Toonie News / Results / Reports

April Toonie/Loonie Wraps-up

A week of back to back Toonie races, Wednesday night in Squamish and Thursday night in Whistler saw good weather and fun and challenging courses.

Team Whistler had solid results in both races with Tony Routley coming in 6th in Squamish and Mike Charuk and Joe Maika 12th and 13th respectively.

A very strong turnout for the Squamish race that included quite a few Vancouver riders, a seemingly growing trend, this addition of Vancouver athletes certainly raises the bar with some very fast riders now showing up to duke it out with the Squamish and Whistler locals.

Whistler's first Toonie of the year had approximately 150 riders showing up on an absolutely beautiful sunny day. The course was a challenging mix of short punchy climbs, single-track and a patchwork of snow covered sections which certainly added to the excitement of the race and kept all riders on the lookout for these slippery patches of white. Team Whistler rider Josh Stott lead the field on the first climb and finished a respectable 3rd. Joe Maika suffering a flat tire still managed to crack the top 10 coming in 9th overall with Trevor Hopkins following close behind. Another solid day for Team Whistler.

Stay tuned for more race action and results from Team Whistler as the biking season ramps up for another year of bumps/bruises and hopefully a few podiums as well.

April 15th Sorca Twoonie Race

SORCA (Squamish Off Road Cycling Association) kicked off their first regularly scheduled race in their 2009 Twoonie Series. On Wednesday night two Team Whistler rider's finished in the mix, Dave Burch and Mike Charuk. The race started above Quest University then ascending the Garibaldi Park Road, turned left on the Ring Creek fire service road then headed back down Gary Macfarlane's new trail called "Word of Mouth" <don't miss the 100 foot boardwalk>. A final, fast fire service road brought the racers back to where they started at the Quest cul-du-sac. It was a fun and climby course; Dave had an impressive season debut clinching 4th place with Mike in an impressive 9th putting two Team Whistler riders in the top 10. Tony Routley and Joe Maika where out earlier in the day training and then sacrificed their race to help Will Routley pack up and prepare to fly to out for the Tour of Malaysia stage race which begins Sunday. Watch for an aggressive race from Will who has been in top form lately after impressive results in both the Tour of California and the Redlands Classic. Good luck Will!!

First SORCA Toonie a success

The first Toonie race of the season took place Sunday (April 5th) in Squamish and included a Downhill, a Cross Country race and a Family Ride. Usually the races are held every other Wednesday evening throughout the summer, with the first and last races held on a weekend.

While the Downhill attracted 50 people to the Crouching Squirrel trail, the Cross Country had over 140 participants. Starting from the Squamish Golf Course, the Cross Country race ran in the lower valley to avoid the snow. up the Garibaldi Park Road to the Carpenter's Son's Bridge where it jumped onto the Test Course through the end of Farside before looping back to the PowerHouse Feedzone, up to Poop Alley, across Mulch Alley and finished in the Quest University subdivision. It proved to be fast with only a small amount of STA (single track action).

The early season TW racing trio of Tony, Joe and Mike C where joined by Todd. Most other team members were spotted in the forest training on their mtn bikes and just enjoying what was probably the nicest day of the year. Fastest TW rider of the day was Mike Charuk.

Watch for more Team Whistler results next weekend as the Spring Series Road Race wraps up.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Mt. Washington BC Cup #6: Saturday, July 31, 2010
BC TT Championships: Saturday, August 07, 2010
Provincial TT champs (location tbd)
Mt. Seymour Challenge: Sunday, August 08, 2010
Regional level Road hill climb up this North Vancouver classic.
Ken Quan / Team Whistler BC Cup XC: Sunday, August 08, 2010
BC Cup finals in the spirit of Ken Quan Ride on. Starting from the Riverside Campground and featuring also the Corridor Cup team event with defending SK champs Kelly and Dwayne. Details to follow. Ride on!
Steveston Sockeye Spin: Saturday, August 14, 2010
Provincial level road crit in Steveston