Mount Sima host first-ever downhill mountain bike event

There was no shortage of volunteers, spectators or participants Sunday for the first-ever Sima Slamfest Mountain Bike Downhill Race.

There was no shortage of volunteers, spectators or participants Sunday for the first-ever Sima Slamfest Mountain Bike Downhill Race.

The competition was held at Mount Sima and included just under 80 registered riders, which was double the amount anticipated by organizers.

Participants had to deal with slipperier than expected conditions as a result of rainfall on Saturday night. “This was just a huge team effort between everybody that helped, volunteers and sponsors and co-ordinators; it was great,“ said Justin Mullan, Slamfest co-ordinator. “The only thing that could have been better was a little bit better weather.“

Competitors were divided into either a youth or adult age category. Riders in the adult division were split up into two groups for both big bikes and small bikes.

The adult course was just under 2-km, while the youth course was just over .5-km.

There was also a separate category for both males and females in both the youth and adult divisions.

Each rider was obligated to do a preliminary run before the start of Sunday’s competition, which helped them familiarize themselves with the course.

Organizers began designing the course a few weeks before the start of the event and finished it Friday night. The course was designed to be very fast and technical because of the steepness of the hill.

Organizers created the course from scratch and had to use a combination of brush cutters, grass cutters, machetes and chainsaws in creating it. Some trees, willows, roots, rocks and moss had to be removed before it was completed. 

Besides Whitehorse, riders competed from Calgary, Lac Des Arcs, Edmonton and Haines Junction.

The competition started with the youth race, which concluded before the adult small and big bike events got underway.

Door prizes were given throughout the day and included a bike frame donated by the Cove Bike Shop that was valued at around $450. Both volunteers and participants were eligible to win the door prizes.

Additional prizes were given out to the top three best times in each category.

The first place finishers in the men’s draw was Sombrio riding jackets,while second place was a Sombrio jersey and third place was biking shorts.

The top three finishers in the women’s division included a 50 per cent off gift certificate, courtesy of Boardstiff as well as socks and shirts

The top female rider in the youth category was given a $100 Eric’s gift certificate and the second place was awarded with a $25 Sportslife gift certificate

The best male youth time was given a Sombrio jersey, while second and third place were given two Pinkbike shirts.

Sombrio gave out around $2,000 worth of prizes. Other sponsors included Icycle Sports, which supplied a shuttle truck for bikes that took up around 20 at a time.

All of the categories top times came from Whitehorse riders, which included Alison Perrin in the big bike female division. Perrin recorded a time of 4:12.33, while Erika Sharp of Calgary was right behind her at 4:31.58. Carmen Wong, of Whitehorse, rounded out the top three at 4:32.37.

Whitehorse riders had a clean sweep in the male big bike category with Greg Taylor finishing with the best time at 2:44.75. James Splinter wasn’t too far off his pace, coming in at 2:46.08. Tyler Coghill finished the race at 2:46.15.

Sydney Vanloon won the small bike female division at 5:01.53. Whitehorse’s Kathryn Mullen and Jen Meurer rounded out the top three. Mullen’s time was 5:53.34 and Meurer’s time was 6:25.63.

Whitehorse riders finished in the top three in the male small bike category. Spencer Skerget recorded the fastest time at 3:07.29, while Ninja Splinter came in at 3:07.67. Jesse Reams finished third with a time of 3:22.86. 

Colin Kabanak was the only competitor to break the one minute mark, coming in at 58.05 in the male youth category. Adam Waddington came in at 1:05.85 and Nic MacDougal finished at 1:12.50.

Despite falling once, nine-year-old Fayne O’Donovan was still able to finish with the top female time, coming in at 1:55.48.

O’Donovan, who has been mountain biking for five years, said it was a lot of fun competing at Sima Slamfest.

“I just like to mountain bike lots and it’s fun to go down the hill,“ she said. “It’s a good exercise and it just fun to have the wind on your face.“

Kezia Wright, nine, was the only other female participant in the youth category. Wright’s time was 2:49.84, which was an improvement from the preliminary run she did earlier on Sunday.

Wright said she was happy with how she did at Sima Slamfest.

“My goal was to have fun and get a little bit competitive,“ she said. “It worked out.“

Ryan Keizer competed in the big bike category and finished in ninth place with a time of 3:06.96. Keizer said the race went really well.

“I didn’t have any goal, I just went down and just to have a good time,“ he said. “I am happy with how it went and how I preformed and that’s all you can do.“

He said the rain made the event more fun.

“It is challenging, but it just adds another element of excitement to it,“ Keizer said. “The rain adds just that extra edge you have to be just right on it to get down the course.“

Keizer said Mount Sima made for a perfect venue.

“It’s a great venue and I see great potential here if we could keep doing it,“ he said. “It would be nice if it was a monthly tradition in the summer.“