July 11/11 19:11 pm - Tour de Delta: Stage 3 and final GC, report, results and photos

Posted by Editoress on 07/11/11
 

Huff, Glaesser win Sunday's Tour de Delta White Spot Road Races

Pinfold, Gendron claim Tour de Delta Omniums, or overall, titles

Former US criterium champion Brad Huff edged out the current American crit champ, Daniel Halloway, in two-man sprint to the finish line to win the 2011 Tour de Delta White Spot Road Race on Sunday, finishing the 140-kilometre ride in 3:24:44.1.

Brad Huff wins

Huff, riding for Jelly Belly Pro Cycling presented by Kenda, and Halloway of Kelly Benefit Strategies Omtum-Health, were part of five-rider breakaway with three local racers as the field came across after four and a half laps of a smaller circuit in North Delta and rode up into Tsawwassen for 10 laps around the longer 8.8-kilometre circuit.

They built a five-minute lead on the potent pack at one point, but the gap was down to just over two minutes with three laps to go. That’s when Huff, who won the US Criterium title in 2006, Halloway and David Vukets, riding for the local Trek Red Truck team, broke away from the other two. But Vukets cramped up, creating a last lap showdown between the two Americans.

“It wasn’t really a 200-metre sprint for us,” Huff said of the final straightaway leading to the finish line. “It was more like a 3-kilometre drag race. We knew we had the gap and we were trying to commit to hold it. And at the end it was who could push.”

It’s not the first time these two have faced off, and there was plenty of back and forth between the friendly rivals – both on the course and after the race.

“I didn’t even realize Daniel Halloway was in the race because I’m so used to Captain American being beside me and he wasn’t red, white, and blue today,” Huff joked of the USA jersey Halloway wears for criterium races, including the first two stages of the Tour de Delta Friday and Saturday night. “So it was kind of a surprise on the last lap.”

Huff gave Halloway credit for keeping them ahead of the pack, but he wasn’t having it.

“It was the Brad Huff show and I was just a guest,” Halloway said.

Andrew Pinfold, a North Vancouver native who now races internationally for the United Healthcare team, restored some local pride by winning a sprint for third place less than a minute behind the leaders. By beating Australian Tommy Nankeris (Real Cyclist.com Pro Cycling), who was fifth Sunday after winning Saturday’s Brenco Criterium, and staying three spots ahead of overall leader Carlos Alzate, a Columbian Olympian riding for Team Exergy, Pinfold was also able to clinch the Tour de Delta Omnium, or overall title.

“When the break got five minutes ahead we said ‘I think they have it,’ so I was going for the overall and I knew I had to beat Alzate by a couple guys and I had to beat Tommy at the finish line and fortunately I had the legs to do it,” said Pinfold who finished second in Saturday’s Brenco Criterium, a race he has won in the past, along with three straight White Spot Road Races. But the 32-year-old pro had never won the overall before.

“This is my 11th year here and I’ve never won the whole thing,” he said. “I fly to Italy tomorrow to race but this race means that much to me that I hung around to do it.”

It left a similar impression on Huff, who was told by former Jelly Belly teammate Will Routley, a Whistler native now riding for Steve Bauer’s Team Spidertech, to come north for BC Superweek, and finally made the trip with another local rider now on Jelly Belly, Nic Hamilton. Halloway came up with local teammate Marsh Cooper to compete.

“It’s amazing coming up here from the States and seeing a race like this,” Huff said.


The women’s race featured a pair of familiar 19-year-old faces atop the podium.

Jasmine Glaesser, who finished third in Friday’s MK Delta Lands Criterium and second in Saturday’s Brenco Criterium, took off from the pack with two laps left around the Tsawwassen loop and stayed away, finishing the 88-kilometres in 2: 25:10.9.

Jasmine Glaesser wins

“The team was trying things all race but it was still together,” said Glaesser, riding for Local Ride Racing/Dr. Vie Superfoods. “So my teammate Laura (Brown) attacked up the hill with two to go and I was on her wheel and as soon as she slowed I went and drilled it and pretty much did a time trial the rest of the race and was able to stay away.”

Glaesser, who races on a German card but is working to secure Canadian citizenship for the 2012 Olympics, finished a minute ahead of anyone else. But in a points based format, it still wasn’t enough to secure the Tour de Delta Omnium, or overall title, which went to Karlee Gendron after she won a sprint to the finish line to finish second on Sunday.

Combined with victories in the first two criteriums, including coming back from a nasty wipeout that left her bloodied and bruised on Saturday, that was enough for Gendron to secure the overall title while representing the locally based Trek Red Truck team.

“I had a little lead out form teammates and then Keller Rohrback girl (Patricia Bailey) went and I was cramping up pretty bad on the sprint but just had to go and gave it my best,” said Gendron, who is originally from Manitoba. “It was a tough race today but my team was fantastic and the Tour de Delta is an amazing race, really well organized.”

One of those original organizers, former Canadian Olympic medal winner Brian Walton, had another reason to celebrate on Sunday after wife Dana finished third in the road race, which combined with a second place on Friday put here fourth overall at age 40.

“You ride a lot smarter at this age,” joked Walton onstage with her kids, ages 5, 7, and 9, and husband Brian, who returns every year to help call the races he helped start 11 years ago. “This is a great event. I was here for first one and ecstatic to be back for this one.”

Courtesy Tour de Delta

Pro 1/2 Men photos   by Greg Descantes, descantes.com

Women photos   by Greg Descantes, descantes.com