Ricky Federau wanted to crush the competition.
As he sped down the side of Grouse Mountain in the second leg of Saturday’s Red Bull Divide and Conquer race, his inner competitor was yelling at him to go, go, go!
Fastest time possible!
No lollygagging!
How fast can you go?!
The first stage of the race had ended with Federau’s teammate Joren Titus holding a five minute lead after a grueling uphill run that covered six-thousand vertical feet.
Federau hopped onto his mountain bike at the top of Grouse Mountain and took off.
The Chilliwack resident and former Canadian national team rider had the lead up to 11 minutes as he prepared to leave the Baden Powell trail and get onto the Mountain Highway, an old access road.
“I hit some rocks funny, and it happened so fast,” Federau said. “I crashed hard and really hurt my hand. I figured the next 35 minutes were going to be uphill and I’d just shake it off. But instead, I ended up getting a ride to hospital.”
Race over for Federau, Titus and kayaker Toby Roessingh, who was waiting to carry out the third leg of the race on the Capilano River.
“All I had to do was not be an idiot,” Federau chuckled. “But my competitiveness got the better of me.”
At the hospital, Federau learned he had a dislocated bone.
“The docs have never seen it before,” he laughed. “So to top it all off, I’m probably going to end up in some medical journal.”
The doctor popped the bone back in, as best as he could, and Federau goes for x-rays this week.
If they’re not good, he’ll require surgery. In the meantime, it’s painkillers aplenty and lots of time to replay the race over and over in his head.
Federau and Roessingh were part of the first place team last year, joined by Edmonton runner Mike Vine.
Federau had the fastest bike time last year, and Roessingh, who lived and trained in Chilliwack for several years, brought years of experience as a national level slalom kayer and coach.
Adding Titus, a Whistler resident, gave them a truly elite runner, making them favourites to repeat as champs.
“We were definitely the odds-on favourites, and so I feel I let those guys down a little bit,” Federau admitted. “But it is what it is, and we just have to move on.”
Moving on for Federau won’t be easy. No matter what the x-rays say, he’s not riding bikes for at least the next two months.
“They’re definitely a write-off, so I’ll have to find some new hobby or activity to do,” he said. “Some hiking maybe? Some walking. Maybe hang out with some friends I haven’t seen in a while.”
Federau is getting married in September. With his newfound spare time, perhaps more attention to wedding duties?
But not invitations.
“Can’t do those,” he laughed. “You know. The hand.”
