October 22/08 10:34 am - Cross on the Rock #3 Race Report (B.C.)

Posted by Editor on 10/22/08
 

Cross on the Rock #3 Race Report - Duncan, BC

Experience Cross at Providence Farm, Duncan, BC.

Report by Marty Thibsimms

Organized by Experience Cycling Club

Brought to you by Multi-Sport Promotions: www.island-multi-sports.com

Photos

October 19, 2008

Conditions: No Rain. Spots of sun...and about 12C.

Special Thanks to: Coffee on the Moon, Providence Farm and Experience Cycling

Ever since I started racing and organizing cross events I have seen everything with "cross vision". If you race cross you might know what I am talking about. You are walking through a park and you look around and think to yourself or say to your walking buddy....."this would be a great place to hold a cross race". Everywhere you go you are looking for potential venues, training grounds and then next course. Providence Farm (www.providence.bc.ca) in Duncan has always been one of my dream cross course locations. When demolition started on our Cowichan Valley location from last year the search started and ended at Providence Farm for the new race location.

With a stunning backdrop of Mt. Tzouhalem the course was different from anything that we had ever put on before. No Barriers. No Run ups. Instead of the forced dismounts racers were faced with a climb that we called the Koppenberg that challenged legs. Skills were put to the test through the spooky forest section. The rest of the course was HOLD on TIGHT and try to recover. While some people missed the traditional cross features....no one said the course was easy.

Experience Cycling Club had the course, venue and registration all dialed in with their crew greeting the 92 racers of the day and the action was great.

Race #1: Beginner Men's and Women's (4 Laps)

No half loops or beginner cut offs for this course. Every category did the full course.

Shepherd Steward, the brother of Sarah Stewart (our Canadian National bronze medalist), was able to not break anything on his bike this event and led the race wire to wire for his first ever cross victory. Chasing hard from the gun but staying in second place for the entire race was Halldor Gunnarson. The last spot on the beginner podium was the tightest part of this race with Taylor Stewart (Oak Bay Bikes-Nanaimo) looking to crack his first podium. With one lap to go Stewart flatted in the spooky forest section and had to run to the pits. From there it was all Hicham Elamiri (Frontrunners Victoria) that collected his first podium in third place.

1st Lap Lighthouse Brewery Prime: Shepherd Stewart

In the Beginner Women's race it was 13 year old Amanda Wakeling (Eatmore Sprouts) showing that her cross workouts with Comox's Hack and Chop team are proving her with the skill and fitness to destroy in the beginner women's race. In only her second race she collected the Lighthouse beer prime (for her dad) as she lead from start to finish. Jen Erlendson (Cycrowski Sisters) showed up looking a bit more serious as she traded in her 40 lbs MTB bike for a second hand Salsa and improved her placing up to second. A third place for the host club with Sarah Hall (Experience Cycling Club) as she tailed Jen for most the race.

1st Lap Lighthouse Brewery Prime: Amanda Wakeling's Dad.

Race #2: Intermediate Men (6 Laps)

This could have been our biggest field of a Cross on the Rock race to date with 32 racers on line. The registration crew was getting nervous as they were running out of space on the sign on sheet. Taking it out hard was the young duo of Dan Scott (Oak Bay Bikes-Victoria) and undefeated at the Cross on the Rock series this year, Nick Holatko (Team Hack and Chop). This duo did the opening lap in 6:14 with Scott taking the Lighthouse Beer Prime (for his older brother). Hot on their wheels was Michael Harvey of Courtenay who rides one of the most cobbled together cross machines on the circuit.....very fast! Behind these three riders there was mayhem and destruction as riders were being passed, riders crashing, flatting, swearing (mostly about the Koppenberg). Lap 2 saw something that we have not seen so far this season in Intermediate; Nick Holatko was no longer in the lead. Out on the course Holatko who is experimenting with "Extreme" low tire pressures rolled his clincher right off the rim...tube and all. He had to stop and put it back on. Get a pump out of his seat back and continue on....now well back.

Up front Scott used his awesome bike handling skills and superior fitness to maintain his lead to the finish. He wasn't even tired at the end of his effort so decided to race the Expert race too later in the day.

It should be noted that our third place finisher, Jamie Emery, (Action Motorcycles) was the most stylish dressed and pro rider out there with a white warm up jacket and a word processed sign for his spare pair of wheels.....we like your style Jamie!

Once again Dave Shishkoff (Organic Athlete) was top Vegetarian (That we know about).

1st Lap Lighthouse Brewery Prime: Dan Scott (organizers gave it straight to his older brother)

Converse Chuck Taylor most aggressive rider: Nick Holatko

Race #3: Master Men (7 Laps)

There was a STACKED masters 35+ field at Providence Farm. All the top series contenders were there including Series leader Sean Lunny (Oak Bay Bikes-Nanaimo); The winner of Cameron Cross - Steve Bachop; 2007 Series Champion Sean Cruickshank. Also back from a two year Cross on the Rock ban for unsportsmanlike behavior that included wearing pants onto the podium and having his seat too far forward was Stefan Jakobsen (Frontrunners). These four riders along with the huge list of characters that make up the masters field made this the most fun race to watch.

Sean Lunny as always took it out hard to win Lighthouse Beer for his wife and was successful with a 6:05 opening lap. Lucky Wife! The first lap glory was short lived as Steve Bachop (IRC/Cameron Law) got into the drops and never left them until he finished his 7 laps in first place, going under 44 minutes.

Coming back from his ban Jakobsen has forgotten how to start in a group and in his post race interview mentioned that he was last heading into the Koppenberg on Lap 1. From there he moved up to 12th at the end of the lap passing people only on the climbs. Using the women's race leader for a draft on all but the climbs he was able to follow her through the traffic all the way up to third place at the finish to earn himself the Converse Chuck Taylors for most aggressive rider.....and did not get fined this race which was a nice bonus!

1st Lap Lighthouse Brewery Prime: Sean Lunny

Converse Chuck Taylor most aggressive rider: Stefan Jakobsen

Race #3: Women (7 Laps)

Like a blast from the past we were seeing double on the start line with series leader and undefeated champion, Dawn Anderson's (Everti-Oak Bay Bikes Victoria) twin sister Tanya Berg (Oak Bay Bikes-Victoria) returning to cross for the first time this season. The Oak Bay Bikes girls were out in full force with 2006 series runner up Lisa Ludwig (Oak Bay Bikes-Victoria), making her return to cross at Providence farm as well. It would have been just like old times....except there was a new girl on the start line of the main women's event....and she has Olympic legs.... Graduating up from her first race at Cameron Cross was Erinne Willock (Webcor Cycling).

Anderson had the dinner plate off her cranks, did a full warm up and even asked for less of a buffer between the girls and the boys that were about to be "chick'ed". In the end we gave the boys a 15 second head start before it was game on. There was no mercy as after only one lap Anderson had passed all but 12 boys (with Jakobsen hot on her rear wheel). After two laps there were only five boys ahead. At the finish only the masters that made the podium stayed a head of her (although she beat Jakbsen on time).

Behind "Perfect Score" Anderson, Jaymie McGowan (Oak Bay Bikes-Victoria) led the remainder of the women's field through the first two laps. Lost from the front group of women was Kirstenn Magnusson (Arrowsmith Cycling Club) who suffered from a loose saddle bolt.

On the third lap Willock used her powerful climbing legs on the Koppenberg to distance herself from the rest of the field and settled into second place for the rest of the race.

Returning to the podium and gaining all the votes from the judges and her fellow racers for most aggressive in third place was Lisa Ludwig.

1st Lap Lighthouse Brewery Prime: Dawn Anderson

Converse Chuck Taylor most aggressive rider: Lisa Ludwig

Race #4: Expert Men (10 Laps)

Plain and simple.....Russell Anderson (Everti-Oak Bay Bikes Victoria) killed EVERYONE for the whole race......will anyone be able to stop Russell Anderson EVER again this season.....this is the question!

Behind Anderson fighting for table scraps was everyone else in the Expert race. Well I guess he did not win all the prizes. Jeff Reimer (Arrowsmith Cycling Club) took over at the front of the race on lap one after a very out-of-style-never-seen-before crash by Jeff Beeston (Trail Bicycles) in the Farmer's field. Beeston garage sale'd himself on the top part of the lollypop stopping the rest of the racers behind him as he apologized in his smooth accent. With Reimer just happy to get the Lighthouse beer, Anderson just went to the front, put it in the 50 and never looked back. Folks it was OVER!

Former Masters National Champion.....but no longer, Normon Thibault (Frontrunners) fought back from a second lap flat in Spooky Forest to come from 11th place up to third, just back 14 seconds of an already beer cracking Reimer at the finish.

Showing our out-of-province visitor some courtesy the most aggressive rider award went to Edmonton's Jonathan Bernskin (Hardcore Cycling) who impressed the judges with his style on the course.

1st Lap Lighthouse Brewery Prime: Jeff Reimer

Converse Chuck Taylor most aggressive rider: Jonathan Bernskin

RACE NOTES

- A $30 Fine was initially charged against Stefan Kilshaw (Oak Bay Bikes-Victoria) for wearing very high black compression socks with bike shorts. But then we saw how much running he had to do when he got a flat half the way through the race and though....hey they were actually useful. They looked horrible but we though that the taunting and the flat tire were enough penalty for this race so the fine was removed.....this time.....let this be a lesson to all compression sock wearers though!

- Some killer prizes for the event from our series sponsors as well as extra ones from Kona, Specialized and Norco through Experience Cycling in Duncan.

- Both Dawn and Russell Anderson won $100 FSA Gift Certificates each for their wins. They say that they are going to buy bigger big rings as their 50t ones are not big enough for them.

- Jason Sandquist from the Experience Cycling Club is professionally trained in analytical review and thus had all the races timed to perfection for lap counts.....it pays to have a pro at the lap board!

Thanks to our volunteers and crew from Experience Cycling Club

Next race on Vancouver Island: DOUBLE CROSS WEEKEND. Cumberland November 1st and Jungle Cross at Fletcher's Farm, Errington on November 2nd.