July 21/01 10:03 am - Canmore 24 Hours

Posted by Editor on 07/21/01
 

Canmore Motorola 24 Hours of Adrenalin

The crowds were out for the sixth annual Motorola 24 Hours of Adrenalin as over 1300 participants and 5000 spectators gathered for the grand kick off to the largest mountain biking festival in Western Canada. Crowds filled the seating areas and along the entire expo for an epic start to an epic race.

A light rain fell an hour before the race however 20 minutes before the Merrell LeMans Start the sky opened and the sun began to shine. The event began with the Merrell LeMans Start where one teammate from the 300 teams ran a 600 metre course before jumping on their bike and heading out onto the course for the 2km Prologue lap.

Mark Gangl from team # 423, Pedalhead Dirt Diggers won the men's Merrell LeMans Start and Jill McDermid from team # 109, Pedalhead Dirt Divas was the women's winner. Robin McKeever of team #446, Ten Guys No Brains won the Prologue lap and was the first person to complete the first lap in 48 minutes.

Teams are competing in one of many categories; PROLAB Solo Category, 4 person, 5 person co-ed, 5 person all-female, 5 person open-age, and Corporate (6-10) person teams. The objective is to complete the most laps in the 24-hour period of time. The mountains will be lit up as the sun goes down tonight as the 1300 plus riders begin their night laps and use night lights to light their way through the trees.

Crowds were entertained with the Motorola 24 Seconds of Adrenaline Gear Grab, Nissan's contest to win a one-year lease on a Xterra or test-drive a Nissan SUV. Coming up this afternoon is trick riding from trials rider Rob Healy and the 24 Minutes of Adrenalin children's ride hosted by Powerplay! Other programs on-site are the Best Pit/Costume Contest and the Best Helmet Contest for those who put some creative energy into the event.

For those of you coming to watch please note that there is a parking/shuttle program that is in effect. The parking/shuttle program will be run by the Rocky Mountain YMCA, all proceeds from the $5 fee to park and take the shuttle go to the Rocky Mountain YMCA. If people do not have a vehicle to park and wish to take the shuttle the fee is only $2. The parking area and shuttle pick up and drop off is just past the IGA in town. We ask that you please do not park along Spray Lakes Road. So if you are not already coming, take a few hours on Saturday and join us!