June 19/10 20:30 pm - Banff National Park Bicycle Festival: Stage 2 report and results

Posted by Editoress on 06/19/10
 

The 21 km ITT course starts at the north edge of downtown Banff (AB) from the Husky Station next to Bumper's Beef House. Riders head up and down the rolling hills on their way through the Lake Minnewanka recreation area. After heading across a dam, they pass Two Jack Lake that features a stunning view of the Fairholme Mountain Range, with majestic rock and snow contrasting dramatically against the turquoise lake lined with lush vegetation.

Photos by Mark Kay/kayphoto.ca

But this is a time trial competition, and the riders only have eyes for a small screen showing numbers: heart rate, speed, and perhaps power, along with a small patch of the pavement whizzing by as they power around the course.

At the start line, the commissaire reminds Canada's 2009 National Time Trial Champion Tara Whitten (Specialized Mazda Samson G Conseil) to tuck in her helmet strap to make sure she's fully aerodynamic.

Whitten tucks in the strap, and proceeds to blast around the course to win the Open Women's category with a time of 30:15, thirty seconds faster than second placed Julie Beveridge (Vienne Futuroscope). Laura Brown (Total Restoration) came third, one second behind Beveridge.

These three riders are now the top three in the General Classification in the same order they finished the ITT.

"This is a tricky course, since the hardest part is the climbing and descending in the first few kilometres," commented Brown. "It's a tough trade-off - you don't want to go out too hard, but you want to go hard enough that you don't lose time on those tricky first few km.

I'm happy with my ride - this is a great preview of the upcoming Road Nationals. With Tara and Julie here, I got to see how I stack up against the top two time trialists in the country!"

"I woke up feeling sick, and almost didn't ride," said Beveridge. "But I figured I'd start, and if I felt really bad, I could just turn around - I want to make sure I'm well for Nationals. But it ended up OK in the end."

In the Invited Men's category, Ian McKissick (Lenovo) stormed the course in a time of 25:59, good for the win and the overall lead as well. One minute and eight seconds behind McKissick was Dave Vukets (Trek Red Truck), with Cyrus Kangarloo (Total Restoration) in third, at 19 seconds behind Vukets. These men are now also the top three in the General Classification.

"It went OK for me - tough though," said Kangarloo. "Coming from Kelowna, BC, I could really feel the altitude up here. But this is the best time trial course in the country, so it's always a treat to ride here. I caught a few glimpses of the green lake, but maybe I shouldn't have looked - it might have cost me a few seconds to Vukets!"

"The time trial was good for me - I'm pleased with the result," commented Vukets who just returned from racing in Europe. "I think I had exactly the same time as last year, so I'm consistent at least. Or maybe a bit stronger - I think today might have been windier that last year."

"It was windy out there, so it was harder than I expected from the warm-up ride we did on the course," said the winner McKissick. "But I'm happy with my ride."

Gideon Krishtalka (Team H&R Block) won the Category 2/3 Men category with a time of 27:14. Ian Auld (Calgary Cycle p/b TO) and Blaine Richter (ERTC/Revolution) were second and third respectively with times of 29:17 and 29:44.

James Janzen (Bicisport), Brian Countryman (Velocity), and Mark McConnell (Synergy Racing) were the top three Category 4 Men with times of 30:04, 30:23, and 31:06 respectively.

Chris Hooper (Speed Theory) put down the fastest Category 5 Men time with 31:49, followed by Justin Warsylewicz (Bicisport) in 32:11, and James Clark (Pedalhead Road Works) in third with a time of 32:17.

Riders take a short break and will reconvene this evening for the exciting Lezyne Criterium in downtown Banff.