Once again, bikers Troy Henry, 19, and Heather Enders, 22, showed why they will be representing the Yukon this summer at the Canada Games in PEI.
In the third cycling event of the season, the two Team Yukon members each made it three in a row, winning the expert men and expert women events respectively at VeloNorth’s Carcross to Whitehorse Road Race on Sunday.
To take first, Enders narrowly out-paced second-place finisher Jillian Chown, crossing the finish line one second ahead with a time of 2:13:33.
Henry completed the expert men’s 78-kilometre course in 2:17:05, almost three-and-a-half minutes ahead of second place Marcus Waterreus. Ryan Burlingame secured third with a time of 2:24:09.
“At the beginning it was pretty cold and we started off pretty easy,” said Henry. “About 10 or 15 kilometres out of Carcross I decided to take it out and make the group smaller, and nobody came with me the first time I tried. So I went back to the group and tried it again on the second big hill at Emerald Lake. When I left, it was me and Ryan (Burlingame and Marcus Waterreus).”
Unfortunately, for Henry and Burlingame, Waterreus could not be coaxed into taking the lead.
“Ryan and I would take equal pulls, but the other guy wouldn’t pull at all,” said Henry. “When you drop back he’d just make a gap and wouldn’t pull through.”
Participants in the expert men’s race had an extra 10-kilometres of track to cover than the expert women.
Instead of stopping at the visitor rest area before the Robert Service Way, they continued on and completed a lap around Miles Canyon Road and back to the rest area.
Numbers were down for the event with 21 cyclists, down from 33 in the first event of the season. However, organizers pointed to the Victoria Day holiday and threatening rain clouds for an explanation.
“I think people get a little nervous about the weather,” said race organizer Michael McCann. “It is a long weekend and folks are here and there right now.”
Over the next week, the Velo club will be hosting two more events, beginning with a time trial race Wednesday in Porter Creek, starting and finishing at the junction of Centennial Street and Twelfth Avenue.
That event will be followed by a grueling uphill challenge in the Skagway Hill Climb on Sunday, a race that consist of about 19 kilometres of ascending road.
“I think we will possibly see a new record on the hill next week,” said McCann. “There’s a lot of interest.
“Ian Parker holds the record at 52 minutes. I think Troy might go under 50 minutes this year.”
Henry did not pose any expectations, but does feel a new record may be within his grasp.
“That’s been my goal, to break the 50 (minute mark),” said Henry. “So I’m hoping for around 47 (minutes) or something like that.”
Results
Expert men (78 km)
1st Troy Henry - 2:17:05
2nd Marcus Waterreus - 2:20:33
3rd Ryan Burlingame - 2:24:09
Expert women (68 km)
1st Heather Enders - 2:13:33
2nd Jillian Chown - 2:13:34
3rd Kaithlyn Macdonald -
2:27:29
Sport men (68 km)
1st John Berryman - 1:57:52
2nd Thomas Tetz - 2:01:37
3rd Jonathan Kerr - 2:09:45
Sport women (68 km)
1st Kerrie Paterson - 2:13:35
2nd Laura Salmon - 2:24:23
3rd Shannon Meekins - 2:49:21
Recreational women (30 km)
1st Randi Cave - 1:10:48
2nd MacKenzie Davy - 1:34:24
3rd Suzan Davy - 1:34:25
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com