November 12/06 10:03 am - 2006 Cyclo-Cross National Championships: Report, Results & Photos

Posted by Editoress on 11/12/06
 

2006 Cyclo-Cross National Championships November 11th, Nanaimo BC

Photos:
Elite Men
Elite Women

Greg Reain (Stevens Racing) flew all the way from Germany to Vancouver Island to finally grab the national cyclo-cross title which has eluded him up until now. Reain rode from the front all race win ahead of the chasing Maxxis duo of Geoff Kabush and Mat Toulouse. In the women's race, Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com) successfully defended her title against local favourite Wendy Simms (Kona).

Organizer Normon Thibault (Frontrunners) designed a technical and demanding circuit of 2.8 kilometres, which favoured riders who rode from the front. From the start, the riders zig-zagged their way around the upper portion of the course before dropping down a descent and onto a BMX track for a lap. The bumps and berms threw some riders off their rhythm. Exiting the BMX circuit, the course cut across to a run-up; made muddy by days of rain prior to the race. A straight piece of singletrack took the riders over to a set of stairs, and then into a horse barn for a pair of barricades. Leaving the barn was one last slog through a soft, loamy horse paddock before the final 500 metres on pavement to the line.

"It's an awesome course," commented Bessette "but there is nowhere to rest or to do a straight on fast turn of power. All those turns mean you need to be totally focussed, and once someone gets a gap it is very hard to close it up again."

For every race on the day except the women's, the winning tactic was to go to the front and open up a gap, forcing your competitors to chase. The Masters titles were all won by solo rides - including Thibault's successful defence of his 30-39 age category title.

For the women, it was a little different, since Bessette couldn't drop Simms right away. Bessette hasn't been racing on the road, so admitted "I don't have as much snap in my legs. But Wendy is so much better technically than me that I had to make sure that I got in front before the technical sections, otherwise if I made a mistake she could have gotten away."

"I saw that I was doing the run-up better than she was - I got a little gap then I would back off at the top - so I went on the last lap when she had some trouble in the sand and opened it up some more on the climb."

Simms, while disappointed not to win in front of her hometown crowd of Nanaimo, agreed with Bessette's analysis. "I wanted it in front of the home crowd, but I was realistic going in - Lyne is super strong. She was definitely stronger on the run-up, and she was covering everything I did, so I decided just to sit on for a while. I hit something in the sand and a little gap opened, which took up my energy to catch before the run-up, and I had nothing left to go with her there."

Mountain biker Mical Dyck (Team Alberta) rode steadily in third all race to take the bronze medal, while Tara Ross (Cheerwine) dropped companion Kelly Jones (Sugoi) in the final lap for fourth.

In the men's race, Reain used his European racing fitness to charge away from the field at the start, avoiding the bottleneck which formed going into the first set of corners. Kabush, the 2004 champion, was quite not so lucky, hitting the first set of corners in eighth, and using up energy to work his way into second.

"I got swarmed at the start, and Greg got off the front, and that was the gap. It wasn't much, but on this course it was enough. Then, for the first three or four laps, I was waiting a bit for (team mate) Mat (Toulouse) to bridge up, but he couldn't quite get there. I think I hesitated too much in the first half of the race. I was chasing and riding well, but Greg is going very strong now. This obviously wasn't what I had hoped for."

Reain admitted that he wasn't sure how his tactics would work. "I've been struggling with the best tactics here. Mat and Geoff are really strong, so I didn't want to let it turn into a tactical race with the two of them. I decided to go from the start, and 'if it works, it works'. Plus, after all the rain and mud this week, it was definitely better to ride from the front."

Reain also pointed to his European racing schedule for his improved fitness. "I've been racing there most of the season, including the road season, and I did three stage races, which really got my fitness up. This is clearly my best result ever in 'Cross - it's a really big thing to be able to go back to Europe with the national champion's jersey."

Race Notes

- Reain commented on the controversy which has surrounded his Stevens Racing Team after reports of doping came out, and the sponsors announced that they would be pulling the plug on the team. "When I first heard about it, through the news, it bothered me a lot. But the reality is that it won't affect my racing this year, so I started to feel better and be able to concentrate on my racing."

- Kyle Douglas (3 Rox Racing) decimated the Espoir field, with a 30 second gap after the first lap, which stretched to over a minute by the finish. "I haven't raced any of these guys before, so I didn't know quite what to expect. I decided it was best to go to the front and set my own pace." Douglas confirmed that he will go to Worlds.

- A collection of past and present Canadian cycling stars came out to watch the Nationals - including Alison Sydor, Chrissy Redden and Roland Green. Both Redden and Green will become first time parents next year - Green in January and Redden late May.