Singletrack 6 sees lead changes and steep descents in Nelson

Stage racing isn’t just about managing legs, lungs and fitness. It takes smooth technique and solid equipment to survive a week’s worth of consecutive race days. It also takes mental strength to roll with the punches when, having prepared all the above, luck still doesn’t go your way.

Nelson to Kaslo: Leads change with location

As Singletrack 6 dove into a second day of racing in Nelson, B.C., women’s leader Jena Greaser’s luck ran out. A broken pedal left Greaser stranded in Nelson’s vast network of singletrack and forced to drop out of the stage. But, with an 8-hour time penalty added onto her Stage 3 results and a spare set of pedals handy, the Fernie racer jumped right back in the next day when ST6 moved on to Kaslo. Because it’s not all about results, right? And a big day of sweet Kaslo trails definitely helped soften the blow of losing the leader’s jersey they day before.

That change sees Sonya Looney take over the lead. The Squamish racer was biting at the heels of Greaser before the pedal malfunction cut that race short. Looney now enjoys a comfy buffer between herself and new second-place rider, Amber Steed of Kalispell, Montana. But there’s still two days left to race and, as Greaser learned, mechanicals can happen to the best.

Fatigue can come in various forms. In the men’s race, the fittest of the fit are finding their challenge on the steep West Kootenay descents. Peter Disera and Rob Britton are still in pursuit of Quinton Disera for the overall, with Britton stealing a stage from Quinton in Kaslo.

In timed descent race-within-a-race, though, it’s the elder and semi-retired Peter Disera leading the standings. The multi-time Canadian XCO national champion is trading leads with New Zealand’s Jamie Bartlett and, after four timed descent stages, just 0.9 seconds separate the two.

For more on the timed descents, and Stage 3 and 4’s happening’s beyond the GC race, lets hear again from Oregon’s James Williams and Carl Decker

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