May 8/02 12:29 pm - Edmonton and Hamilton Club Race reports, Birthday
Posted by Editoress on 05/8/02
Edmonton Interclub Race Series
Courtesy Sean J. Barr - Velocity Cycling Club
The second race in the first series of the 2002 Edmonton Interclub Race Series was contested last night on the 1994 National Criterium Championship course at the Alberta Research Park. An eager bunch of cyclists were in attendance and the presence of clear skies certainly made the mood a happier one. Given the recent winter like temperatures in Alberta any opportunity to exhibit one's racing fitness is gladly taken. The number of participants was 50 in total and as a "friendly" event all riders were started in two groupings with the A and B group starting first. The C group quickly followed behind.
The 1.4 km circuit circles the Alberta Research Council building and grounds. The course was run in a clockwise fashion with a slight uphill finish and the wind was mildly blowing from the northwest. The A and B's remained intact for the first 10 minutes of this 45 minute plus three lap event but it was soon thereafter that an attack was initiated by a trio of riders. Matt Decore (Dr.Walker), Roddi Lega (TREK) and Mike Stickland (PedalHead) put in a strong challenge to the group that was never countered. Decore and Lega were 4th and 5th respectively last year in the 2002 National Cyclocross Championships for the Elite men and Stickland placed 6th at last year's 2002 National Criterium Championships for the Elite men so it was not a surprise to the spectators and competitors witnessing this effort that these three would initiate the action. An attempt by Paul McDonald (Juventus) to bridge the gap lasted for several laps but the trio was completing the course in lap times of 1:57 on average so his efforts were eventually fruitless. The trio was relentless and continued to motor along in an orderly fashion soon lapping the slower C Group and trailing B's. As animated as the trio were the remaining A's settled into racing for 4th place and by the 30 minute mark the remaining 17 riders in the A Group had splintered into two with a group of 10 having the best chance of reeling in the leaders. The break was maintaining a 35 second lead until this time but by the 45th minute Decore, Lega and Stickland had lapped every rider on the course save the 10 chasers and they were now trailing by over a minute. The three riders were content to test their sprinting skills and the charge came in the final 150 meters with Decore moving from his right, near the curb, across Lega and Stickland on his left to force them into traveling further to the line. Decore crossed the line in first with nearly a bike length in front of Stickland leaving Lega in third sandwiched between the two speedy duelers.
The trailing A's still in contention came in 1:15 later to contest 4th place with Gergely Hegedus (Bow Cycle) clearly beating Paul McDonald (Juventus) for the final two "1 point" positions in the race. Points for the top 5 positions are accumulated at each race to determine GC for the series. Currently, Paul McDonald leads the series with 6 points and Matt Decore is in second with 5 points after the first two races.
The next event will be a 15 km Time Trial Tuesday, May 14 @ 6:30 pm. I hope to see everyone there.
A special thanks to Velocity volunteers Harley Desprey, Bernard Fagnan, Anna Paton and Shane Rush for marshalling and sweeping the corners. Much appreciated by all the riders.
Edmonton Interclub Race Series # 1.
Alberta Research Park Criterium. 45 mins + 3 laps
Host Club: Velocity
| A Group- (20 Participants) | ||
| Name | Club | Place |
| Matt Decore | Dr. Walker | 1 |
| Mike Stickland | PedalHead | 2 |
| Roddi Lega | Trek | 3 |
| Gergely Hegedus | Bow Cycle | 4 |
| Paul McDonald | Juventus | 5 |
| B Group (15 Participants) | ||
| Name | Club | Place |
| Kevin Rokosh | ERTC | 1 |
| Dave Watson | Velocity | 2 |
| ? | 3 | |
| Chris Check | PedalHead | 4 |
| S. Mundy | ERTC | 5 |
| C Group (15 Participants) | ||
| Name | Club | Place |
| Wayne Long | EMCC | 1 |
| Steve Martins | Hardcore | 2 |
| Evan Sherman | Hardcore | 3 |
| Derek Singbeil | ERTC | 4 |
| Rob Howes | ERTC | 5 |
2002 Race Series Calendar
Participating Host Clubs:
ERTC
Juventus
PedalHead
Velocity
Hamilton Cycling Club's Tuesday Evening Criterium
Courtesy Sandra Cheskey
The Hamilton Cycling Club's Tuesday Evening Criterium Training Ride began this week on May 7th. We had a total of 45 participants on this partly cloudy, cool, windy evening. It was an exciting finish with Michael Moore and Mirek Mazur leading the way almost a full lap ahead of the main group and Jeff Sharafbayani and Paul Hornak placing 3rd and 4th approximately thirty seconds ahead of the main group. Rounding out the top five was Paul Rego taking the bunch sprint. Way to go guys!!
The format is the same as last summer with a $5.00 prime on lap 24 and a 3-point prime on lap 12. This week saw Michael Moore win the $5.00 and Mirek Mazur win the 3 points.
Michael Moore, 6 points
Mirek Mazur, 5 points + 3 prime points = 8 points
Jeff Sharafbayani, 4 points
Paul Hornak, 3 points
Paul Rego, 2 points
Happy Birthday to... Andrea Hannos, today.
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