Sometimes during stage races we're able to get consistent and extensive updates...and sometimes racers are so tired, blasted, and exhausted whilst in remote locations that to get 160 SMS characters out of them takes a dynamite blast.

Such is the case at the BC Bike Race.

In situations like these - its easiest to keep up with the updates via our Facebook.

Team Jamis wins Stage 3 of the BC Bike Race and retains overall lead

Team Jamis narrowly avoided disaster as local vandals sabotaged course markings today in Cumberland, Victoria.

Things started out in a challenging fashion as the race start was delayed due to vandals removing course markings in the opening kilometers of the event, but race staff quickly were notified and the situation remedied before the start gun was fired, but the vandalism eventually felled its victims in the closing few kilometers of the race.

Seamus McGrath, still battling the effects of the cold that begin at the US Cup in Colorado Springs, took it easy early on, but eventually followed attacks by the South African team towards the summit of Cumberland gap. On his Team XCR, Seamus pushed his skills and equipment to its limit in an effort to increase his advantage on Team Kona, who were racing on their home town trails. 

"I was doing some really mean things to the bike on the downhill towards town. If we'd been on any lesser equipment, I think I'd have had to walk out of the woods!" said Seamus of the pace of their descent from the summit. "Our Edge wheels, Geax tires, Fox suspension, Hayes brakes, WTB grips...you name it, everything helped us hang on and gain an advantage. We're 3 stages in and did I mention haven't touched our shifting yet? SRAM with Gore RideOn cables has made my mechanic's job a cushy one!"

But, all of their hard work soon came to a hault. Seamus was stopped at a fork in the trail without any signage or signs of which direction to take - the course directions had been removed!

It was a 50/50 chance and a choice that the guys didn't want to make alone, so they waited for the Kona boys to arrive - at which time both teams decided to take a left - which of course was the wrong way! A few minutes down the wrong trail, things were re-evaluated and the group flipped it and pinned it back towards the right hand turn they'd NOT taken....but at this point Team Jamis and Kona merged into traffic, having given up heaps of time on their competitors. 

Quickly switching from exploration mode to race mode, Seamus kicked it into high gear and edged out Kona by a single second in a sprint finish - winning their 2nd stage of the event and continuing to hold onto the leader's jersey. 

Coverage can be found here on the BC Bike Race page, here on MTBRaceNews.com, and here on Velonews....we're just getting SMS updates, and don't forget keep up with Seamus and the rest of the squad here on their facebook fan page.

News has been slow to leak out of the damp, lush, and heavily wooded back country of British Columbia, but Sunday's opening stage of the BC Bike Race unfolded in storybook fashion as hometown Victoria Island boy Seamus McGrath won stage 1, which started in Vancouver and was held on many of the famous North Shore's formidable trails.

Stage 1 was a relatively short stage, with a winning time of just over 90 minutes, but made up for the lack of distance with more roots and drops per mile than most riders see in a week! As a testament to both Shamoe's handling skills and the characteristics of his new sub kilogram hardtail frame, Seamus put near 2 minutes into Team Kona on terrain that few, if any riders, tackled without the benefit of a rear shock. Speaking with him after the race, Shamoe cited the short distance of the stage as one of the reasons he chose the hardtail. "Today's stage was so punchy and short that it was a distinct advantage to ride such a light and responsive bike. For the longer and more brutal stages, though, I'll certainly be on the full suspension XCR!" Heading into stage two, which crosses over to Seamus' back yard of Victoria Island, Seamus leads the race with the yellow leader's jersey on his back. There's little that equates to wearing the leader's tunic of your home territory race, as you ride into your hometown. No official photos have been released, but we did stumble across a few photos here and here and stories found here and here.

Meanwhile, back below the 49th parallel, Team Jamis was staying busy with Jason Sager taking a win in the 4th round of the Minnesota state series at Mt Kato, MN. Held on a typical mid-west ski hill, the course was a mix of steep ski-slope climbing combined with twisty and tight trails made of a rich, sweet, and dark soil that you only find at sea level. Perfect for the Geax tubulars, certainly an indulgent treat for a weekend event.

Colorado local boy Blake Harlan headed up to Crested Butte for the CB Fat Tire fest, which turned into the CB Fat Tire Mud Fest about an hour into the main XC event. Luckily, Blake's a natural in the cold, wet, and sloppy stuff. Moving the the mid-teens to the top 10, the more challenging, difficult, and testing the conditions are - the better I think we'll see Harlan perform.

However, typically after a cold, strenuous, and exhausting race, athletes are shattered for days. Blake followed up his XC performance with a near miss in Sunday's SuperD, finishing 2nd on the exact same bike and setup that previously he used in the XC. That's all mountain mountain biking, folks. Look for BC Bike Race updates all week as information presents itself!

If any of you have ever been to a national park, surely you've experience the trail surface we raced on at Cheyenne State Park - standard issue 1 meter wide hiking path made of hard pack dirt covered with aquarium gravel.

Which isn't to say it wasn't a beautiful back drop, or that the riding was bad. In fact, the track turned out to be one of the more fun, if not manic, race courses we've used in awhile.

The lower half was aquarium gravel, the top half, a technical, slow, rocky, and for the first time this year...required some handling skills. But...fast, fun, technical, slippery, and scenic didn't serve Team Jamis all that well this weekend. Rotem finished another fine 11th despite not finding his rhythm until later in the race. The rest of us, well...Seamus and Blake were sick, and Adam and Sager, eh, we were holding things down in the 20's but really not firing on with all pistons.

I can't give you too many perspectives other than my own, but I like the new style of racing that's slowly evolving - its a faster,  more compact, dynamic, and less of a death march. Well, its still tough out there.

What's been great about these events is all the Jamis bikes that are coming out of the woodwork. It seems everyone has a Jamis story in their past...be it their first bike, their favorite race bike from back in the day, or simply a brand they're happy to see at the races, being a part of a company with so much history and the stories that go with it has been a great conversation starter in the pits this year. From this...

to this...

While hiking paths were fun, it was time to ride real trails, so we headed up to Boulder to scout the highlands above town

on Sunday.

Dodging rain showers and black cloulds, we found dry dirt and this was despite us tempting fate and not bringing any rain gear...a sure sign you ARE going to meet weather on the trail.

Which I did meet up with later...but on the highway, not the single track.

This weekend Blake's off to Crested Butte Fat Tire Fest, Rotem hops a plane for Europe, Sager pins a number on for Super D at Powder Mountain, and Seamus prepare for the BC Bike race...nothing like racing at home, eh, Shamoe?