April 13/11 11:56 am - John Henry West Coast Super D

Posted by Editoress on 04/13/11
 

Mud, mire, grime, grit, sludge, muck, filth ... you name it, we had it last Sunday, April 10th, in Belcarra for the John Henry Bikes/West Coast Racing Super-D.  In spite of it all, we still had over seventy eager racers willing and happy to get soaked and filthy!

2011 marks the third consecutive year for the John Henry Bikes/West Coast Racing Super-D, and 2011 is the first we have had bad weather: in the past, it's been bluebird and warm, but this year we ordered up some serious rain just to make things a tad more challenging.

Once again, West Coast Racing did not disappoint, putting together a genuinely fun course with a great mix of challenging, technical downhill, with equal doses of cardiac-arrest inducing climbs, made even more difficult by a thick layer of something resembling peanut butter covering everything.  Having raced the Super-D in both wet and dry weather, I will attest to the fact that it takes a special kind of maniac to shred this course as fast as this year's winners: grinding up slippery hills after white-knuckling it down greasy rocks and roots takes nerves of steel and damn big lungs.


Looking at the results, I feel a bit of deja-vu: making it a one-two repeat of 2010, bragging rights go to Chris Johnson of Dunbar Cycles for the fastest overall time, with Arthur Gaillot of Suspension Werx/Marx Conditioning less than two seconds back.  Fastest females for the day were Lindsay Trimble, racing for CCN, and less than a minute behind her, Jaclyn Delacroix getting it right under the Mudbunnies banner.

Once again, Ryders Eyewear and John Henry Bikes supplied plenty of swag for the competitors, including a 2011 Norco Rampage which went to one very happy 15 year old Bryan Gregory.

Special recognition needs to go to the Mudbunnies cycling club with truly an impressive turnout: five of the eight women riding were all from the Mudbunnies, showing us that maybe we can judge a club by its name!?

Thanks to all the racers and volunteers who braved the weather to make 2011 another successful year for the John Henry Bikes/West Coast Racing Super-D!

Full results  .

Words by Edan Marshall