead for the rest of the race.
I just put my head down and tried to hold on, she said. This is the perfect example of never giving up I was a little bit worried at the start of the race but just didn't give up.
Walter finished with a time of 3:00:21, beating out Calgary's Aardal by about two and a half minutes and Berkenpas from Maple Ridge by just over three minutes.
Heisterman placed fourth overall but said she was more than happy to pick up eight of the 10 primes, worth $100 each.
My strategy was to win as much money as I could, she said, smiling. I knew I had to just pin it and I pushed as hard as I could before I got caught. It was a bit of a risk but I'm happy with the money.
She said it was an ideal day for the race, after two straight years with rainy conditions.
This was perfect, she said. The community got to get out and really enjoy it. I had a lot of fun even if I didn't win.
Also winning primes for the women were Walter and Berkenpas. The men shared the wealth with Kindree, Sneddon, Wallace and Greg Day all winning at least $100.
Day and Dwayne Kress were the only two locals other than Kindree and Moberg to place in the top ten overall. Day finished seventh with a time of 2:42:59 and Kress clocked in at 2:44:57.
Other locals in the top 100 included: Rhys Verner (18th), Jeff Riemer (31st), Eric Goodwin (34th), JD Disney (39th), Davey Mitchell (51st), Matteo Abel (54th), Chris Christie (60th), Sean Fincham (61st), Ethan Toom (69th), Stephen Todd (72nd), Max Saenger (75th), Michael Kinney (82nd), Chris Bishop (84th), David Reid (93rd) and Tobin Hubner (100th).
Team Squamish member Rhys Verner had an outstanding day, dominating the 14 to 19 year old men's division with a time of 2:51:40. He was the only racer in the division to finish under three hours and beat out the second place rider by almost 15 minutes. His time was good for 18th overall.
Mikayla Martin once again won the women 14 to 19 division with a time of 4:45:08. Other local division winners included: Dwayne Kress (40 to 44 men) and Judy Roberts (60 to 60 women).
For complete results from the race, visit www.webscorer.com.
