July 5/03 10:30 am - O-Cup #4, BC Cup Update

Posted by Editor on 07/5/03
 

Ontario Cup #4, Calabogie Peaks

Calabogie Peaks is showcasing one of Ontario's most challenging x - country mountain bike courses this weekend. Situated 1 hour west of Ottawa, this venue is absolutely gorgeous with a stunning lake, beautiful mountain and an Ontario Cup course with rocks and climbing! This is the kind of x - country race course you'll probably want to pre - ride.

Saturday is fun - filled with short track racing, and pre - rides, with all the x - country events taking place on Sunday (event day registration is available for all events).

Schedule of Events:

Friday, July 4
4 pm - 8 pm Pre - Ride

Saturday, July 5
10 am - 4 pm Registration (event day prices)
1pm Ladies pre - ride of course
9 am - 5 pm Pre - Ride
11:30 am Pro / Expert Short Track
12:00 pm Sport Short Track, Women's Open Short Track

Sunday, July 6
7:15 am - 12 pm Registration
9 am First Race Starts - Cadet Sport Men, Beginner Men, Beginner Women, Junior/Cadet Sport Women, Minime Men, PeeWee Men, Minime/Peewee Women
10:15 am Free Kids Race 8 & under
10:30 am Second Race Starts - Senior Sport Men, Junior Sport Men, Master Sport Men 30 - 39, Master Sport Men 40 - 49, Master Men 50+, Senior Expert Women, Junior/Cadet Expert Women,
Master Expert Women, Sport Women, Try - an - Ocup Citizen Male, Try - an - Ocup Citizen Female
1:00 pm Third Race Starts - Senior Elite Men, Elite Women, Junior Expert Men, Senior Expert Men, Master Expert Men 30 - 39, Master Expert Men 40 - 49, Cadet Expert Men

(award ceremony asap after each race)

Pre - rides are from 4pm - 8pm on Friday, and all day Saturday. This is a brand new race course and it has been updated during this week. For more info visit http://www.chicoracing.com/ocup4info.htm . Camping is still available around the area so don't fret if this is a last minute journey!


SISU BC Cup Championship Race Tightensi>Courtesy Cycling BC

With just a few shorts weeks before cycling's biggest week of racing hits the streets of Delta, Gastown and White Rock, the fight to clinch the SISU BC Cup title is closer than ever.

In the Senior Men's category, just one point is all that separates first and second placed riders, Matt Usborne (Symmetrics) and Larry Zimich (Campione). The Women's category has Penticton's Sarah Noble opening a slim four point advantage over 2001 SISU Champion, Marni Prazsky (Trek - VW), who in turn has just one point over third placed rider, Lisa Sweeney (Kappa).

With North America's fastest men and women setting their sights on the three marquee events that together form SuperWeek, the battle to collect SISU BC Cup points, and move up in ranking, will be fierce.

New to the Series, and encompassed within SuperWeek, is the Steamworks Tour de Gastown. This historic event along the cobblestone streets of Vancouver's oldest district will award SISU BC Cup points to the top 3 BC licensed riders - 5, 4, and 3 points respectively - perhaps playing to the strengths of title contender, Usborne, 27, and former BC Criterium Champion, Prazsky.

"I hope to hang on to the Saturn and RONA girls, and try to stay near the front," said Prazsky, about the potential tactics of the race.

In a bid to create closer racing among local racers, the SISU BC Cup Series points structure has been revised, allowing for the distribution of Series points to the top 10 BC licensed riders, regardless of their placing. This points proviso will be made to the Delta and White Rock road races only.

"It's an awesome concession, with all the big guns coming to town for SuperWeek, it will give local BC racers an incentive to stick through and finish the races, no matter what the pace", beamed an enthusiastic Sean Dawson (Trek - VW), currently in 4th place overall in the Series.

Indeed, Cycling BC's High Performance Committee whole - heartedly supports the points restructuring for the remaining SISU events. With North America's top ranked pro - teams making the drive north, BC racers will have their work cut out for them, as they battle the arsenal of cyclists brought on by a winning roster of teams including Saturn, Navigators, Jelly Belly, HealthNet, ItalPasta and Prime Alliance.

"Rather than shutting racers out of points contention, this revision will open the title race up to the very last event," said Allan Prazsky, Technical Director of Cycling BC.

Restricting the key events to Category 1 and 2 riders only, the races should prove to be even faster than those of previous years, making team tactics essential for those looking for a win.

After his dominating performance in the Criterium during the National Championships, expect former Provincial Road Champion and local - boy Svein Tuft (Prime Alliance) to play a key role in the SuperWeek events. Tuft will have crit specialist Ryan Miller and 2001 World Espoir Champion, Danny Pate, currently ranked 3rd in the US, playing a supporting, and very important part in Tuft's and Prime Alliance's bid to secure victory through the week.

An obstacle sure to get in the way between Prime Alliance and victory will be local pro - team Symmetrics. With its star - studded roster which includes
former Commonwealth Games rider Scott Goguen, current SISU BC Cup Champion and title leader, Matt Usborne and Tony Zarsadias, Symmetrics will be the odds - on - favorite as the resident local team, ready to pounce when the action heats up.

All the excitement isn't contained to the men's elite category alone, as the
women's field is also expected to be better than ever. With star riders from Saturn, Gears Racing and RONA making the cross - border jump, expect to see local favorites Prazsky (Trek - VW), Macht (Trek - VW) and Noble (Bike Barn) feeding off of the excitement, perhaps working together to make a BC presence at the front of the field, limiting the impact the pro - teams hope to make. The local trio combines Prazsky's power and explosive speed with the exceptional climbing ability of Macht and Noble. "With Justras (Saturn) injured, we have a good shot at placing well. I can't wait to light it up," quipped Macht.

Prime Alliance Team Director Kirk Willet, himself having tasted victory in the 1996 Tour de White Rock, has fond memories of racing in BC, helping in the decision to bring the squad to Canada, and perhaps best describing the events throughout SuperWeek; "Racing in front of these big crowds is as good as racing gets in North America," he says.

"That's one of the reasons we're bringing our team here. The buzz (in US racing circles) is that there is something really special happening in BC. It's great to see a new Series with unique courses, top quality racing and super fan support. You guys are creating a must - attend event that all the top teams are going to put on their schedule every year."

With enthusiastic support like this, it is clear to see why road racing has made a jump in participation over the last three years.