麻豆社区

Preston Blackie crested the final hill and turned on the jets.

The 36-year-old Whitehorse cyclist outsprinted rivals Joel Macht and David Gonda to the finish line Saturday afternoon to win the Southern Lakes Yukon Gran Fondo.

Blackie鈥檚 time of 4:59:36 around the five-leg 173-kilometre course was one second ahead of Macht and two seconds ahead of Gonda.

The course record is 4:42, set by Stephen Ball and Ian Parker in 2012.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 expect to win the race,鈥濃�圔lackie told the Star. 鈥淢y objective was to show up and do as good as I can. I鈥坵ould have been OK鈥坖ust being in the top group.鈥�

Thanks to a flurry of attacks by Macht and Gonda on the uphills, the lead peloton was down to just three with 35 kms left in the race.

鈥淚鈥坵as hurting at that point,鈥濃�坰aid Blackie, who rides for Gastown Cycling, a Vancouver-based club.

鈥淚 think we all were. The afterburners were on early and it took a lot of energy to stay with the lead group.鈥�

Blackie didn鈥檛 attack late, saying it would have been a waste of his last drops of precious energy.

When he crested the final hill one km away from the finish line, Blackie knew he had it in the bag.

鈥淚鈥坘new I could beat them in a sprint, but I鈥坈ouldn鈥檛 climb with them,鈥� he said.

鈥淚鈥坰tarted to go on the top of the hill and it was a full-out sprint to the finish.鈥�

The race, formerly known as the Southern Lakes Loppet, enjoyed a record turnout this year with 128 cyclists participating, including 61 teams. The name change to gran fondo 鈥� an Italian term for long-distance bike race 鈥� better identifies the event, said organizer Simi Morrison.

Trena Irving was the top solo female cyclist, earning victory in her category with a time of 7:32:26.

鈥淚 found this race hard this year,鈥� she said, noting she came across two bears on the first leg of the race.

鈥淭he winds were incredible, so that added a very big challenge for riders.鈥�

Irving, coach of the local U Kon鈥圗chelon club, spent much of the race breaking wind for her pupils.

鈥淚 felt like pulling the pin at Jakes Corner because of the wind, and then I鈥坘new it was chip seal for the rest of the way,鈥� she admitted.

With her 10-year-old daughter Ava Irving-Staley scheduled to cycle the race鈥檚 fifth leg, Irving dug deep and continued however.

Drew Osborne split the race with his cousin Jess Wood, finishing last among mixed duo groups.

鈥淚 was impressed with the quality and seriousness of many of the riders,鈥濃�圤sborne said.

鈥淭he race spread out very quickly, more quickly than I鈥坋xpected so by the Carcross Cutoff it seemed like you were riding by yourself at times.鈥�

Male solo rider Alex Rapp was the last cyclist to finish the race in 9:26, earning him the infamous Crooked Wheel award.

The race traverses the area of the Southern Lakes, hitting the communities of Carcross, Mount Lorne, Golden Horn, Marsh Lake and Tagish.

The race started and finished in Carcross Saturday, with a mass start occurring at 10 a.m.

A total of 24 male solo riders participated, a change likely due to the date change, said Morrison.

鈥淭he race took place two months earlier than usual,鈥� she explained. 鈥淲e had a record low 51 cyclists last year and that鈥檚 why we had to change it.

鈥淲e figured that if we did it before the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay, we鈥檇 have more people and that鈥檚 exactly what happened.鈥�

One rider crashed during the third leg and didn鈥檛 continue 鈥� the first incident in race history, according to Morrison鈥檚 memory.

The post-race awards party took place at The Bistro on Bennett, with proceeds going towards the Flying Caribou Recreation Society.

Next year鈥檚 race will start and finish in Mount Lorne.