June 14/13 0:00 am - Banff Bike Fest : Stage 1 results and report

Posted by Editoress on 06/14/13
 

A cool drizzle welcomed the riders for the start of the Lake Louise Road Race. The original 81km route along the scenic Bow Valley Parkway had to be shortened to 64km due to a family of bears and wolves that had moved into the area. This was a similar occurrence to what happened two years ago.

The 9:30am neutral roll-out saw our Cat 1/2 Men's leader, Evan Bayer (Team Niklaus), don the yellow jersey and ride the 2km to the start with the group. Once at the start, the 2-way radio signaled that there was a grizzly bear on the course and that we had to hold the race. This was a déjà vu from last year's race, where eight bears near the course kept the wildlife spotters and race caravans on constant alert.

Once underway, the Cat 1/2 men played things pretty safe. An early break by Colter Young (Team Saskatchewan) got up to a max of 18 seconds, yet was steadily reeled in by the 14km marker with strong work by both the Trek Red Truck and Rundle Mountain teams.

At the 37km marker the sun peaked through the cloud cover to help warm things up. And it couldn't have happened at a better time as just past the Castle Mountain Junction the peloton was neutralized to a 20km pace as there were three black bears feeding on the side of the road ahead.

With 40km still to be covered the race was back on. At the 5km-to-go marker, the boys of Trek Red Truck moved to the front and increased the tempo heading into the final stretch of rolling, twisting terrain leading into the final up-hill sprint.

With the pack together, it came down to a bunch sprint with Kris Dahl (H&R Block) out-muscling Doug van Den Ham (Nine2FivePro.com) for the win. Bailey McKnight (Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes) finished third and he and Dahl moved into a three-way tie for the lead with Bayer, who finished 20th, and is still in the leader's jersey.

The victory for Dahl had extra special meaning for this U23 rider from Calgary, Alberta. With the UCI Tour of Alberta race coming in September, Banff Lake Louise Tourism and the Alberta Peloton Association is awarding the top-U23 Alberta rider with a spot on the U.S. Continental cycling team SmartStop presented by Mountain Khakis competing at the Tour.

"I would love to win the opportunity to go to the Tour of Alberta. It will give me an opportunity to race with World Tour riders. I am also lucky to have a team here that is not only focused to win at Banff, but willing to help me win the spot on that team," commented an enthusiastic Dahl.

But the finish of the Cat 1/2 Men's race was not all smooth sailing. A crash with 2km to go saw two GC contenders, Jesse Reams (Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes) and defending champ, Aaron Schooler (H&R Block) go down in a crash. Though battered and bruised, it is hopeful both riders will be able to continue the race.

The Open Women's race start at 10am had the same wildlife delays as the men. The strong Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes took charge early in the race and continued its dominance until the end. GC leader Kirsti Lay (Bicisport), crested the final hill first, but was no match for the power of Jenny Lehman (Trek Red Truckp/b Mosaic Homes) in the finishing sprint. "Our team controlled the race from beginning to end. That was the plan," said Lehman. "After hurting my knee a few weeks back, this victory was important to my season. It feels great to be back."

Teammate Megan Rathwell took second while Lay took third. With the victory, Lehman takes over the GC lead and will wear the yellow jersey at Saturday's Stage 2 Time Trial.

Just like the other two races, the Cat 3/4 Men's race also stayed mostly together. The up-hill drive to the finish saw Cat 4 rider Colin Croston (Rundle Mountain Cycling Club) solo clear to victory amidst the cheers of local friends and family. Scotty Lundy (Serious Cycling) took home the Cat 3 Men's win.

Saturday’s two-stage affair will bring the first real opportunity at the morning time trial for riders to put significant time on their rivals leading into the evening Criterium. Whoever races the fastest against the clock in the TT around Lake Minnewanka tomorrow could be our GC winner come Sunday.

Related Photo Galleries