BC Bike Race dipped into epic territory on Stage 4 at SilverStar Mountain Resort. Literally. The day’s route took in the massive, 43-km loop Beowulf. Named after the Old English epic poem, the route goes far off into a deep valley before climbing back out again.
Peter Disera and Sandra Walter wrote their names on Beowulf’s singletrack, taking wins on Monday above Vernon.
Beowulf, the poem, tells its heroic tale over 3,182 alliterative lines. On Stage 3, riders wrote their own epic tale over the course of what felt like thousands of perfectly shaped corners as they descended from the sub-alpine into dry Okanagan dirt and then, finally, a magical pocket of loamy dirt and massive cedars with deep coastal vibes.
Disera conquers Beowulf
Peter Disera was one rider rising to the challenge. After winning Stage 1 in Kelowna, the Canadian national champion dropped down the standings in Salmon Arm on Stage 2. Today, he was back on form.
“I went out way too hard on Stage 1, but I felt good. I just wanted to take the win and lead off the bat,” Disera said in SilverStar. “I really paid for that on Stage 2, but we made it through.”
Stage racing is a dynamic beast, though. Disera battled through the leaders on the climb out of Beowulf’s depths to take today’s stage win.
“Today was just having fun, I wasn’t expecting to take the stage win. The pressure’s off, because I lost so much time yesterday,” Disera said after reeling in the day’s early antagonists, Geoff Kabush and Carter Nieuwesteeg.
After seeing he’d moved back into third overall, Disera may be shifting his sights back towards the overall. But riding his first BC Bike Race is just as much about the experience.
“I’ve only ever ridden one of the trails this week. It’s very blind racing for me, which is unique. I only moved to B.C. in 2020, I’m pretty hyped just to be here.”
To take the win, Disera still has to get through U.S. rider Luke Vrouwenvelder, fourth in SilverStar, and Carter Nieuwesteeg. The Fernie local finished second on Stage 3, less than a minute off the win, and now sits in the same position in the overall standings.
“I had a rough day yesterday. I bonked in the last 5km and Geoff went whizzing by me,” Nieuwesteeg said after the finish in SilveStar. Lesson learned. The Fernie local went into the descent locked to Kabush’s wheel. “I raced Beowulf back in 2018, so I had a vague Idea what to expect. I knew there was a false flat where I could get…
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