SUNDRE – The weather for the fourth edition of the Snakes and Ladders cyclocross race in Sundre was essentially opposite last year.
Yet the drier conditions nevertheless presented their own challenge, said the event’s main organizer.
Overcast and rainy skies in 2023 created wet and muddy conditions that made the technical terrain on Snake Hill that much more difficult.
This year’s fair fall temperatures on Saturday, Oct. 26 that didn’t see a single drop of rain and made the weather far more pleasant nevertheless presented a different challenge.
“Because the grass – when it’s dry – is a little bit slippery too,” said Felix Lee, who is a member of both the Sundre Bike n’ Ski Club as well as the Central Alberta Bicycle Club.
That made maintaining traction that much more tricky on steeper portions of the race track that ran through Snake Hill’s half pipe as well as on the east side, where cyclists in some instances struggled to find a balance between momentum and control.
“There was a few minor crashes there, because the dry grass is also slippery,” he said.
Regardless, the conditions were “definitely a welcome change over Edmonton’s snowy weather” the weekend prior during provincial championships when temperatures were quite chilly, he said.
There were 80 registered racers – mostly coming out from clubs in for example Calgary and Edmonton – competing in four men’s categories of novice, sport, expert, and open as well as two women’s categories in sport and open. There was also an unofficial youth race, he said.
“We do like an unofficial kids’ race. There’s no age really, for that. It’s just the kids who are too young to be in a racing category,” he said, adding there were about 10 young cyclists who took part for fun.
“A couple of local kids who I spoke to when I was setting up the course made it out and did the kids race,” he said.
Snakes and Ladders, which is sanctioned by the Alberta Bicycle Association, provides many of the participating racers a chance to test not only that their equipment is working properly but also their physical preparedness in anticipation of some upcoming higher-level competitions.
“We’re here to just get a little shakedown run,” he said.
The 2024 Pan American Cyclocross Championships in Missoula, Montana was the first weekend in November, followed shortly afterward by the 2024 Canadian National Championships Cyclocross in Québec, he said.
“A lot of the racers who are going to both of those were in Sundre just to do an easy race and kind of make sure all their equipment's ready to go for these two big weekends coming up.”
Among the highlights from Snakes and Ladders was a performance by Jenaya Francis, who unofficially clocked the fastest lap times out of all of the racers this year, he said.
“She lapped most of her field. So she was going really fast.”
Looking ahead to 2025, Lee anticipates proceeding with the fifth edition of Snakes and Ladders, but said his focus for now revolved primarily around preparing the next mountain bike race in the spring.
“It’s a qualifier for the Canada Summer Games,” he said, adding the goal is to get as many U15 mountain bike racers in Alberta ready to head off to St. John’s, Newfoundland for the 2025 games.
And Snake Hill provides an ideal training ground.
“It’s a great venue,” he said, also expressing appreciation for the support received from both the municipality and residents.
