Canada’s roaming XC stage race classic, the Singletrack 6, is back for 2024 and underway in the West Kootenays. Even before the race start, riders are feeling the heat. A rather intense heat wave rolled across the province just as riders were arriving in Castlegar for stage 1.
After two days of racing, Quinton Disera and Jenna Greaser are off to early leads. Both, though have stiff competition chomping at their heels.
Pro men and women: Castlegar and Nelson
Quinton and his brother Peter Disera, currently second by 2:37, are carrying momentum from fast finishes last week at the BC Bike Race on Vancouver Island. Rob Britton, though, is poised in third to take advantage should that momentum turn into cumulative fatigue.
While the Disera brother’s are formidable opponents on trails, Britton found himself face to face, or face to hind with a much more daunting trail user on Day 1 in Castlegar:
“I saw a lot of dust [on the downhill] and thought I was catching somebody. Then I saw the hind-end of the biggest grizzly bear I’ve ever seen, running down the trail,” Britton recounted after the stage.
On the women’s side, Jena Greaser is being pursued by Sonya Looney and, a little further back, Amber Steed. Greaser and Looney are both very experienced stage racers, so it should be exciting to see that battle develop over the next four days of racing.
Singletrack 6 is about more than the pro races, though. Six days of some of the Kootenay’s best trails makes this a challenge for any racer to complete. With the intense heat forcing early starts, riders are getting plenty of time to “recover” and enjoy all the West Kootenay’s have to offer outside the woods.
Here’s reports from the race, and beyond, from James Williams and Carl Decker, both up from Bend, Oregon for the race:
ST6 ride blog: Stage 1 – Castlegar
Tired of 5-hour gravel slogs? Want something shorter, sharper and more engaging?
We found the solution: Singletrack 6.
Today’s deceptively difficult, short stage—22 km, 1,200 m of…
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