Posted by Editoress on 07/13/15
Eric Young WIns White Spot Delta Road Race
Olds Wins Women’s Race
In a new twist this year, organizers changed the route of the White Spot | Delta Road Race to include twice as many passes by the start/finish line. The goal was to try and replicate the excitement of a criterium race in a road race and if Sunday’s edition is any indication, it’s safe to say organizers achieved their goal.
Despite still being an extreme test of strength, strategy, precision and endurance, the men’s race saw numerous attacks and aggressive moves by a variety of riders and teams – all in pursuit of valuable UCI points and $8500 in prize money. After a bunch sprint of 34 riders, it was Eric Young of Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies who crossed the finish line first, just ahead of teammate Ryan Anderson of North Vancouver and Brandon Etzl from Team NCCH p/b DEC Express. In the final straightaway, Young almost made it look easy.
"I did a great job sitting in and the team did everything else for me. I didn't really follow any moves the entire day, just conserved and gambled on it coming together. We had guys in every move so if someone up ahead stayed away we would have been fine, even that last little breakaway that was caught in the final kilometre, we had Jesse (Anthony) in there,” said the 26-year-old from Geneva, Illinois. “The team did a great job covering everything the whole day and then Ryan and I and Will Routley took the lead in the last kilometre. I just went before the final turn because I knew it was pretty short from there. I got the clearance from there and was able to hold it."
For Anderson, it is his third second-place finish in the 12-lap, 157.8 kilometre marathon (2014, 2009) along third-place finishes in 2013 and 2010.
"With the new circuit, I think it was easier for the group to stay together. I found myself in a lot of moves today, which was good and then coming together at the end,” he explained. “I didn't personally win today, but Eric and I hooked up really well in the finish and I was able to give him a perfect lead out to win, that's an important thing for him and me going forward for the rest of the year, so I'm glad it came together the way that it did."
At one lap to go, Anderson and Young’s teammate Jesse Anthony, Matteo Dal-Cin of Silber Pro Cycling and Etzl’s teammate Jack Burke had a 30 second lead on the peloton and it looked like they might hang on for the top three spots on the podium, but the pack had other ideas.
"With the three guys, we had one, so we weren't doing any of the work. When we heard (the gap) was 15 seconds and it wasn't that far to go, I knew it was going to come back,” said Anderson. “It was just going to be too hard (to hang on), there was still too many guys in the group that wanted it to come back together. So we hooked up and we had Will as our last guy in front of me and it worked out perfect today."
Young acknowledged that Optum is a familiar face on the podium in the Tour de Delta, and especially the White Spot | Delta Road Race.
"We've done well at this race before, it's a really great one to prepare for the late season races so we're really happy to go 1-2 again, it is awesome," he said.
Anderson added that despite the change in the course, being on the podium in this race five times over the last seven years may have given him a bit of an edge on some of the other riders.
"Today in general, the course was different, but I know the roads pretty well. Experience here plays a bit of a factor, but I think it was important to just read the race because it's almost like a new race this year because the course is different,” he said. “It's so different than the last couple of years and you have to adapt and I think we did that today."
Etzl wasn’t really expecting to be on the podium himself and thought his teammate would be able to pull it out.
"It's a great race. I was kind of looking forward to seeing (Jack) Burke on the podium possibly and unfortunately we caught him about 200 metres to the line. He put in a great effort and it's too bad he couldn't take it to the line, but at least we had some result," said the 24-year-old who won Stage 1 of the Tour de White Rock in 2013.
Women
If Shelley Olds is getting progressively better during BC Superweek, you have to wonder what she has up her sleeve for the remainder of the series. The 34-year-old from Groton, Massachusetts won in a bunch sprint to claim the 15th edition of the White Spot | Delta Road Race and more importantly – the 40 UCI points that go along with it.
The result came after a second place finish for Olds in Saturday’s Brenco Criterium and a third place finish in Friday’s MK Delta Lands Criterium.
"It's all progress, just getting back to racing criteriums again so with a road race today, it's a different thing,” Olds said after finishing the race in two hours, 45 minutes, and 28 seconds. “But I'm very happy with today, (being first) was the goal for the weekend, so I'm very happy with the win."
For most of the race, the 56-rider field seemed content to be conservative and wait for a sprint to the finish. The approach turned to cautiousness with two laps to go when it started to rain heavily and the course got slick.
“I think everyone was really concerned about the road once the rain started, there were a couple of crashes, I think one of my teammates went down, so we were all trying to be safe,” said second place finisher Leah Kirchmann, the 2013 and 2014 winner of the White Spot | Delta Road Race. The Winnipeg product gains 30 UCI points with her result.
There weren’t too many aggressive moves made during the race with Olds especially wanting to keep it simple and not overthink things.
"I think the other nights I was doing a little too much by wanting to win the race, so today I wanted to win the race and tried not to do anything,” said Olds, who needed to find a team to join to be eligible for race, due to its UCI designation. “I was racing with a mixed team today so it's not my normal professional team, but Garage Racing was amazing and it was really fun racing with them. I want to thank them for having me on the team. Cycling is a team sport and we showed that today."
The grueling 105.2 kilometre race saw the women do eight total laps with very few riders breaking away from the pack.
"There was some attacking from the bigger teams, but with the crashes and the rain and everything, it sort of slowed down the race because we didn't want to take any risks in the corners,” said Olds. “There were some big crashes so I think people were more safe... it was a little tenuous."
Finishing third was three-time Olympian Joanne Kiesanowski of New Zealand. The 36-year-old is a three-time Commonwealth Games representative, and eight time National Champion for New Zealand. She was also on a roll heading into BC Superweek, with five straight Top 10 finishes.
Press release
Results
Women, 105.2 km | |
1 Shelley Olds (USA) Garage Racing | 2:45:28 |
2 Leah Kirchmann (Can) Canada | |
3 Joanne Kiesanowski (Nzl) Team TIBCO-SVB | |
4 Mandy Heintz (USA) Fearless Femme p/b Haute Wheels Racing | |
5 Lauretta Hanson (Aus) Fearless Femme p/b Haute Wheels Racing | |
6 Denise Ramsden (Can) Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes | |
7 Lenore Pipes (Gum) Team TIBCO-SVB | |
8 Justine Clift (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling | |
9 Jessica Uebelhart (Sui) BMW p/b Happy Tooth Dental | |
10 Erica Zaveta (USA) BMW p/b Happy Tooth Dental | |
11 Irena Ossola (USA) Garage Racing | |
12 Emily Flynn (Can) The Cyclery - Opus | |
13 Allison Jackson (Can) Canada | |
14 Lindsay Bayer (USA) BMW p/b Happy Tooth Dental | |
15 Amy Phillips (USA) Pepper Palace Development Squad | |
16 Annie Foreman-Mackey (Can) The Cyclery - Opus | |
17 Liza Rachetto (USA) BMW p/b Happy Tooth Dental | |
18 Kimberley Johnson (USA) Alete - FLC | |
19 Sabrina David (Can) Alete - FLC | |
20 Megan Rathwell (Can) BMW p/b Happy Tooth Dental | |
21 Sara Bergen (Can) Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes | |
22 Ashley Barson (Can) Pepper Palace Development Squad | |
23 Kinley Gibson (Can) Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes | |
24 Patricia Schwager (Sui) Team TIBCO-SVB | |
25 Annie Ewart (Can) Canada | |
26 Morgan Cabot (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling | all s.t. |
27 Allie Guenther (Can) Alete - FLC | 0:15 |
28 Sara Poidevin (Can) Canada | 0:20 |
29 Ellen Watters (Can) The Cyclery - Opus | s.t. |
30 Leah Guloien (Can) Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes | 1:06 |
31 Catherine Ouellette (Can) Canada | 1:33 |
32 Ariane Bonhomme (Can) The Cyclery - Opus | s.t. |
33 Emma Lujan (Can) Women's Team ATAC | 2:12 |
34 Claire Cameron (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling | s.t. |
35 Suzanna Dupee (USA) Pepper Palace Development Squad | 2:54 |
36 Anika Todd (Can) Team TIBCO-SVB | 3:00 |
37 Janna Gillick (Can) Women's Team ATAC | 4:24 |
38 Jennifer Whalen (USA) Alete - FLC | 10:29 |
DNF Lex Albrecht (Can) Canada | |
DNF Shoshauna Routley (Can) BMW p/b Happy Tooth Dental | |
DNF Amelie Bruneau (Can) The Cyclery - Opus | |
DNF Jamie Gilgen (Can) Pepper Palace Development Squad | |
DNF Sarah Coney (Can) Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes | |
DNF Suzanne Hamilton (Can) Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes | |
DNF Christy Keely (USA) Fearless Femme p/b Haute Wheels Racing | |
DNF Laura Van Gilder (USA) Fearless Femme p/b Haute Wheels Racing | |
DNF Heidi Wood (USA) Garage Racing | |
DNF Cady Chintis (USA) Garage Racing | |
DNF Natalie Koncz (USA) Garage Racing | |
DNF Alysia Withers (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling | |
DNF Jody Rechenmacher (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling | |
DNF Rachel Canning (Can) Women's Team ATAC | |
DNF Jennifer Gerth (Can) Women's Team ATAC | |
DNF Brenna Pauly (Can) Women's Team ATAC | |
DNF Allison Daniel (Can) Women's Team ATAC | |
DNF Meghan Grant (Can) Alete - FLC | |
DNS Gabrielle Pilote-Fortin (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling | |
Men, 157.8 km | |
1 Eric Young (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefits Strategies | 3:29:23 |
2 Ryan Anderson (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefits Strategies | |
3 Brandon Etzl (Can) Team NCCH p/b DEC Express | |
4 Brandon Feehery (USA) Astellas Cycling | |
5 Florenz Knauer (Ger) H&R Block Pro Cycling Team | |
6 Ryan Roth (Can) Silber Pro Cycling Team | |
7 Jason Lowndes (Aus) Garneau Quebecor | |
8 Lars Teutenberg (Ger) German Regional Team | |
9 Hendrik Werner (Ger) German Regional Team | |
10 Andrew Dahlheim (USA) Canyon Bicycles - Shimano | |
11 Alexander Cataford (Can) Silber Pro Cycling Team | |
12 Adam Myerson (USA) Astellas Cycling | |
13 Jacob Schwingboth (Can) H&R Block Pro Cycling Team | |
14 Samuel Bassetti (USA) iRT Racing | |
15 Michael Sheehan (USA) ELBOWZ Racing | |
16 Chris Prendergast (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee - Norco Bicycles | |
17 Derrick St-John (Can) Silber Pro Cycling Team | |
18 Isaac Leblanc (Can) Team NCCH p/b DEC Express | |
19 Tobin Ortenblad (USA) California Giant/Specialized | |
20 Adam De Vos (Can) H&R Block Pro Cycling Team | |
21 Nigel Ellsay (Can) Silber Pro Cycling Team | |
22 Nigel Kinney (USA) Langlois Brown Racing | |
23 Stefan Rothe (USA) ELBOWZ Racing | |
24 Will Routley (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefits Strategies | |
25 Kaler Marshall (USA) Canyon Bicycles - Shimano | |
26 Danick Vandale (Can) Russ Hay's Accent Inns Cycling p/b Scotiabank | |
27 Stefano Barberi (USA) California Giant/Specialized | |
28 Dylan Cunningham (Can) Russ Hay's Accent Inns Cycling p/b Scotiabank | |
29 Mackenzie Champlin (USA) Herbalife p/b Marc Pro - Strava | |
30 Brett Wakefield (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling | |
31 Garrett Mcleod (Can) H&R Block Pro Cycling Team | |
32 Jesse Anthony (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefits Strategies | |
33 Jack Burke (Can) Team NCCH p/b DEC Express | |
34 Anton Varabei (Can) Garneau Quebecor | all s.t. |
35 Benjamin Perry (Can) Silber Pro Cycling Team | 0:08 |
36 Matteo Dal-Cin (Can) Silber Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
37 Walton Brush (USA) iRT Racing | 0:16 |
38 Joshua Carling (USA) Herbalife p/b Marc Pro - Strava | 0:17 |
39 Ariel Herrmann (USA) Herbalife p/b Marc Pro - Strava | s.t. |
40 Patrick Casey (USA) Canyon Bicycles - Shimano | 0:20 |
41 Mat Stephens (USA) Canyon Bicycles - Shimano | s.t. |
42 Christopher Harland-Dunaway (USA) Herbalife p/b Marc Pro - Strava | 0:22 |
43 Simon-Pierre Gauthier (Can) Garneau Quebecor | 0:24 |
44 Clay Murfet (Aus) Astellas Cycling | 0:25 |
45 Morgan Schmitt (USA) Canyon Bicycles - Shimano | 0:47 |
46 Christoph Schweizer (Ger) German Regional Team | 0:54 |
47 Grant Koontz (USA) ELBOWZ Racing | s.t. |
48 Olivier Brisebois (Can) Garneau Quebecor | 1:00 |
49 Scott Swizanski (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefits Strategies | 1:07 |
50 Travis Streb (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling | 1:24 |
51 David Gillam (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling | 1:27 |
52 Cortlan Brown (USA) Astellas Cycling | 1:34 |
53 Marc-Antoine Soucy (Can) Garneau Quebecor | 2:18 |
54 Dan Gardner (Gbr) Astellas Cycling | s.t. |
55 Torey Philipp (USA) California Giant/Specialized | 8:37 |
56 Arturo Suarez (Mex) Langlois Brown Racing | |
57 Edward Walsh (Can) Team NCCH p/b DEC Express | |
58 Kevin Massicotte (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee - Norco Bicycles | all s.t. |
DNF Curtis White (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefits Strategies | |
DNF Travis Samuel (Can) H&R Block Pro Cycling Team | |
DNF Bailey Mcknight (Can) H&R Block Pro Cycling Team | |
DNF Cory Greenburg (USA) iRT Racing | |
DNF Rene Corella (Mex) iRT Racing | |
DNF Franck Lucas (USA) iRT Racing | |
DNF Max Jenkins (USA) Astellas Cycling | |
DNF Jan Niklas Droste (Ger) German Regional Team | |
DNF Jacob Albrecht (USA) California Giant/Specialized | |
DNF Zeke Mostov (USA) California Giant/Specialized | |
DNF Ben Wolfe (USA) California Giant/Specialized | |
DNF Gabriel Antonio Baca (Mex) ELBOWZ Racing | |
DNF Michael Pincus (USA) ELBOWZ Racing | |
DNF Jay Lamoureux (Can) Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes | |
DNF Trevor Stothard (Can) Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes | |
DNF Craig Richey (Can) Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes | |
DNF Michael Van Den Ham (Can) Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes | |
DNF Geordie Morrison (Can) Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes | |
DNF Braydon Bourne (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee - Norco Bicycles | |
DNF Luke Vanlauwe (Can) Jet Fuel Coffee - Norco Bicycles | |
DNF Matt Chatlaong (USA) Herbalife p/b Marc Pro - Strava | |
DNF William Myers (USA) Herbalife p/b Marc Pro - Strava | |
DNF Sherwood Plant (Can) Langlois Brown Racing | |
DNF David Gerth (Can) Langlois Brown Racing | |
DNF Jackson Pickell (Can) Langlois Brown Racing | |
DNF Vincent Marcotte (Can) Langlois Brown Racing | |
DNF Cody Canning (Can) Russ Hay's Accent Inns Cycling p/b Scotiabank | |
DNF Curtis Dearden (Can) Russ Hay's Accent Inns Cycling p/b Scotiabank | |
DNF Jordan Landolt (Can) Russ Hay's Accent Inns Cycling p/b Scotiabank | |
DNF Ty Andrews (Can) Russ Hay's Accent Inns Cycling p/b Scotiabank | |
DNF Devon Moonie (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling | |
DNF Ryan Jones (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling | |
DNF Corey Ostertag (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling |