Winning at the Canadian Power Toboggan Championships is becoming something of a habit for Petersfield’s Kaden Kotowich.
The 25-year-old ice bike racer is just four years into his competitive Ice Biking career and has already risen to the top of the Manitoba circuit.
Last month, Kotowich won back-to-back days at the CPTC’s Ice Bike Open Championship in Beausejour to claim his second consecutive title after his first triumph last year.
However, despite the $300 prize and the bragging rights that came with it, Kotowich still feels there is something missing from his victory.
He said the level of competition wasn’t the issue, but more so the turnout as only four racers competed in the ice bike throughout the weekend.
After the event, Kotowich said he hopes more summer riders will take up the sport in the wintertime, helping the sport grow locally and improving overall competition.
“We’re all out there for fun, really, but it’d be nice to have more competition out there,” said Kotowich on Friday. “It was me and my buddy Avery (Carr, who took second) battling for most of the race, so it’d be nice to be able to get some more competition out there. For one guy, he races in the summer and this was just his first time trying it out and he held his own so it’d be nice to see more of the summertime riders staying on the bikes all season long.”
Kotowich believes the lack of racers of late is due to the ice bike events being pushed toward the end of the day at the CPTC Championship to make room for the snowmobile races earlier in the day. This makes the run more dangerous for ice bikers due to snow dust buildup.
For ice bikers, snow dust is one of the biggest challenges they face in a high-speed five-lap race around the track, as it makes the ride much more slippery.
Kotowich said he’s started using tires specifically built to combat snow dust buildup, but no matter what he runs, snow dust will always be an issue.
Due to snow dust, he’s learned to strategize his rides more so he can continue to race at incredibly high speeds. In recent years, Kotowich has reached speeds over 90 mph on his 2022 Honda.
“A clean line is ideal for these bikes because as soon as you get into the snow dust, it balls up your picks and tire, and you slide instantly,” said Kotowich. “That’s why you try to get way outside the snowmobile’s line to keep out of the snow dust. We also run Marcel Fournier tires, and they are custom-made for this sport, so you get them up, and away you go.”
During the 2024 CPTC Ice Bike Open on Dec. 14 and 15, Kotowich reached speeds of 85 mph in his championship run, which he hopes he can elevate even more in his upcoming events.
His next big event is in two months: the 63rd CPTC Canadian Championship, which will be held from March 1 to 2 in Beausejour. After a one-year hiatus, the snow bike race is welcoming back to its season-end event.
In the weeks leading up to it, Kotowich plans to continue riding with his buddies, who are also his competitors, on weekends at Goldeye Lake while also riding on his own personal track at Netley Creek.
He hopes to have an even faster run than he did just a few weeks ago as he aims to complete a three-peat of CPTC events.
“I’m going to try to get out as much as I can on the weekends on my Netley Creek track because it doesn’t get chewed up as much. Also I might mess with some of my gearing to get some more mile an hour out of my bike. We only hit 85 mph, and last December, I was hitting 91 mph; the conditions slowed us down a bit.”
