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Slick slopes at Sima for Slamfest

‘The riders were really excited by the conditions because we don’t really get those conditions’
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Liam Mather, seen here at Slamfest in 2016, was the fastest overall racer on Lefty Loosey at this year’s event. (Joel Krahn/Yukon News file)

The Contagious Mountain Bike Club hosted the 10th annual SlamFest at Mt. Sima Aug. 8 on a rainy and wet evening.

Organizer Josh de la Salle said the trails were a far cry from what is typical.

“They were super muddy, super slick,” said de la Salle. “Conditions were really wet, rocks were really slippery, roots were really slippery.”

A few people crashed, said de la Salle, but nothing that could be considered major.

More than 40 riders taking part in races on two different trails — Lefty Loosey and Drop the Clutch — and de la Salle said times were a reflection of the trails.

“Times will be a little bit slower because riders are being more conservative,” said de la Salle. “People are running lower pressure in their tires so the tire will flex so that they can get more traction and more riders will probably be running mud tires instead of race tires.”

Lefty Loosey is the more difficult of the two trails, described as a double black diamond by de la Salle, and 27 riders put in times in three different categories.

Liam Mather was the fastest male and fastest overall with a time of four minutes and 6.98 seconds. Sheldon Smith was second with a time of four minutes and 7.52 seconds, and past winner Massey Baker was third in four minutes and 19.01 seconds.

Danielle Dornik was the fastest female with a time of six minutes and 1.98 seconds, followed by Martina Knopp in a time of six minutes and 14.28 seconds and Miranda Murphy in third with a time of six minutes and 40.92 seconds.

The lone youth rider to brave the trail was Mickey Lamothe, finishing in a time of six minutes and 48.52 seconds.

On Drop the Clutch — a longer, machine-built flow trail — Toby Guzik was the fastest male with a time of eight minutes and 9.45 seconds.

Jenny Strong was the fastest female with a time of nine minutes and 0.88 seconds.

Jake Tipton was the fastest youth rider with a time of 10 minutes and 8.57 seconds.

Despite the lack of rain and cold, de la Salle said riders all enjoyed the race.

“A lot of the riders were really excited by the conditions because we don’t really get those conditions,” said de la Salle. “It’s usually dry and really dusty.”

De la Salle conceded the wind gusts at the top of the mountain made waiting a chilly affair.

“Typically when you ride in race gear, you don’t bring a rain jacket because you’re sweating on the way down,” said de la Salle. “We had to wait a little bit for riders to go down, so we’re all standing there in a little jersey freezing.”

This year’s event also included a number of riders and special guests from B.C., thanks to sponsorship from Chieftain Energy and Air North. Daniel Csokonay, Kestrel Collison, Hunter Visser, Gary Shultz, Taha Attiah, Cameron Smith, Brody Jones, Sheldon Smith, Jack Hickey and Noah Brousseau were all in attendance.

The last mountain biking event of the season is a poker ride on Aug. 15 at Mt. Sima, with the best hand winning a season pass for next year.

For results, go to www.yukon-news.com

Contact John Hopkins-Hill at john.hopkinshill@yukon-news.com

Men’s Lefty Loosey Results

1 Liam Mather 4:06.98

2 Sheldon Smith 4:07.52

3 Massey Baker 4:19.01

4 Joe De Graff 4:19.93

5 Julien Revel 4:24.31

6 Noah Brousseau 4:26.88

7 Aidan Uiterwaal 4:27.91

8 Josh de la Salle 4:29.50

9 Jack Hickey 4:30.51

10 Ben Mcpherson 4:31.21

11 Cameron Smith 4:49.50

12 Angus Endress 5:04.74

13 Francis Belanger 5:11.25

14 Ethan Vandubrink 5:14.73

15 Gary Shultz 5:32.20

16 Sean Kinmonth 5:45.72

17 Thomas Mostyn 6:27.32

18 Zakary Endress 6:39.76

19 Taha Attiah 7:25.38

20 Liam Mostyn 7:37.87

21 Dan Csokonay 9:58.40

Women’s Lefty Loosey Results

1 Danielle Dornik 6:01.98

2 Martina Knopp 6:14.28

3 Miranda Murphy 6:40.92

4 Keltie Hicks 7:12.08

5 Ziggy Reimer 7:13.37

Youth Lefty Loosey Results

1 Mickey Lamothe 6:48.52

Men’s Drop the Clutch Results

1 Toby Guzik 8:09.45

2 Duncan Tipton 8:39.43

3 Dale Heffernan 8:45.75

4 Cameron Nelin 8:52.26

5 Jack Carroll 9:08.96

6 Gabriel Savard 11:43.66

Women’s Drop the Clutch Results

1 Jenny Strong 9:00.88

2 Heidi Stiles 9:39.38

3 Shannon Trott 9:44.17

4 Heather Rose 9:52.52

5 Mindy Skinner 10:22.85

6 Kestrel Collison 11:53.30

Youth Drop the Clutch Results

1 Jake Tipton 10:08.57

2 Isaac Lamothe 10:23.15

3 Owen Parker 19:32.75