June 20/05 9:43 am - Test of Metal: Report and results

Posted by Editoress on 06/20/05
 

Sydor, Federau capture Squamish Test of Metal titles
Courtesy Ron Enns, Squamish Test of Metal

Squamish, B.C. – Rain did not appear to dampen the enthusiasm of the more than 800 racers in the 2005 Squamish Test of Metal, held on June 18 and presented by North Shore Credit Union, as muddy but smiling faces were the norm along the 67-kilometre point-to-point mountain bike cross-country race course.

In the women’s pro field, three-time world champion and Canadian Olympic silver medallist, Alison Sydor (Rocky Mountain Business Objects), showed her prowess by taking charge of the race on the technical Powerhouse Plunge, a steep, rooty and rocky trail made even more treacherous by the slick mud. This was Sydor’s first appearance in the Test of Metal, and she trailed Catharine Pendrel (The Bike Barn) for much of it. But once Sydor took the lead, she showed her strength, finishing in 3:10:13 and eclipsing the course record for women by one-and-half minutes, an impressive feat given the difficult conditions. Pendrel hung on for second place in 3:12:34. Third, fourth and fifth places went to Wendy Simms (Frontrunners Brodie), Eron Chorney and Meghan Kindree (Team Squamish).

While a course record was not set in the men’s race, it was a fight to the finish in a see-saw battle between two of Canada’s most promising young racers, Ricky Federau (Gearsracing.com) and Neal Kindree (Team Squamish). Federau, who was third at last year’s Test of Metal, was fresh off a third-place finish in the senior elite race at the national championships the previous weekend, with Kindree taking the silver medal in the junior men’s race at the nationals. At the Test of Metal, the two had a chance to race head-to-head, and they put on quite the show. Kindree led early in the race and at one of the primes, the two tied in their sprint across the line. With about 10 kilometres left in the race, Federau had about a 45-second advantage, and he held that, finishing in 2:49:05, with Kindree across the line in 2:49:48. It would be almost five more minutes before third-place finisher Galen Kehler (Wenting’s Cycle) arrived, followed closely by Jaimie Douglas (Oak Bay Bikes) and Michael Hunter (Rocky Mountain Business Objects).

The awards for the top riders from the home of the Test of Metal, Squamish, B.C., were the brother and sister duo of Neal Kindree and Meghan Kindree, both riding for the newly formed Team Squamish.

RACE NOTES – Despite his busy schedule of NHL negotiations, Trevor Linden of the Vancouver Canucks raced in the Test of Metal, finishing in a respectable 4:13:51.