BC Bike Race is a seven-day race and every single day counts. There are no freebies. The week-long XC stage race ended with a tour through Naramata’s Three Blind Mice network. With fierce podium battles still raging in the men’s and women’s races, Day 7 was anything but a victory lap.
Peter Disera worked to hold off an elite field including Carter Nieuwesteeg, Geoff Kabush, Luke Vrouwenvelder, Rob Britton and Felix Burke. On the women’s side, Sandra Walter and Catharine Pendrel were able to ease off the gas, but Kaysee Armstrong was gunning for Lauren Cantwell’s third-place finish.
Women – friends, rivals and friendly rivalries
At the front of the women’s race, two long-time friends ended their week in the Okanagan with a day of friendly competition. Sandra Walter and Catharine Pendrel rolled into Stage 6 solidly in first and second place. They’ve also spent a decade training together. After a week of racing for the BCBR lead, the tour of Three Blind Mice was a rare chance to race together.
“Today was super fun,” says Walter. “We ride together all the time, so we can follow close and have a good time. I mostly stayed on her wheel.”
“We chatted about it before, riding together. We had a good, hard race out there and then pushed on the last downhill,” the two-time world champion said. But friendly rivalries are still rivalries. “I was going to let some guys behind us by, then Sandra went by instead. ‘Ok,’ I thought, ‘It’s On.’”
“I did put in one little attack before the last descent,” Walter said at the finish. “I ended up blowing a corner right after though, and she led from there on.”
Pendrel takes the final stage win but, after a blistering first five days of consecutive wins, Walter takes the win at the 2022 BC Bike Race.
“I won the first five days by riding steady and climbing strong. I know Catharine tends to come on strong and I tend to fade, so I went harder at the start of the week. I thought I might as well go for it while I have it.”
Lauren Cantwell also rocketed off the line in Kelowna seven days ago but, with a deep women’s field chasing, had to fight to hold her position.
“I had a really strong first few days. I’ve known Kaysee for a long time and knew she’s an amazing technical rider, specifically descending. Her legs came around the…
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