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Phat Wednesdays back in business
About 160 riders brave rain and mud for B-Line race

The Phat Wednesday downhill series returned with a vengeance last week (June 24), as the wet conditions couldn’t stop more than 160 riders from coming out to the Whistler Mountain Bike Park to take on the B-Line course in the fun evening of racing.

Despite the muddy and slippery conditions, pro rider Katie Holden, winner of the women’s category, still describes the first Phat Wednesday race of the season as a wonderful time.

“The race was so much fun. I love Phat Wednesdays. It is always fun to start on B-Line. It is such a basic course, but it’s one of those races that’s all about bragging rights,” Holden wrote in an email to The Question.

Posting a time of four minutes and 15.96 seconds, Holden rode a smooth race to come out on top of the women’s category. Sarah Leishman raced into the runner-up spot with her time of 4:18.74, followed by Allison Kayes in third, Katrina Strand in fourth and Sue McLean in fifth.

In the ranking of women who rode chainless, Holden and Leishman stayed on top but Strand jumped to third, Jen Ashton to fourth and Rebecca McQueen to fifth.

On the men’s side, Yann Martin topped the busy Open Male category, which boasted 100 racers. Mathieu Hebert, Reuben Miller, Robin Potvin and Trevor Flint rounded out the top five finishers in that division.

Adam Billinghurst posted the fastest time of the evening for a male chainless rider with his 3:55.57 run, just barely beating Curtis Keen’s 3:55.42. Harry Armstrong finished third among the male chainless riders, followed by Kevin Bartkowski and Kenny Smith.

One change to the age categories for this season’s series sets the cutoff for master riders at 30 years old and above, instead of 35. That seemed to work well, Whistler Blackcomb Events Supervisor Sebastien Fremont said, with nearly 35 competitors riding in that division at the June 24 event.

Duncan Mortimer topped the new Master 30-plus category in the season opener, while Ben Ferguson, Bart Brown, Todd Hellinga and Mark Wood to complete the top five. In the Junior Male racing, Ian Morrison became the category champion for the evening, followed by Thomas Zonneveld, Ryan Gillett, Jason Grimsom and Geoff Jansen’s solid performances.

Fremont said it was great to see about 20 female competitors hitting the course, plus a showing of 11 Junior Male racers.

Holden said the men rode well, and the chainless racing was a highlight of the evening, since “when it comes to B-Line, it’s all about riding chainless.”

Billinghurst, whom Holden called “the king of B-Line,” opened a window for someone to grab his crown when he got a front flat. Keene then pulled off the fastest chainless time, but when Billinghurst managed to beat him in a second run, Holden said, the riders had to find other ways of determining the ultimate winner – such as arm wrestling – and Keene came out on top.

“It was a good night, a big night… I hope to see big numbers the rest of the season. Phat Wednesdays are such a good place to have fun and give racing a go,” Holden wrote.

Whistler Blackcomb, the Whistler Off Road Cycling Association (WORCA) and the GLC team up to host the events, with prize donations from more sponsors. On June 24, Cory Thornton won a Sram full drive train, and Josh Lyons won the Giro full face helmet, while other prizes included a set of brakes from Hayes, Giro and Garbanzo Bike and Bean clothing, and Fox gear.

Last night’s (July 1) event was the first of three new PhaSt Wednesday races, which are additions to the regular series roster where the organizers will seek to further test the riders’ abilities by putting the races on more technically challenging runs. The PhaSt Wednesday events, set for July 1 and 22 and Sept. 2, are higher-level races designed for more experienced riders.

Registration for Phat Wednesday events is done at the Garbanzo Bike and Bean starting just before 5 p.m. All riders must have WORCA memberships, which can be purchased on site for $40. The race fee is $2, and the après parties are held at the GLC.

For schedules and more information, visit www.worca.com or www.whistlerbike.com.

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