Finally, after months of waiting, riding, and training, the first BC Cup is here. Race The Ranch, while not the most technically difficult, is often called one of the hardest of the year because of how short and how physical the course is. With the top times being under two minutes, any mistake, big or small could cost you being off the podium.
This was also a special race because it was Cory’s 20th anniversary of racing BC Cups. 20 years ago, he raced his first BC Cup in this very same place, with the same race organizer still doing his job to this day. Cory decided it would be a good opportunity to race!
Day 1: Practice/Seeding
Usually, this parking lot is dry and dusty. This year, rain kept the dust down and made the course run way faster than years before.
The weather played out well for most of the riders this weekend. The course wasn’t developing the huge dusty holes that it did in the past during practice because the overnight showers kept the dirt holding together nicely.
As a gift to himself, Cory built up a new race bike and used input from the other riders to set it up as best as he could in the short day of practice before the race.
Although it was a super short course, riders had to be careful not to do too many practice runs because of the nature of the course. A few of the riders opted to use trail bike because of the flat sections that required lots of pumping and power to the pedals. With not many lines, there wasn’t much talk about where to go, it was pretty much the same for everybody. Ride as fast and pedal as hard as you can.
Flying high over the triple. In years past, this step up gave some riders trouble because it was hard to make the landing, but with the course in such good condition, riders were hitting it with ease.
The weather played out nicely for practice day with only slight sprinkling in the afternoon, but otherwise really good riding conditions! Not too hot like everybody is used to in Kamloops around this time.
With near perfect dirt condition, the corners were amazing and riders were able to carry much more speed than previous years.
Seeding runs for the Jr. Ex and Pros kicked off in the late afternoon and riders were surprised with their times compared to previous years. All the training in the off season is showing!
Day 2: Practice and Race
Final preparations being made to the bikes before practice starts. It was slightly chilly in the pits, but once on course things started to warm up for the riders.
There were always people stopped to watch this jump on the course to see exactly where the best place was to land to get the most speed for the following pedal/pumping section.
The weather took a turn during the Sr. Men race and it started to rain hard for about half an hour. Riders who came down told stories of extremely slippery conditions and recommendations of different a tire setup. Luckily the rain didn’t last too long and the Jr. Ex and pros came down with the dirt being tacky instead of slippery clay.
Alex Auger took the win in Jr. Sport and Daniel Froese took 3rd!
Cory also came down in the rain, and even with a crash dislocating his finger, he took the win by over 5 seconds! C4 Riders weren’t about to let that go unnoticed…
Soaked in champagne, and smiles all around, it was a good day to race for our coach.
Stephanie Denroche in second, just .37 off the win
Two C4 Riders on the Jr. Ex podium! Blake Bunting in 3rd and Michele Bianchi in 5th.
Jack Almond making a return and taking 5th in Pro Men!
C4 Results:
Cory Leclerc 1st Masters 40-49 Men
Alex Auger 1st Jr. Sport Men
Stephanie Denroche 2nd Jr. Women
Blake Bunting 3rd Jr. Expert Men
Daniel Froese 3rd Jr Sport men
Adam Woodhouse 4th Sr. Men
Michele Bianchi 5th Jr. Expert Men
Jack Almond 5th Pro Men
Levi Harapnuik 6th Pro Men
Caleb Harapnuik 9th Jr. Expert Men
Jacob Stefiuk 10th Jr. Expert Men
Adrian Lee 10th Jr. Sport Men
Willam Zwiers 14th Jr. Expert Men
Joe Witwicki 20th U17 Sport Men
The next ra
The course was now even dryer and faster. Riders were only able to get one, maybe two runs in due to 1 minute practice intervals to keep the course moving along, but that was all that was needed.
