The U Kon Echelon Biking Club took its first outside of Yukon trip since the pandemic began.

Four athletes travelled to Mission, B.C. to participate in the B.C. Provincial Road Championships on Aug. 15.

In the race, Alex Lebarge, Mack Jenner and James McCann participated in Category 4/5 men.

This category was the largest of all the categories, with 79 men registered.

Sixty-two men started the race and more than 20 did not finish due to time cuts, which are in place to ensure the race is finished so the elite races could start on time after.

All three athletes got to ride with other riders, and experienced sweltering heat conditions (and smoke from forest fires, which nearly cancelled the race).

The fastest time for the Yukon male athletes came from James McCann, who rode with a nice bunch of guys who remarked how impressed they were with the 14-year-old’s riding ability.

All three boys were participating in their first sanctioned race outside of Yukon, and even though they all got pulled before their finish, lots of learning took place.

Although there was not a U15, U17 category for the men, Yukon Territorial Road Biking coach Trena Irving said the kids still had fun, learned lots (especially about racing in the heat), and enjoyed the experience.

They are eager for racing to get back to normal for next year and all three have their eyes on the Canada Games road cycling team for 2022. Hopefully, youth events will be on the calendar for next year as well.

The sole female participant on the trip was Ava Irving-Staley. Ava was battling some nagging injuries leading up to the race.

She had a strong finish, albeit it fifth place out of five in Junior Women, which had some very competitive finishers.

The top three finishers are climbing the competitive ladder, with Lily Ujfalusi and Isla Walker going to the Junior Road Worlds in Europe, and Ana Large going to Spain following the race.

The junior women raced with masters women forming a good-sized peloton and giving the females a chance to ride together.

Up next, U Kon will be attending VeloNorth’s GRIMY event this Saturday (a mountain bike/gravel event) on Grey Mountain in Whitehorse, and hosting local x-c (cross-country) mountain bike races in the fall.

– Submitted by Trena Irving