The local mountain bike trails might just be getting up to speed but a couple of locals have already made their mark at the provincial level.
Twins David and Robert Charette recently competed in the B.C. high school mountain bike championships in Cumberland. David took a silver medal in the senior cross-country event with Robert just out of the medals in fourth.
The cross-country race is a roughly 10 kilometers where the cyclists do one lap of a large loop. The course was almost completely single track mountain biking trails that included two steep uphill sections that were a few kilometers each and two challenging downhill sections.
Later in the competition, they both competed in the “enduro” race. It took place over two stages which are sections of trail that were very challenging, combined with steep downhill portions. The uphill sections were not timed but placed a heavy demand on the riders according to David. The two stage times were combined to get overall time.
David placed fourth while Robert was twelfth. Around 60 riders participated in each of the races.
The brothers are Grade 12 students at Smithers Secondary School.