More than 100 mountain bikers took to the trail network at South Surrey Bike Park Saturday to mark the return of the Junkyard Dog XC race – a popular event that had been on hiatus since 2012.
“It was very well attended, and it was just a great day. The weather was good, we had a good turnout, it was good (to have the race back,” said SORCE Bike Club’s Dale Tiessen, one of the race organizers.
Greg Day, riding for the Rocky Mountain Bicycles team, captured first place in the elite men’s race, edging his teammate Kevin Calhoun for the victory.
The pair were part of a breakaway group of four that pulled away from the pack early in the race, and stayed together for most of the race.
The elite women’s race champion as Stacey Smith of Cyclepath Kelowna, who led the race wire-to-wire and won by a wide margin, with Kelsey MacDonald and Emilie Thy finishing second and third, respectively.
Other winners included White Rock resident Brad Issel, who won the masters men’s (40-plus) race, edging Surrey Tyler Dumont by 42 seconds. In the 30-plus race, Ivany Carsten from Abbotsford was the first to cross the finish line.
Of the 100 participants, more than 30 of them were youth riders competing in the under-13, under-15 and under-17 divisions, Tiessen pointed out.
“That was pretty cool to see, and I think it’s in large part due to Cycling BC’s renewed investment in youth cycling,” he said, “We had a lot of young riders and their families come from all over – Squamish, Salmon Arm – and make a weekend of it.”
For a full list of winners, visit www.sorcebikeclub.org