November 13/06 1:43 am - Cross on the Rocks #4

Posted by Editoress on 11/13/06
 

Cross on the Rocks #4 - JungleCross November 12th, Parksville BC
Courtesy Normon Thibault

Conditions: Raining or threatening to rain. 6 degrees. Mud. Fields. Wet; perfect for cross racing!!!

The day after the National Champs, and nationals have been well covered....so we don't need to get into too much details about it. We just want to say that we thought that the whole event went over very well. We were very happy with the turn out of racers. We were pumped on how many cyclists and non-cyclists came out to watch. Even the head administrator of Nanaimo was out!! We were excited to see so many great races. We will be firing out a little survey to the racers to get their feedback and constructive criticism over the next week after we get some sleep! Even the social last night at the Howard Johnson was really well attended and everyone enjoyed the food and chatted up the day's action.

All that was well and good but we had another race to put on. WHY did we do this to ourselves we asked as we dragged our butts out of bed this morning! It is because this is cross and cross is not for whimps!! We do it for the love of the sport.

The last race in our first ever series. The last race in the province of BC for the year. So we headed out to Fletchers Farms in Errington (near Parksville) to set up the course at the crack of 8:00am.

Upon arrival Hugh Fletcher showed us the course he had chosen and mowed through two of his fields. Zig-Zags and in the lower one....well it was getting "soft". We did a walk through of the Poplar Farm next to Fletchers' property and saw a bit of mud and one suprize. The creek that was totally dry on previous occasions of course scouting was now just over rubber boot height. This course was going to rule!

With the arrival of the Adidas RV and an extra box of prizes for us we knew that we had to add one more element. So after everyone was in position we asked them to drop their bikes and the LeMans start was set into place. One lap of the driveway and back onto the last part of the course and onto your bikes. The reward: Adidas Swag. That was motivation for some of the fastest action of the day!

93 Riders making this the biggest Cross on the Rock race ever and the second biggest cross race on Vancouver Island after the National Champs. Lots of prizes as well as the series prizes (with this race double points) on the line=exciting racing.

Race #1: Intermediate Men (3 Laps)
Beginner Men and Woman and Intermediate Men took to the LeMans start and hammered down the road. 1:15 later the first Intermediate, David Gilbert (Alberni Valley Riders), was into the transition and onto his bike. We all waited for the first rider to appear as we had no clue as to what the lap times would be. Coming through the line and collecting the Lighthouse Brewery 12 Pack Prime was Chris Reid (Midweek Club) in 10:44 including the run.

Reid continued to pull away turning the fastest laps in his category. Behind him there was a battle shaping up between Bill McMillan (NMTBC) of Nanaimo and Trevor Jones (CVCC) of Courtenay for the series title. McMillan led into the last race so he wanted to finish a head of Jones and he did to take the series.

Race #1: Beginner Men (3 Laps) and Women (3 Laps)
Jeanine Ball, our only women's beginner, reaped the benefits of getting out there and took home a haul of Adidas Swag for her run prime, The Lighthouse Brewery 12 pack for the first lap and some CrankBrothers Pedals (from Crankbrothers and Norco) for her overall victory!

Jay Ruzica (Wheelers) took it out hard for the beginner men and won the Adidas Swag. After that it was all 15 year old Connor O'Brian (Ride with Rendall) of Chelsea Quebec who won his uncle a 12 pack of Lighthouse Breweries Beer for the first lap and then went on to dominate the category. From 15 years old to 63 year old Derek Steel (NMTBC) of Nanaimo for 2nd and Doug Stetor (Oak Bay Bikes) rounding off the podium.

Worthy of a mention was our only single speeder of any of our races this year. 10 year old Nicholas Tarver piloted his BMX race bike with really skinny cross like tires around the whole course. Not once but for two full laps. Running most of the course. Riding where he could. In jeans. In jeans that got soaked when he went through the creek that was almost up to his waist. When asked if he still wanted to race when he saw the course her replied, "I'm a man. I can handle it".

Race #2: Master Men (5 Laps)
In the competitive Masters Category Andrew Brown (Dalvay/Taylors) of Courtenay took the Adidas LeMans Prime with a final burst of speed. The first Lap Lighthouse Breweries Prime was taken by series leader, Robin Dutton (Arrowsmith Bikes) with a first split of 9:50. Dutton continued to lead until the third lap when he was forced to stop and fix a slipping saddle. This allowed Robert Orange (Ride with Rendall) of Chelsea, Quebec to lay down a super fast lap and take over the lead. Coming in second was Brown and rounding off the podium was Steve Murray from Squamish. Dutton held onto 5th place to claim the series.

Race #2: Women (5 Laps)
Using her triathlon skills, Dawn Berg, (Oak Bay Bikes) from Victoria led out the LeMans to take home a pair of Adidas SuperNova Shoes. A thirsty Lisa Ludwig (Oak Bay Bikes) rocked the first lap to win the Lighthouse Breweries 12 pack. Then 4th place Nationals Finisher, Tara Ross (Cheerwine) from Dundas made her move on the 3rd of 5 laps laying down the fastest women's lap of 8:23 to take over the lead. Enjoying the lead SO much she decided to hold it until the end. Pulling 2nd place was Kelly Jones (Sugoi) of Vancouver and holding onto 3rd was Ludwig.

For the series it came to a tie between Lisa Ludwig and Trish Sinclair (Scott) both having the same points. Based on today's placing Ludwig took the first ever Vancouver Island Cross series for the girls. Without the LeMans Start it may have been different as Trish had her ankle taped from an injury yesterday and found it very difficult to run.

Race #3: Elite Men (7 Laps)
Ouch! Well as usual I can't report on too much that went on in this race. Personally the week of Nationals preparations as well as yesterday's race finally took their toll. When Wendy Simms (Kona) went by me 2 minutes into the race and yelled. "It's On" I tried to stay with her but just kept moving backwards. My legs, arms and lungs were at the end of their energy and I was spent. I was quite happy to turn a 10:22 6th lap in order to both warm down and allow the leaders to go by me so I did not have to go out again....I love cross but I was toast! I appreciated all the spectators letting me know that a) I was the 2nd place women and b) that my wife was kicking my ass.....for that "thanks".

WAY up front Michael Garrigan (HB Cycling Club) wailed on both the LeMans run for the Adidas shoes as well as the first lap prime for the Lighthouse Breweries 12 pack. Then he just started turning over some fast laps but Kris Sneddon (Kona) was aiming for him. Just compare these laps for Garrigan:
1: 7:39 7:39
2: 7:26 15:04
3: 7:31 22:34
4: 7:30 30:04
5: 7:28 37:31
6: 7:33 45:03
7: 7:46 52:48

Compared to Sneddon:
1: 7:50 7:50
2: 7:31 15:21
3: 7:21 22:42
4: 7:35 30:16
5: 7:28 37:43
6: 7:29 45:12
7: 7:36 52:47

In the end Sneddon outspinted Garrigan on the final straight to take the win. Nick Friesen (Pedalhead) from Red Dear took third 1:19 back. Simms finished in 12th 4:40 back of the 4th place finisher in the men's elite nationals.....!!!

The series was won by Troy Woodburn (Giga Bike) of Victoria.

Summing up
Today was truly a race for racers. Low key. Great Course. Mud. BBQ. Music. Food. Great Prizes. Lots of racers. Lots of people helping out with the race and the clean up and just having a great time hanging out with like minded friend.

Signing Off
Awesome racing. A lot of fun! Hope to see more people out for next year.

Information:

Full results below. The prize list & photos for this event will be posted at:
www.island-multi-sports.com

Final Series points will be updated in the next few days and will be posted on our web site as well.

Next year....we are hoping for a slightly bigger series of races on the island and increase to 6. If you are interested in hosting a race or have a location to offer let us know: normont@islandnet.com We hope to have a schedule early in the summer.

Thanks to all the people that helped out with the series. A big major thanks goes to my partners; Wendy Simm and Corey Piket. My Dad who helped a tonne at 4 of the 5 races we put on this year. My Mom, Dave Nowack and everyone else that contributed.