Brendan MacIntosh won the Stoked to Get Spanked race this weekend, fending off a strong challenge by Leighton Poidevin to take the win in the elite men's category on Sunday.
"This is my first time winning this," said the owner of Flowt Bikes following the race. "I wasn't feeling good at the start but I was able to pull through."
Stacey Smith won the elite women's race, beating Revelstoke's Melanie Bernier.
"I'm tired," said Smith. "It's a hard course, it takes a lot of energy out of you. But good,”
The Stoked to Get Spanked, organized by Skookum Cycle & Ski, brought out more than 100 racers from around the Kootenays and Alberta in categories from the Lil Spankies kids race to elite adults through 17-kilometres of trails at Mt. Macpherson. Elite racers did two laps of the course, while others did one lap. Younger racers had shorter courses to complete.
The adults began the race at 10 a.m. with a mass start from the Nordic lodge; younger age groups went in turn later.
MacIntosh started off slow, trying to avoid the pain he said he normally feels with a fast start. He slowly started making up ground, picking racers off on the steep climb up Ridge Walk to the top of TNT – the high point of the race.
"I think a lot of people don't know how steep that climb gets," he said. "I went into my lowest gear and made it my goal to get up it, not get up it fast."
Eventually he caught up to Lee English and assumed the lead. "At that point I felt ridiculously good," he said.
MacIntosh had a decent lead at the end of the first 17-kilometre lap, but he started to cramp and Poidevin passed him on the second climb up Ridge Walk.
There, MacIntosh's local advantage came into play. He took the more challenging, but faster line over a rocky face, while Poidevin followed the easier line, allowing MacIntosh to pass.
"I watched his lines and he was doing everything right for sure," said Poidevin after the race.
They switched positions one more time, but MacIntosh was able to regain the lead heading into the final stretch and fend off Poidevin for a 90 second win.
Racers had to battle the heat, which approached 30 C as the race went on. It played a factor, as the racers had to stay hydrated to avoid cramping up.
"I didn't drink enough," said Poidevin. "There's not too many places to take a drink. Any double track, I wanted to make a push and pass people.
"It's one of the hardest 35K I've done."
Here are the winners by category:
— Men's elite (34K) 18-29: Peter Knight – 2:19:36.4
— Men's elite 30-49: Brendan MacIntosh – 2:13:19.1
— Men's elite 50+: Larry Hindle – 2:28:50.6
— Women's elite 18-29: Stacey Smith – 2:30:08.4
— Women's elite 30+: Melanie Bernier – 2:37:24.7
— Men's sport (17K) 18-29: Rylan Kappler – 1:19:23.8
— Men's sport 30-49: Jonathan Welsh – 1:16:03.9
— Men's sport 50+: Bob Rogers – 1:53:37.6
— Women's sport 18-29: Laura Gaster – 1:36:57.9
— Women's sport 30+: Meghan Tabor – 1:33.23
— Stoked male U17 (17K): Kellen Viznaugh – 1:12:26.2
— Stoked female U17: Sidney McGill – 1:44:30.4
— Stoked male U15 (10K): Konrad van Varseveld – 51:38.3
— Stoked female U15: Abbey McGill – 1:03:46.1
— Stoked male U11 (4K): Avery Baechler – 17:26.8
— Stoked female U11: Aydan Bartlett – 18:59.0
For complete results, visit zone4.ca.