Local adaptive sports skier and cyclist Pramod (Promo) Thapa continues to play hard, most recently completing the Highwood Pass Gran Fondo bike race in Alberta.
The 147 kilometre race crosses the highest road pass in Canada at 2,206 metres. Competitors gained 700 m in elevation in a massive 37.4 km uphill to the summit.
“He finished 150 of 298, killing last year’s time by 2.5 hours in 30 degrees of heat,” says his coach Jim Knowles.
“He looked great passing teams in Lycra wearing no shirt and DH (downhill) shorts, standing while he did so and powering up the 7,500 foot climb only 2.5 hours off (the) lead time,” Knowles continues.
Alaine Cordonier, another member of the Sun Peaks Alpine Club and Adaptive Sports Sun Peaks also entered the race, making the climb over the pass in six hours before being forced to retire by the heat. He plans to finish the race next year.
The team travelled in their new bus, donated by the Rick Hansen Foundation. If Thapa doesn’t make the cut for the next winter Olympics the team plans to travel across Canada in 2014 to raise money to build a parasport club at Sun Peaks.
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