After six days of close racing, winners of the 2023 Singletrack 6 were crowned in Canmore on Tuesday. After starting in Fernie, B.C., the race traveled to Sparwood before crossing the border, and heading up into the alpine in Crowsnest Pass then on to Bragg Creek and, finally, Canmore. In celebration of TransRockie’s 20th anniversary, this year’s route shared the start/finish towns with the original TransRockies Classic from way back in the early 2000s.
Racers were keen on battling for their own slice of that history. On the men’s side, New Zealand’s Cameron Jones traded wins Carter Nieuwesteeg while Justin Homewood and Raph Couturier kept pressure on the front two as they jockeyed for the final podium spot. Hannah Simms earned the leader’s jersey early in the women’s race, while fending off pressure from Chelsee Pummel and Imogen Smith.
Simms lands near-sweep at Singletrack 6
Hannah Simms hails from Ontario but, as part of the organizing group behind the Fernie Gravel Grind, had a local advantage going into the first two stages of ST6. Simms had just one off-day on the way to Canmore, dropping Stage 5 in Bragg Creek to Utah’s Chelsee Pummel. In every other stage, Simms stood on the podium’s top step.
“It was a super fun week with awesome riding and singletrack,” Simms said after the finish line in Canmore, “I definitely had some challenging times, but pushed through.”
With six days of racing in different communities, everyone has their own standout moments from the week. For Simms, the high-elevation stages proved to be a highlight.
“I think Day 4. The second Crowsnest Pass stage,” the Canadian said of her favourite day. “The climbs were hard, but the descents made it worth it, a good flowy, techy mix that day.”
Chelsee Pummel finishes second overall, 10 minutes back after six days of racing and with one stage win to her name. Imogen Smith of New Zealand, a podium regular all week, earned the final podium position in the women’s race.
Jones steals ST6 from the Canadians
On the men’s side, Singletrack 6 quickly turned into a tight battle between New Zealand’s Cameron Jones and Fernie local, Carter Nieuwesteeg. The two
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