Video & Race Report: Trans BC Enduro Days 1 & 2 - Rossland
Days 1 & 2 Recap
Photography // Dane Cronin & Riley Seebeck
Videography // Ben Duke & Peter Wojnar
Welcome to the 2022 Schwalbe Trans BC Presented By Yeti Cycles. It's been exactly 1079 days since we were last writing a race recap, and boy, did we miss it! A lot has happened over that time, but finally, we find ourselves back deep in the mountains with a week of epic riding ahead. The week kicked off in Rossland, a relatively small community high in the Monashee Mountains. It may be small, but there is no shortage of epic trails!
By Trans BC standards, it was a pretty easy start to the week, with day 1 consisting of 28km, 1375m of climbing, and most importantly 1438m of descending. Although short-ish, the relentless sun made this a pretty tough day, physically and mentally. Day 2 started with a shuttle to the top of Dewdney. A classic Rossland trail that would take riders on a 5.5km journey of lung-busting sprinting mixed with death grip straights. What a way to start the day! Cherry Poppins and Crown Point followed and could well be early contenders for trails of the week! A final taste of the Red Resort bike park for a lap down Redhead and that was that - two epic days in Rossland. Castlegar, here we come!
If you ain't hiking, you ain't biking! Luckily there's plenty of both at the Trans BC.
Day 1, stage 1. Lets goooo!
Not a bad spot to take a breather before dropping into stage 2 - Flume.
The beginning of stage 2 featured a rock section that gave riders multiple line options...some picked the right way, and some definitely did not!
We couldn't visit Red Resort without hitting the classic Dreadhead.
The Dreadhead chunder never gets old!
It's impossible not to be stoked on these trails.
It's a jungle out there!
Death gripping across the Red Resort ski runs was a non-negotiable.
Dreadhead dirt conditions couldn't have been better.
Dylan Currie in full attack mode.
Adam Prosise on a heater coming into the finish of stage 3.
The day ended with some bike park flow down Paydirt.
Party train!!
Jo Peters pushed hard all day long to find herself in 3rd place in the Open Women.
To say it was hot would be an understatement.
Day 2 started with a shuttle to the highest point of the day. Our crew of epic volunteers made sure everyone's bike was at the top and ready to go once the racers arrived.
Stage 1 admin - who's going first?
There's a level of commitment needed for blind racing and Alex Petitdemange certainly wasn't holding back.
It was pedal power only from the bottom of stage 1 for the rest of the day.
You did not want to miss this bridge on stage 2. Things would not have gone well.
Nick Quinn commits to the main line with more than enough confidence.
There were more than a few broken bike parts on stage 2.
Party train volume 2.
Party train volume 3.
The final climb of the day pushed riders to their limits but the beer was calling.
Stage 4 - Redhead - required a decent amount of tree dodging.
These two legends manned the Schwalbe rider support tent, keeping bikes running after each day. Cheers guys!
Cheers for an epic couple of days Rossland and Red Resort. We'll be back for sure.
A huge thanks to: Schwalbe Tires, Yeti Cycles, Kazoom, USWE, Jimmys Cannabis Shop, Dirtlej
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Trans BC Enduro = 6 days of fully supported enduro (blind) racing each day (3 to 5 downhill timed stages). Trails are generally much more aggressive than BC bike race. Uphills are mostly pedaling (untimed) with some hike a biking and some shuttling to top of stages.
Generally... all the "Trans" races are similar in this regard. Trans BC, Trans Cascadia, Trans New Zealand, Trans Atlantis, Trans Tas, Trans New England, Trans Maderia, Trans Sierra Norte, Trans Andes, etc, etc...
I would never (well never say never) do the BC Bike race as it's far to XC for me. But a few of trans races are on my bucket list. Hoping to do Trans BC next year and Trans Cascadia the following.