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September 21 Annual Hop 'n Hurl CX RaceWhat a great day to race!
The first race did not dissappoint. Great weather, a moist course, huge turnout and plenty of spectators made for a fatastic day of racing.
33 Sport riders towed the line, Roger Clemens, John Encarnacao, Trevor Pombert, Mike Kohlenberg, Shannon Hein, Peter Knight, Stew Hutchings, and Kona Duncan. It was an exciting race to watch as Roger won the 3 man sprint for 2nd and John coming in 4th, and Trevor 6th. The secret must be training with a full camelback!
The expert race was just as exciting with Bruce Penner and Chris Stipdonk representing. Young Spencer Smithman poured it on for two laps before crashing out causing the lap count for the supposed 50 minute race to extend the finishing times to between 1 hr 6 min and 1 hr 15 min! congrats to Chris for finishing 6th and Bruce for finishing 11th. A strong women's field toed the line immediately following the mens race, and Mikal Dyck (Canada Cup Mtb Champion - 2x) started right where she left off by attacking from the gun. It was terrific to see such a large turnout!
The elite race did not dissappoint. The field was large, everyone was fit and ready to rip. In cross it seems that the best defence is a good offence. Rather than respond to everyone's attacks, Tim decided it was time to set his own pace. Too bad he decided to do it as he looped me up the steep hill! I did feel like I was standing still. The four man chase group didn't stand a chance as Tim rode the rest of the way to a solo win. Nik Jendowsky held of Ryan Hopping to finish 2nd, Per Strom rode in to finish 4th, and Peter Toth showed excellent form to finish 5th.
More race photos to follow and stay tuned for the info regarding next weekend's event! Cross training tonight - Photo of the weekCyclocross Tonight
As long as it's not raining hard, we'll be riding tonight! Maybe not as much dirt as usual, but it will be excellent preparation for the upcoming events, and to improve the handling skills and fitness!
Photo of the Week
Although it took 4 months to get through all of the photos from the transrockies and the spring Moab trip, have a look at these 2 beauties. September 13 Cyclocross - MTB Ride Wednesday -IMAX : Wired to Win debutCross Season is Underway! Now that the leaves are falling and the air is crisp, Cross is in the air. Haven't heard of this before? Now this is a spectator sport! 20 - 40 riders on a short, fast, and best of all viewable course! Don't have a race license? Don't worry, you can still try 2 races without one! If you're lucky enough to have discovered this amazing sport, have a look at www.cyclocrossworld.com/Tech.cfm for a little more info on getting your bike ready! Cyclo-Cross is a unique bicycle sport. It is not a variation of either mountain biking or road racing. There are some common aspects of both those sports in cyclo-cross, but it is a mistake to view 'cross with a road or mountain bike bias. Cyclo-Cross is a race of transitions: On and off the bike, out of corners, onto pavement or hard ground from soft ground, or sprinting from a remount. Cross courses are 2 to 4 kilometers in length and allow for 1 or 2 dismounts per lap. Usually the dismounts are forced by placing 2 knee high barricades directly in the riders path! These are supposed to force a dismount; not to test a rider’s hopping ability. Often these hurdles are placed on a hillside to insure a running section and that a barely rideable hill can be a good test of 'cross skills. Most cyclocross courses feature firm ground (pavement, hard dirt roads and paths, hard pack trails, or very firm grass field). In general courses are wide enough throughout the entire length of the lap for riders to pass one another, facilitate group racing and to prevent an unfair race selection. The surface of a 'cross course can be quite variable, but thankfully rocky ground or heavily rooted ground, and soft and mulchy grass is usually avoided! Be prepared to race on wide wooded paths, gravel and dirt roads, grass fields, pavement, mud, and plain old dirt that are ideal for good old 'cross racing. The more variety the better. For more info on cross racing in Alberta, click on www.albertabicycle.ab.ca/racing/cyclo_cross.php or email raceteam@unitedcycle.com. A complete listing of the 2006 race schedule is posted in the Upcoming Events section. Wednesday Night Rides! WE can finally see the trails again! Throw on an extra layer, it's a little cool but still worth the effort to get another ride in! See you at the Kinsmen Sports Center - 7Pm. TTP Cross Training Camp Continues - 6:30 pm next to the Kinsmen Sports Center playground Practice your starts, dismounts, running, and of course try out Tim's now famous below threshold / above threshold climb. Yeah Right... And don't forget the good old relay to wrap up the night! IMAX - Wired to Win The Telus World of Science will have the IMAX film "Wired to Win - Surviving the Tour de France" playing for a limited time from September 14th - October 1st as part of their IMAX Film Festival. It is a film with the Tour de France as the backdrop to looking at how the body and brain work in a cyclist. For more information about the film and a listing of showtimes, visit http://www.odyssium.com/showtimes.html#Festival. Show Synopsis: Wired to Win – Surviving the Tour de France Follow cyclists as they race in the Tour de France. Experience their hair-raising crashes, dynamic battles over the Alps and Pyrenees and action-packed descents down steep mountain roads. Learn about the various aspects of the human brain and is ability to help us achieve success in the face of what seems to be insurmountable obstacles. September 07 Bow 80 Update - Cyclocross Begins - Provincial MTB PhotosBow 80 - Revenge of the 6th
The sixth edition of the epic 85km cross country race was held Sunday September 10. Congratulations to Tim Heemskerk, another victory chalked up. Preliminary results have Tim winning, Jon Nutbaum 2nd, and Edmontonian Andrea Sutton 3rd. Tim's victory wasn't without incident, according to Tim "it was a very nice course, but poorly marked. I'm not very familiar with the area so I went on a wrong trail 3 times. I also broke my cassette in the back (one chainring is totally gone), lost a contact and had to stop to put a new one in, stopped to get my lost sunglasses which fell out of my pocket and nearly bonked with 20 km to go but won the race and came only 2 min short for the course record, isn't that crazy!! Saw a huge moose on the trail...cool. There were more fallen trees on the course than normal too according to Dallas so he though I can do a time like 4 hrs and 12 min or something like this, now 4 hrs and 19 min."
Cody Canning had an eventful day, racing for 4th despite 4 flat tires, maybe he'll finally switch over to liquid latex and congratulations to Trevor Pombert for finishing under the goal of 6 hrs.
CX Training Continues Thursday Night
Since the daylight is dwindling, we'll meet at the Kinsmen Sports Center main field to take full advantage of the all that's left. Mountain bikes or cross bikes are welcome. Word from the wise who participated last week, eat at least 2 hrs before the ride. Otherwise it's a great way to practice "carb - unloading". We'll meet next to the playground/sand pit where things will get started. Tim Heemskerk's cyclocross camp will consist of 6 weeks preparation for racing or just plain having fun in the group. For those attending more than the first 2 evenings we'll all chip in $20 for Tim's time and instruction in getting us race ready. See you Thursday.
The following is a good cx website, unfortunately hasn't been updated this year, contains lots of relative info on preparing for a season. http://members.aol.com/napavelo/cross.htm From equipment selection to links, training and preperation, it has a little of everything.
Provincial Hill Climb Championships - Sunday September 17 - Mt. Norquay
www.teambowcycle.com for all of the info. TEst yourself on the Alberta version of Alpe d'Huez, switchbacks, steep pitches, and 15 minutes of suffering await those who enter.
Provincial Mountain Bike Championship Photos
THanks to the gang from Hardcore for supplying the photos, head to http://www.hardcore.ca/gallery_files/06%20AB%20XC%20Provincials/index.html for 10 pages of race action pics.
Congratulations Jamie Thomas
We'll be seeing more of Jamie on Sportsnet this fall and winter as Jamie unfortunately as the Calgary Flames home game host. The good news is that he'll be around to join in the CX action. See you on the trails Jamie. September 01 Groundbreaking News! - Update from Jasper Trails ProjectFor those of you unfamiliar with the world class network of over 190 km of signed park trails suurounding Jasper, they allow an amazing experience to the nation park environment on horse, foot, or bike. Most areas of the network remain in good condition and some are deteriorating. This deterioration leads to trail braiding, impacts on vegetation, adoption of wildlife trails and the loss of critical wildlife habitats. The Jasper Trails Project aims to work together with the community of trail users to upgrade and reconfigure the trail network so all users can live and recreate in the best possible locations.
The Jasper Trails Project team and Working Group have been meeting for just over two months . Through a combination of interactive meetings, field trips and a workshops, the project wheels have been set in motion. Funding provided by the federal government and Parks Canada will be put to use through community engagement to improve the trail network in the Three Valley Confluence by enhancing recreational experience and addressing ecological integrit concerns.
The workshop included representation from the local Jasper Trails Project team, Parks Canada staff, and I.M.B.A. representatives. It is incredibly encouraging to see that the participants came to general agreement on the following points that will be used by parks Canada for developing future directions to manage mountain biking:
For further information and to contribute your thoughts and ideas, contact Jennifer Dubois, Jasper Trails Project Manager at (780) 852 9437. For further information regarding the IMBA go to: www.imba.com/canada |
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