21 cyclists took to the rocky, rugged slopes of Mount Sima on Saturday for the 2022 Yukon Downhill Mountain Bike Championships.

Racers had the choice of competing in either the Expert or Sport category. 12 chose to race in the Expert category and nine in Sport.

Experts found themselves on one of the most difficult runs at Sima named Lefty Loosey: a double black diamond trail full of big roots, rocks, ladders, high-speed sections and several cliff drops. There’s also a section that runs underneath the chairlift where the racers were loudly cheered on by those above them. Sport racers barrelled down Drop the Clutch which while marked as a blue run, is still littered with table top jumps, twisting berms, bridges and fast straightaways. When you ride Drop the Clutch at the speed these racers did, it makes for a wild ride down the mountain.

There were some tight races held, with just a few seconds separating the winners from the rest of their competition. This is particularly exciting because some categories had riders as young as 10, 11 and 13 years of age, and up to 60 years old as was one of our winners.

Those who came out on top are now the official Yukon Downhill Mountain Bike Champions for 2022. Congratulations and enjoy your new royal status. Here are the results:

Expert female, adult

]Melanie Edwards 04:34:20

Expert male, adult

Josh De La Salle 03:40:80
Ben McPherson 03:44:40
Nigel Sinclair-Eskert 03:53:10
Angus Endress 04:01:10
Rob McConnell 04:17:50
Devin Knopp 04:26:40

Expert male, youth

Cooper Park 04:16:10
Isaac Maddocks 04:24:80
Jacob Schnarr 04:34:50
Mathias Quiros 05:01:20
Micah McConnell 05:32:60

Sport female, youth

Aven Sutten 08:41:30

Sport male, adult
Brian MacDougall 08:11:20
Taras Yurkiv 08:45:40

Sport male, youth

Ira Davidson 07:59:30
Kai Gibson-Tyler 08:05:00
Johna Irving-Staley 08:23:20
Eli Marsh 08:55:40
Silas Sanderson 12:31:60
Gregory Yurkiv 19:55:00

The next events on the Yukon cycling calendar include:

Aug. 20: Yukon Energy Midnight Dome Enduro in Dawson

Aug. 21: Icycle Sports Top of the World Gravel in Dawson

Aug. 27: GRMB in Whitehorse

Sept. 10: Yukon XC Mountain Bike Championships (Royalty of the Canyon) in Whitehorse

Sept. 17: YXYCross in Whitehorse

Oct. 1: Gravel Growler in Whitehorse

For more information and to register, go to https://yukoncycling.com

– Submitted by Geof Harries