August 21/07 1:21 am - BC Track Provincial Championships

Posted by Editoress on 08/21/07
 

2007 BC Track Provincial Championships Survive the Rain! August 18-19, Victoria BC
Courtesy Dave Shishkoff, GVVA Director of Racing

Despite the strong prediction of rain, racers appeared en force at the Juan de Fuca Velodrome on Saturday morning for BC's most prestigious track event!

Over 40 competitors came out (fully half from the mainland) to race between the raindrops for two days of high-speed racing.

Saturday began well enough, with a sunny, if slightly cool morning, opening with the flying 200m qualifying sprints, with top riders Michael Rothengatter (dEVo), Michael Cooper (Dr. Walker/GVVA) and Charles Durrant (Schwalbe) all cracking 13 seconds in their respective fields (Jr, Master B and Master C Men -- the two Master A riders were combined with the Senior Men field.) Jenny Trew (Giant Bicycles Canada) took top honors in the Senior Women, and out-of-BC rider Kelyn Akuna (Fast Twitch) speeded several tenths of a second ahead of Keith Bruneau (Fast Twitch) on his former stomping grounds.

Pursuits followed, and more fast times were set. Rothengatter took the first Gold of the event with a 3km time (4'05)that would have earned him Silver in the Master's B category! Stephen Price (Dr. Walker / GVVA) came out for one event, and earned Gold in his blazing 2'35 2km Pursuit for Master's C, and Chad Gottfried (Dr. Walker / GVVA) took Gold in the Master's B with a 3'56. Laura Brown (Giant Bicycles Canada) rode a 4'06 to earn the top position, as did Jonathan Gormick (MASI-ADOBE) with his 5'08. Less than three seconds separated the next two riders.

Sprint rounds were completed, and we moved onto the Scratch races as light sprinkles peppered the track surface. The Masters B & C (combined, 30 laps/10km) saw Charles Durrant and Michael Cooper win their respective fields, collecting Provincial Gold.

As the Junior Men and Senior Women gathered to race their combined race of 25 laps, the rain began to come down in earnest. Unfortunately, the rain continue until after 5:30, when the day was called, and would resume Sunday morning at 9am -- weather permitting!

9:30am rolled around, and we were welcomed to a solid rain, and a swamp for an infield! Come 12:30, the rain ceased, and we set about to drying the track, and succeeded about an hour later. A few sprint finals were completed before rain came AGAIN! We waited a bit, and it subsided once more, but now the sun came out, and the swamp of an infield became a misty swamp, as the water evaporated. A short while later, it was dry once more, and the sun continued to shine for the rest of the event!

In the Sprints, we saw Jacob Schwingboth (dEVo) win Gold by default, as Rothengatter, his opponent, had to return to Vancouver. Cooper once more took Gold in the Master C, and Charles Durrant got the Gold for Master B. Keyln Akuna took Keith in the Gold medal round, tho Akuna is apparently not licensed in BC, and so the Gold went to Keith. In the Senior Women field of three, Jennifer Lee (Fast Twitch) came out on top, beating Trew in the only best-of-three that was held for the sprints (they started their round before it was announced all would be one-ups only, to ensure the event completed due to rain.)

The Jr Men and Sr Women lined up once more for their 25 Lap Scratch race, and Schwingboth and Laura Brown (Giant Bicycles Canada) both came out on top in their fields to collect Gold. The Senior Men battled ferociously, but a long attack in the final laps from Chris Reid (MASI-ADOBE) paid off, and he captured his first win of the event, with the field hot on his heels at the line.

Keirins follow quickly, Cooper taking the MaC Gold, Durrant the MaB Gold, and Akuna once more on top, with Michael Lawrence (Fast Twitch) taking 2nd and Gold. In the combines Jr and Women's field, Schwingboth held in to collect first in the Juniors, and Laura Brown took the Gold for the women.

Points races followed. This time, all Masters, as well as Jr and Women's fields were combined for a field of 16 riders. Schwingboth once more earned top honors with 1pt. Cooper scored the most points of all, collecting 21pts, and Gold as well in the Master C field. In the B field, Gottfried once more struck gold with 16pts, which is also what Jenny Trew, top woman, scored, also collecting another Gold. In the Sr. Men's field with 72 laps (24km), Jonathan Gormick managed to lap the field, attacking about halfway into the race, and catching back on the 2nd final sprint. He finished with 51pts, ahead of Chris Reid, who impressively collected 41pts *without* lapping the field.

The final Provincial Championship event of the day was the 500m and 1000m ITT. In the Jr Men 1000m, Schwingboth again took gold with a 1'25. Cooper completed his Sprint Omnium hat trick in the MaC with a 38.1 500m, as did Durrant in the MaB field with his 38.0 500m. Senior Women saw Jen Lee with another sprint victory, riding a 39.5. In the men's Kilo, Michael Lawrence collected more gold with his 1'13 ride.

The final event of the day was a Team Pursuit, and by 3 seconds we saw the team of Mike Cooper, Mike Chandler (Dr. Walker / GVVA), Chris Anstey (Schwalbe) and Charles Durrant defeat Julian Base (Team Whistler), Dave Shishkoff (OrganicAthlete), Emile De Rosnay (Gears and Grinds) and Chad Gottfried with a time of 5:26. Which was puzzling, since all four have ridden IP's below that.

We would also like to recognize top riders in each field as Provincial Omnium Champions. In the Power side, Schwingboth took top honors for the Juniors, Mike Cooper and Charles Durrant were the top overall riders for Masters C & B, respectively. Jennifer Lee took top honors for the Senior Women, and Michael Lawrence was the top Omnium Senior Man, congratulations BC Power Omnium Champions!!

In the Enduro field, we seen Schwingboth and Cooper at the top once more. Chad Gottfried edged out Alexander Pope (Escape Velocity) for top honors in the Master B category. The top women's Enduro rider was Laura Brown, and Chris Reid took top spot for the Senior Men, winning where Gormic didn't. Hats off to our BC Enduro Omnium Champions!

Following the Team Pursuit, podium shots and recognition amongst peers were awarded, and prizes were drawn for the remaining competitors, almost all of whom took home items donated by Sequel Naturals (Vega), Straight Up Bicycles, Performance Bicycles, Rider's Cycles, Oak Bay Bikes and Cycles West - thanks kindly for their continued contributions to track racing in BC!

Also, a big thank-you to our commissaires, as well as our volunteers who ensured the events ran smoothly. A thank-you also to Tim McLellan for photographing the event, check back on the GVVA website in a few days for these!

The Omnium summary is below.

Final note: a reminder that Trackfest #3 / BC Cup #4 is Saturday, September 8th, once more in Victoria. Online registration is required (pay at sign-in on race-day, same process as Provincials) to compete for BC Cup points, sign up now: www.gvva.bc.ca/events/2007-09-trackfest07-3 closes Wed, Sept 5th.

Hope to see you out there!

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