May 13/08 11:03 am - Perogy XC: Alberta MTB Cup #2

Posted by Editoress on 05/13/08
 

Alberta 2008 Perogy XC a Sour Cream’n Success! May 11th, Edmonton AB
Courtesy Roddi Lega, MTB and BMX Coordinator, Alberta Bicycle Association

Photos part one, Photos part two

The second stop on the Alberta MTB Cup series landed in Edmonton Alberta for the inaugural edition of the Perogy XC presented by United Cycle. Terwillegar Park played host as 120 of Alberta’s finest racers competed in favorable Edmonton spring weather.

One half of the event promotion team, Evan Sherman highlighted what the race was all about. “We just wanted to organize a MTB race that provided a fun, well marked course with fast and accurate results. And it’s that much better if we have a little fun while were at it.” Fun was definitely had by all.

Both the Elite Men’s and Women’s races played out the same as both Tim Heemskerk (United Cycle) and Mical Dyck (Terrascape /Trek) lead their respective races from start to finish in dominating fashion. 2nd place in the Elite men’s field was a back and forth battle with Shaun Bunnin (Bicisport) and Dallas Morris (Team H&R Block). The pair was never separated by more than a 10 second gap over the complete 2+ hour race.

The most exciting heat of the day was the Expert Men category where it was a story of attrition as Bruce Penner (United Cycle) turned down the suck and put the pedal to the medal, slowly shedding the lead group of five down to two for the final lap. Penner narrowly out sprinted Devin Erfle (Deatgoat) to take the win.

The morning start saw the day’s largest field - Sport Men tackle 3 laps of the flowing 7 km course. The winner of the Sport Men race was Eckehart Marenholtz (Pedalhead Racing). In a display of horsepower, Jon Benskin (Hardcore), winner of the Novice Men race, caught and passed the Sport Men’s entire field that started 2 minutes in front.

The day’s other winners were:
Sport Women - Kelly Hall (Juventus)
Novice Women - Krystyn Ong (Juventus)
Expert Women - Nicole Muzechka (Terrascape)
Youth Novice Women - Zoe Dahl (Cyclemeisters/Bow Cycle)
Youth Sport Women - Emily De Freitas (Bicisport)
Youth Novice Men - Samuel Beaudoin (Juventus)
Youth Sport Men - Felix Wilberg
Master Men - Peter Yez (Mud Sweat and Gears)

The highlight of the day was definitely the perogies. 450 were boiled and fried, topped with sour cream and bacon bits, and served to racers and spectators alike. Alberta’s own Technical Director Roddi Lega was on hand feeding racers perogies during the race. While winning the Elite Women’s race, Dyck also perfected the “no hand” perogy feed. Elite men’s winner, Tim Heemskerk also took one of the special feeds.

The Perogy XC Presented by United Cycle was a great race to kick off the MTB season in the Edmonton area. A big shout out goes to all the volunteers who made this race an excellent and memorable event for all.


The next stop for the Alberta MTB cup series is the All You Can Eat Bacon Buffet of Pain & Suffering on May 25, 2008. Bacon Race information can be found at albertamtbracing.googlepages.com.