June 4/07 9:32 am - Formwerks Westside Cycling Classic
Posted by Editoress on 06/4/07
Formwerks Westside Cycling Classic
Courtesy Phil Meyer
Vancouver BC , Sunday June 3rd
Hot Days Racing Brings Fast Races & Popular Winners.
The 3rd Annual Formwerks Westside Cycling Classic was held on a new course for 2007. The race was acting as the BC Championships again this year and the new course around the southern portion of Pacific Spirit Park was the venue for the various category showdowns. The entire day was focused around raising awareness and funds for the BC Cancer Foundation with honorary guest Sindi Hawkins MLA - Kelowna in attendance to talk about the upcoming Tour of Courage event with 7 time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.
The highlight of the day was the afternoon session with Senior Men, Senior Women and Junior Men deciding the titles in the heat of an amazing day in Vancouver with temperatures exceeding 25Celsius. The racing was literally"hot" from the start with a first lap prime ($100) being awarded as well as King/Queen of the Mountain ($200) and a Fastest Ascent bonus ($200) all contributing to the motivation for a fast race.
The Men's race saw a group of 13 work their way out of the main field and with a good representation of all the powerhouse teams it was a pretty sure thing it would stick until the finish. The lead group didn't settle down though and every lap through there was a new group of 2 or 3 riders taking a shot at getting away or at least making the other teams chase them down in support of their teammates. The strong teams in the group were clearly the Symmetrics Cycling Team, Red Truck Ale/Trek and Masi Adobe. This teamwork would pay dividends later as all three had riders on the podium. Brandon Crichton (Symmetrics) was the most active rider in the group as he took home the first lap prime, King of the Mountain and the Fastest Ascent (1min20sec). Going in to the last lap the group was basically together but constant attacks kept the speed very high and on the final ascent Tim Abercrombie (Escape Velocity) rolled off the front and tried to make it stick to the line but with some good teamwork he was brought back on the uphill approach to the finish line. The sprint was on and strongman from Red Truck Ale/Trek, Ryan Anderson took the win and the BC Provincial Championships. Alistair Howard (Masi-Adobe) was second and Jeff Sherstobitoff (Symmetrics) was third. Tim Abercrombie took the prize for most aggressive rider on the day with his final big attack and he rolled in for fifth just behind KOM winner Brandon Crichton.
The Women's race was a little more straight forward with 3 of the strongest riders in the field getting away early on and working well together for the entire race. The 3 escapees were Leah Guloien (Team Giant), Moriah MacGregor (AE Sport Development) and last year's BC Champ Claire Hall-Patch (Oak Bay Bikes). Claire and Leah were tied on the Oueen of the Mountain points until the final points were distributed with Clair taking the prize, Claire also had the Fastest Ascent (1min30sec) with a time not far off the Men's. The final climb had MacGregor sliding off the back as Guloien attacked repeatedly garnering her the title of most aggressive rider, but it was Claire Hall-Patch that had the answers and she rode away to a solid solo win and her second consecutive BC Provincial Championship. Sarah Stewart (Wedgewood Cycling Team) won the bunch sprint for 4th place after working hard to try to reel the leaders back.
The Junior men stayed together for a while until Kevin Thorpe (Escape Velocity-DEVO) and Jeff Clarkson (Aviawest-Rocky Mountain) took a flyer. The two continued to stretch their lead with strong cooperation though the bulk of the 9 laps, but when it came to the end Jeff Clarkson had too much in the tank and took a great solo victory ahead of his break companion Thorpe. Shortly after 2 riders that had been trying to bridge up came in for a sprint for third with Alex Van poppelen (Total Restoration Cycling Team) taking the final podium from Cody Campbell (Escape Velocity - DEVO).
All in all it was a great day for cycling on the westcoast with the Category 4/5 Men's event, The Riley Law Masters races and the Category 4 and Junior Women events all enjoying a great day and fun albeit challenging course.
Full results will be available at : www.teamwedgewood.com
| Senior Men | |
| 1. Ryan Anderson (Trek - Red Truck Racing Team - Cat 1) | 3:15:04.0 |
| 2. Alistair Howard (Masi-Adobe - Cat 1) | 3:15:04.2 |
| 3. Jeff Sherstobitoff (Symmetrics Cycling - Cat 1) | 3:15:04.4 |
| 4. Brandon Crichton (Symmetrics Cycling - Cat 1) | 3:15:05.2 |
| 5. Tim Abercrombie (Escape Velocity / Devo - Cat 2) | 3:15:05.5 |
| 6. Tim Sherstobitoff (Total Restoration Cycling Team - Cat 1) | 3:15:05.7 |
| 7. Rob Britton (La-Z-Boy Cycling - Cat 1) | 3:15:06.2 |
| 8. Kevin Noiles (Trek - Red Truck Racing Team - Cat 1) | 3:15:09.5 |
| 9. Zachery Garland (Masi-Adobe - Cat 1) | 3:15:10.0 |
| 10. Will Routley (Symmetrics Cycling - Cat 1) | 3:15:12.5 |
| Senior Women | |
| 1. Clare Hall-Patch (Oak Bay Bikes - Cat2) | 2:15:27.9 |
| 2. Leah Guloien (Team Giant - Cat2 ) | 2:15:39.1 |
| 3. Moriah MacGregor (AE Sport Development - Cat1) | 2:15:52.8 |
| 4. Sarah Stewart (Wedgewood Cycling Team - Cat2) | 2:16:52.4 |
| 5. Jenny Trew (Giant Bicycles Canada - Cat1) | 2:16:52.5 |
| 6. Patricia Sinclair (Scott USA - Cat2) | 2:16:52.6 |
| 7. Dawn Berg (Oak Bay Bikes - Cat2) | 2:16:52.7 |
| 8. Anne-Marie Lefrancois (Ind - Cat2) | 2:16:52.9 |
| 9. Megan Rathwell (Ind - Cat3) | 2:16:52.9 |
| 10. Karen Watson (Team Integrale - Cat2) | 2:16:53.2 |
The Wedgewood Cycling Team would like to thank all of the sponsors including:
Formwerks Architectural - Title
Canaccord Capital - Presenting
Navigators Insurance - Partner
Amino Vital - Partner
Vancouver Litigation Support Services - Partner
Vertex One asset management - Associate
Hub International - Associate
Peterson Capital - Associate
Riley Law - Associate
Enterprise RentaCar, Contact Printing, Go Wireless, The Flower Factory, Evian
Special Thanks To:
Residents of Point Grey
City of Vancouver
BC Highways
University of British Columbia
University Endowment Lands
The Wedgewood Cycling Team is proud to be supported by:
The Wedgewood Hotel and Spa
Treloar Physiotherapy
Bean Around the World
Washington Marine Group
Body and Soul
The Bike Gallery
La Bicicletta
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