Team SchefferAndrew

Today marks the start of the 2007 edition of the Trans Rockies Challenge. One of our Speed Theorists and his comrade (who are we kidding, Charlie is an honorary teammate just for racing with Trev) lined up at the start today at the Village Departe in Panorama Village. Trev and Charlie form the Scheffer Andrew team for the Trans Rockies Challenge. Of course, Trev and Charlie would like to thank Scheffer Andrew for their generosity and support and those of us at Team Speed Theory also express our gratitude. (Scheffer Andrew Rocks!)

Stage One:
With a depart from the Panorama Village and a finish in the nearby town on Invemere BC, the Trans Rockies starts with a bang. And a lot of climbing. With a base elevation of 3800ft and topping out at 7800 ft you know what direction our intrepid racers are going. Up. To provide some perspective, most tour du france climbs start at close to sea level, so imagine hitting Alp D Huez but starting at the top then climbing for 15K. I have been unable to decipher the precise race route but I obtained some satellite imagery for interests sake. The initial stage is a 33KM 'prologue' of sorts that is designed to let the racers settle in to what will be an action packed week. Granted, 33KM on a mountain bike with 4000m of climbing is not for the faint of heart. The route will no doubt feature several bottle-necks to try and spread the field out. Keep in mind the sage wisdom of any stage race, you can't win the race in the prologue. Look to later stages where fire road descents and hard packed speedways are present. I suspect our guys will light it up on those sections. It's a packed field this year Trev and Charlie will have to contend with rival teams like the Afghan Hounds, the Irish Bear Wrestling Team, and numerous others.

Race Report:
Results of stage 1 can be found here at cycling news. Now the race report is covering the big names so there is no mention of the Scheffer Andrew boys but never fear, they placed an impressive 14th on the stage slotted in behind last years winners Andreas Heslter and Kevin Calhoun. Keep in mind (especially you roadies watching the time gaps) this is a mountain bike race, racers can gain or lose time in minutes if not tens of minutes quite easily. Make no mistake about it, Trev and Charlie are in the hunt.

Best of luck to Trev and Charlie, keep the rubber side down boys!