April 5/05 7:33 am - Harris Roubaix Cycling Classic Registration Reminder, Tour de Prairie Info, Jacob Erker's Redlands Wrap-up

Posted by Editoress on 04/5/05
 

Harris Roubaix Cycling Classic Sunday, April 10th

Reminder to all riders that online signup is still available on our website at www.trekredtruckracing.com and race day registration will also be available. Just click on the race link at www.trekredtruckracing.com.

We have a new improved course this year for the first BC Cup in the series and the racing starts at 7:50am with the Pro 1/2 race commencing at 10am. Good luck to all
participants!

James Neil
Co-Manager
www.trekredtruckracing.com


Tour de Prairie Stage Race Info Posted

The Regina Cycle Club is very pleased to present the 2005 Tour de Prairie Stage Race June 4th & 5th

Race Program and Cash Prize List is posted under the "Events" tab on the Regina Cycle Club's website:
www.reginacycleclub.com

If anyone has any questions, please e-mail the club
at: race@reginacycleclub.com

Many more details TBA

Jason Christbason
President & Race Director - RCC
Sport Captain - 2005 Canada Summer Games - Cycling


Redlands wrap-up: Stage 3, Sunset Circuit Race ˆ Ouch!
by Jacob Erker - Symmetrics Cycling

The Redlands classic was two days shorter this year than normal but the results show very well just how hard the racing was. Normally there is a circuit race to get things going and then we do the Oak Glen stage at a "softer" pace going into the final climb. But this year, there were really only two opportunities to make your mark on the race- Oak Glen on Friday and the Sunset Loop on Sunday. It certainly didn't help that the Oak Glen stage was whipped by heaving winds. So I think many of the riders were pretty tired going into the criterium on Saturday, which is by no means a rest day.

As we hit the final day, riders were being tailed off the back on the opening parade circuits in the downtown area, as well as on the climb up to the circuits....where the climb starts. Our plan for the last day was to keep Eric in 5th or better on the GC and for me to try and take the KOM jersey. Almost every year, the KOM is won by a rider who is in the break on the last day because there are 5 KOM's on the circuit. You can have no points at all going in and then win it anyway. So I spent the first lap and a half trying to cover a number of attacks and get in that move. A number of times it looked pretty good but more riders would bridge across again and again until the move would get too big, and Health Net would shut it down. Finally 6 riders escaped and I couldn't follow them so Svein jumped across. Eric was patrolling the front and came on the radio. "Okay Svein, you guys are gone. Have a good day".

We were doing 12 laps of the Sunset circuit and I told Cory that I had burned up just about every match on lap 1. For the next 3 hours, I was just grovelling to stay in the bunch. Cory, Christian and March (as he was listed in the results) took care of me until I finally came around. Pinner flatted early on and was chasing back on a descent. Problem was, he had carbon pads on for our carbon wheels. But his spare was an aluminum rim. Approaching a downhill corner, Pinner found very little assistance from his brake lever to slow him down and had to carry on straight into someone's driveway. Svein's break made it all the way to the top of the final climb and all that was left was the descent back into town for the finishing circuits. Health Net rode very well and just had Scott Moninger left to lead Chris Wherry back to the finish.

Only 30 of us would make it back home in the front group. So thank goodness Redlands was "only" 4 days this year.