BC Bike Race flew into its second day on Vancouver Island with a fierce 39km of racing on the iconic trails of Mount Tzouhalem. The men’s and women’s races are both shaping up to be epic battles this week. BCBR veteran, and past champion, Katerina Nash leads again, but with a strong challenge from Canada’s Eva Poidevin and U.S. racer Evelyn Dong.
On the men’s side, Quinton Disera traded leads with New Zealand’s Craig Oliver all day. Flying out of the final high-speed descent, it was a sprint to the line. After two days of racing, the pair are separated by less than three seconds overall. But there’s a long list of experienced stage race pros, including Andrew L’Esperance, Carter Niewesteeg, Geoff Kabush and the U.S.’s Stephen Davoust, waiting in the wings if the fiery racing proves too hot and the two leaders burn out in the second half of the week.
Here’s what BC Bike Race had to say about the day’s racing:
Katerina Nash fends off a long week’s first challenge
Katerina Nash had to work hard for her victory on Day 2 but was eventually able to shake Evelyn Dong and Alberta’s Eva Poidevin to take her second win this week. With a few BCBR titles under her belt already, the veteran racer is looking forward to the battle ahead.
“So far it’s been a really smooth week,” Nash said after stepping off of Tuesday’s podium. “I’m just really excited to be back at BCBR, it’s been four years. I do love the riding here. So many people want to travel from around the world to ride these trails, so I’m pretty stoked.”
The times are still tight, with Dong keeping the gap close today. Poidevin dropped a couple of minutes back but still finished solidly under the two-hour mark and kept Canada on the open women’s podium on Day 2. BCBR’s return to Vancouver Island is also bringing back close racing among the top women.
“We definitely have a good competitive field. Evelyn is riding really strong. It’s great to see Eva. and have a young rider in there. She’s quite sendy on the downhills,” said Nash. “Sandra [Walter] maybe didn’t have the best first two days but I’m not counting her out yet. It’ll be really cool to compete with all of them.”
Cage match at the Tzou
On the men’s side, the race was almost too close to call. Quinton Disera and New…
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