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!