Following up on the successful WSC in Silver Star, BC (2002) we headed west to the world-renowned resort of Whistler, BC. Entries continued to grow especially with the introduction of age group categories in 2002. The who's who of 24hr solo racing in North America were on hand, including USA powerhouse riders that included Elite's Chris Eatough, Tinker Juarez, Nat Ross, Cristina Begy, Katie Lindquist, and Louise Kobin.

Whistler Mountain resort located approx 90 minutes north of Vancouver was a perfect pick for the 2003 championship, with a full on television production in place to capture it all. The Westin Whistler Hotel became the host hotel providing athletes with incredible room rates in a fantastic hotel, with 24/7 bike check in, race kit pick up and awards dinner location and the perfect location to the high speed gondola servicing the solo pit area. Pit crews could actually make it back to their rooms and back in between laps it they needed to use the hotel kitchens.

The course used a great deal of the Town of Whistler as the course started at base two, headed down the steep slopes towards the river crossing and towards the trails within Whistler itself. Towards the end of the lap riders would be challenged with a demanding climb and some sweet single track before heading towards the transition area. It was an action packed course giving us one of the best television broadcasts ever produced.

The race unfolded like this...

September 3, 2003 (Whistler, BC, Canada) - This past weekend saw 167 excited athletes from nine countries gather under a cloudless Whistler, BC sky for the 5th annual 2003 World Solo 24 Hours of Adrenalin Championships. From the venue opening on August 28 to the final rider finishing at 12 pm August 31, the event was the largest gathering of world championship 24hr solo riders ever and included participants from host country Canada, Norway, Austria, Germany, France, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, and USA. Vying for a $20,000 US prize purse, competitors were treated to a challenging 14.2k course that snaked through the beautiful Rockies and tested rider mettle with a mix of very technical single track, long climbs and scenic fire road descents.

Heading into the event, 3-time reigning champion Chris Eatough (USA) was well rested and was certainly the odds-on favorite to gather up his fourth championship in a row. Peaking specifically for the World Solo 24 Hours of Adrenalin event, he gives it top priority in his calendar. "This for me is the biggest event of the year and I've really built my career around it." Renowned for their accuracy and precision, Eatough's pit crew was also well prepared to keep their champion in the lead and ensure that if Eatough could get out front early, they would be able to help him stay there throughout the weekend. Eatough's task would not be a cakewalk by any means.

Standing between him and a fourth consecutive title was among others the 2003 24 Hours of Adrenalin US National Champion Tinker Juarez (USA) coming off of a recent serious hip injury that left him with post-surgery pins inserted into his femur and the desire to make up for past second place World Solo Championship finishes. Also in Eatough's path to another championship and exuding a quiet air of pre-race confidence was Nat Ross (USA), 2002 World Solo 24 Hours of Adrenalin Championship 2nd place finisher Mark Hendershot (USA), up and comer Chad Oleson (USA) and Mathew Chynoweth (USA).

Much like the men, the Elite Women's title would be a battle involving some of the best-known names in women's endurance racing it had the potential to be a back and forth contest that would not see a victor until the very end. With a background in single-speed racing, pre-race favorite Cristina Begy (USA) was pegged as the one to watch not only for her trademark hair braids and bar-end streamers, but also because of her sheer mountain biking talent and riding ability. Potential threats to Begy's quest for the crown would be sure to come from riders such as Michelle Grainger (USA), Marg Fedyna (Canada), Agnes Drogi (France), Katie Lindquist (USA) and Louise Kobin (USA).

With the race barely hours old it became very clear that Eatough was totally on his game as he completed three laps in 2:34:35 and quickly built a sizable lead over Juarez and the rest of the men's field. By 3pm Juarez was struggling after taking a number of spills - straining his recently healed hip and throwing into question his ability to continue in the race. Taking advantage of Juarez's struggles, Ross, Swanson, Harlan Price and Hendershot battled for the top five behind Eatough while in the Elite women's race, Canadian Marg Fedyna jumped to a surprising early lead over Christina Begy. Louise Kobin and Katie Lindquist.

Through Saturday evening and into Sunday morning, Eatough took advantage of his superior pitting ability, Juarez's on-course struggles and inner-mental battles and held on to an almost full-lap lead over the rest of the field. Begy too was dominant in her riding and for much of the event maintained a 45-minute lead over her closest rival. And as 11:30am came up on the event clock and the Sunday morning sun continued to shine on the Whistler crowds, it was indeed clear that the 2003 World Solo 24 Hours of Adrenalin Elite Male and Female Champions would be Eatough and Begy, the two individuals that for the most part had led the pack from the start.

Chris Eatough finished the championship weekend with a total of 22 laps completed in 23:40:04. In second place and coming back from as far back as 10th place was a resurgent Tinker Juarez, finishing 22 laps in 24:01:06. Third place in the Elite Men's category went to Nat Ross who completed 22 laps in 24:44:54. Cristina Begy took the Women's Elite title with 18 laps completed in 23:39:01. Second place went to Katie Lindquist who rode 18 laps in 24:18:36. Third place in the category went to Louise Kobin who finished 17 laps in 23:39:46.

When asked how it feels to ride a mountain bike for 24 hours straight, now 4-time World Solo 24 Hours of Adrenalin Champion Eatough perhaps said it best by stating: "I am completely 100% exhausted... but I couldn't be happier!"

If you have a good story to tell, please email it to:

worldchampionships@twenty4sports.com


Stuart

Team Canada is happy to announce that Exposure Lights, based out of the UK, has become an official sponsor of Team Canada.

Exposure Lights have been long-time endurance race supporters and we are very excited to be working with them. As proof of their commitment to endurance racing, this year Exposure Lights signed on as the title sponsor of the first ever UK Solo National Championships (May 22 & 23) and it looks like it's going to be a fantastic event.

While looking for lighting sponsors, Team Canada considered the opinions of Rob Lee and Michael Cotty of the UK, each one of them having performed at the top of their respective categories in the WSC. Both riders gave a big thumbs up to the Exposure Lights gear.

Good news for Team Canada!

Have news about your countries team? Fire it our way and we'll let the world know what you are doing or who's helping you get it done, emails can be sent to worldchampionships@twenty4sports.com

I had already written something out for this edition and planned to put it in place this evening right after I got back from the BMX race track. I don't race or ride BMX, though I might give it a go this year, I was out at the track because our sons Evan (6yrs old) and Keegan (5yrs old) were going to be on a real BMX race track on real BMX bikes for their very first time. It was a pretty big deal for the little guys.

They've been riding regular bikes for a couple of years now, most of their riding is with me or my wife on regular bike paths or dirt trails, though our oldest son sometimes does a little bit of easy XC riding with me and he wants to do more. He enjoys competition and tries to race past me on my full suspension bike which really makes me laugh out loud.

This evening there were approx 40 kids at the track and quite a few of them have been racing BMX for years. Our boys were a bit out of their element, they thought the rollers were 'really steep', the loaner BMX bikes were 'weird' and there were a lot of 'big kids'.

After an hour on the track I got this photo of Evan hammering it as hard as he could out of the saddle, leaning into the effort as he headed for a roller. Once he finished that lap I caught his eye and he smiled, it was that 'having fun' smile. Suddenly the rollers didn't seem as steep.

The racing finished up and we got on the highway headed for home, while waiting at a stop light I looked back at the boys and asked them what they thought about racing, the 6yr old replied "Uhmmmm... it's hard... but fun... I want to do it again".

My thoughts exactly, son, my thoughts exactly.

That's all for now, see you in three weeks...

Shaun