The exciting thing about stage racing is that it’s never over until it’s over. Rolling into the penultimate day of the 20th BC Bike Race, standings looked somewhat sorted. Nino Schurter had asserted some control of the men’s race while Ruth Holcomb had a growing lead over Katerina Nash. Then came Nanaimo. Day 6 lived up to its finish line venue, Big Bang Cider’s tasting room, with explosive sprint finishes in both men’s and women’s race.
On the men’s side, a five-way sprint for the win and a shift in the top five. In the women’s race, Hannah Simms pushed race leader Ruth Holcomb to the line and, with that effort, moved a spot up the overall podium.
Holcomb and Simms go to the line at Big Bang Cider
Ontario’s Hannah Simms led out the women’s field in Nanaimo, hitting the top of Abyss at the front. Ruth Holcomb, though, was right on her wheels. The two battled back and forth all the way to Big Bang Cider.
“Today was really fun. Ruth and I were battling it out all day, which made it really exciting. Just when I thought I was done she’d make a move and I’d have to dig in and catch up. It was a back-and-forth the whole second half,” Simms said after the race. “The trails here are really fun. You’re ripping it at high speed, you can get such a good groove and flow here in Nanaimo. Maybe another underrated spot here on Vancouver Island.”
The battle between Simms and Holcomb left BCBR veteran chasing on her own behind. Nash had been the closest rider to Holcomb all week, but her absence didn’t give the Santa Cruz racer a break in Nanaimo.
“Coming into today I was going to keep it chill and ride with Katerina. Hannah just blew by us and I thought, man, she’s really ripping today. She was stronger than me on every climb and just riding so well. I was just trying to keep it smooth on the descents and make time where I could. It was the most awesome battle today. Every time I thought I had her, she’d come around me. Then it ended up in a sprint, just an awesome day.”
Simms moves ahead of Nash in the overall, but is still nearly 10 minutes behind Holcomb. That doesn’t mean Santa Cruz racer is expecting an easy run through the final day of racing.
“We’ll see. Every day for the last three days, I’ve wanted to play defense. Then I end up in a race with someone and I just can’t help myself.”
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