The 4th Edition of the Rockies24 took place this past weekend in Canmore Alberta. 49 Teams of 2-10 riders in different categories, as well as 41 Solo riders took on the muddy 13 km course. The conditions had been perfect on friday, but saturday rain showers turned the course into a slippery and muddy challenge. This year the course had some added singletrack to enhance the great riding experience for riders of all levels at the World Class Canmore Nordic Center.
Julie Kelly from Fernie claimed the Solo Female overall title while Frank Charest from nearby Dead Mans Flats claimed it on the mens side after a tight 24 hr battle with Magnus Stenlund, a local from Jasper Alberta and past winner Nicholas Emsley from Haliburton Ontario. After 24 hours of racing it came down to just over 2 minutes between the top 2 riders with Nicholas another 11 minutes back
On the Teams side there was good competition throughout the categories with the “Ascent Cycle I’m not Old Haha” team from Lethbridge taking the overall title and the large Nepali Khukuri knife trophy home with 23 laps. The Corporate category (teams of 6-10) saw the deepest field with Team McElhanney Moonlighters from Canmore taking the top step with 22 laps. Young ripper Connor Duell from Lethbridge took home the fastest male lap, while Usha Khanal from Nepal took home the fastest Female lap, both of them receiving Julbo Fury Sunglasses as the award.
Highlights of the weekend were the growing expo area complete with a Kuma Chill lounge, live music saturday night, a dry last 18 hours of the race, and the festivities around the race hub at the Canmore Nordic Center. Being able to camp at the Canmore Nordic Center throughout the weekend with the towering Rocky Mountains above and the luxuries of the 1988 Olympic host site on hand is a unique experience. The goal of the Rockies 24 is to provide a professional race experience with a welcoming atmosphere for riders of all abilities to get out and enjoy some of the best mountain biking Canada has to offer. The bike party in the Rockies is growing and we can’t wait for edition number 5 coming up next July!
Huge shout out to all the volunteers and supporters and of course our great sponsors, F2C Nutrition, Squirt Cycling Products, Full on Lighting, Ghostrider Equipment, Kona bikes, Julbo, 4iiii, The Bicycle Cafe, Pink Weasel Coffee and Kuma Outdoors. Without the huge team effort the Rockies 24 would not happen.
Stay tuned for details on next years edition on both Facebook and Instagram: @rockies24 as well as the race website at: www.rockies24.com!
