Archive for April, 2010

Race the Ridge 2010 is upon us. Get all the latest up to date details here, including TT Start Times.

Cat 1-2 Women’s Winner Jean Ann McKirdy

Thank you to all the racers and volunteers for making Local Ride’s first Roubaix race a success. We hope you had fun!! Here are the results. Some photos are posted here.

Feature Reports

• Roubaix Tech
• Race Report
• Jean Ann’s Winning Ride

Results

• Cat 1/2 Men
• Cat 1/2 Women
• Cat 3/4 Men
• Cat 3/4 Women
• U-17

1/2 Men’s Podium: (l-r)Jason Thompson, Curtis Deardon, Tyler Trace, Mike Sidic, Cuylar Conly

By Mike Berkenpas

Barry’s Roubaix is modeled after the infamous Paris Roubaix, one of the most difficult one day bike races in the world. What makes the Paris Roubaix so challenging is the many sections of extremely rough, cobbled roads. It is not only demanding to the riders, but also puts incredible strain on the bikes. Team mechanics and riders often use different bikes and components in an attempt to make the jarring ride more bearable, and to ensure the bikes are operating perfectly to the end. If there is a weak point on the bike the cobbles will find it, as happened in the 2006 Paris Roubaix when race favorite George Hincapie had his handle bars break off of his bike causing him to fall a break his collarbone.

The Barry’s Roubaix, although not nearly as rough as the real thing, is still demanding on equipment and requires a few changes from the standard race day setup to ensure the race goes smoothly. The bike that I used for Barry’s Roubaix is the Giant TCR Advanced 2. This bike is very comfortable on the gravel dikes in Pitt Meadows, where the race was held. The full carbon frame does an excellent job of making the gravel feel much smoother. Despite the smooth ride the bike is incredibly quick and responsive; this allowed me to avoid crashes in front of me, and to jump onto other riders’ wheels when the pace got high. I did make several changes to the existing bike to prepare for this race. The lightweight Pro Race 3 tires where swapped off for something a bit more resilient, the Maxxis Re-Fuse tire. It has a Kevlar belt to prevent flats and a knurled surface to provide traction in a wide range of conditions. The wheels where also changed to Shimano Ultegra wheels. Shimano wheels have no rider weight limit, so you know that they are strong. I have also raced cyclocross on my set of Ultegras, so I have first hand experience of the beating these wheels can take. Both of these changes add weight to the bike, but it’s a small price to pay for reliability.

The Race was a blast to ride in. High speeds, fighting for control and position. It is easy to see why the Paris Roubaix is such a wildly popular race around the world. This year in the Paris Roubaix, Fabian Cancellara won by over two minutes, solidifying his status as the greatest cyclist in the history of the world. I, despite spending a month growing a moustache similar to Fabian’s, did not fare so well. On the second last lap instead of soloing away from my competitors in a show of unspeakable power, I ran out of gas and was dropped. But my bike preformed beautifully and I was able to enjoy the race without fear of equipment failure. Perhaps next year I will, instead of growing a Fabian moustache, copy the second greatest cyclist in the world, Bradley Wiggins, and lose 30lbs.

Roubaix Sunday brought uncharacteristic blue skies, but that did not make the racing any less challenging. Winds picked up in the afternoon, and the extended, bumpier course with an elite field of cat 1/2 racers ensured that the competition was tough. Aside from the competition on the bikes, there also appeared to be a bit of a competition going on, on the upper lip of many of the men at the start line. The complete Local Ride Race Team showed up with moustaches, but Jeff Ain shamed them all and gets props for the most-manly-Roubaix-moustache award.

The Cat 1/2 men’s field was 45 riders deep, and contained some big names and fast legs. Cody Campbell (Trek-Livestrong U23), the only rider to race the true Parris Roubaix cobbles was on the start line, as well as Olympian Zach Bell racing for Kelly Benefit Strategies. However, it was Trek Red Truck who showed up in the greatest strength and numbers, and ultimately dominated the race.

The men raced 12 laps, which was 120 km and included 40% gravel. An early attack from Nathan MacDonald, a U-23 rider on Team Trek Red Truck, resulted in him soloing off the front of the group and staying out for a large portion of the race. He was eventually brought back, and a series of breaks went, but were shut down by the chasing group. On the last lap the group fractured. Tyler Trace (Trek Red Truck) attacked on the gravel section of the last lap and gained a gap, but with several small groups of chasers in hot pursuit. He managed to maintain his lead and win the race just ahead of the chasers. Curtis Deardon (Garneau Evolution) beat out Mike Sidic (Team H&R Block) for second, Jason Thompson (Garneau Evolution) took fourth, and Cuylar Conoly (Westwood Cycle/Cannondale) was fifth.

In the women’s Cat 1/2 race Local Ride Racing showed up with a strong contingent of riders, containing Jean Ann McKirdy, Sandra Walter and Rachel Canning. Westwood Cycle/Cannondale also had four riders on the line, including Kristine Brynjolfson and up-and-comer Jasmin Galesser.

The women contended 10 laps, which was 100km on the gravel and windy roads of Pitt Meadows. Sandra Walter took an early flier off of the front, but was brought back after a lap by efforts by Jasmin Galesser and Kristine Brynjolfson of Westwood Cycle/Cannondale. At the midpoint of the race a series of attacks caused the group to split and Claire Cameron (Mighty Riders), Kristine Brynjolfson (Westwood Cannondale), Jennifer Schultz (Fresh Air/ Balance Point Racing), Marie-Claude Gangnon (Glotman Simpson) and Jean Ann McKirdy (Local Ride Racing) broke away from the group, with Sandra Walter (Local Ride Racing) bridging up to join them. The group was split further, into a 3 person lead group, containing Cameron, Brynjolfson and McKirdy with three laps to go. On the last lap McKirdy soloed away from that group to take the win. Claire Cameron and Kristine Brynjolfson finished 2^nd and 3^rd respectively, with Jennifer Schultz taking the sprint behind. Sandra Walter rounded out the podium in 5^th.

The 80km, Cat 3/4 men’s race was dominated and won by Team Coastal. With 51 starters, the race was aggressive and stayed together to the end. Scott Inman of Team Coastal unleashed his sprint to take an exciting win. Jason Kilmartin (Balance Point Racing) was 2^nd, Keith Jones (Garneau Evolution) was 3^rd, Emil Marcetta was 4^th and Graham Laurie of Pheonix Velo rounded out the podium in 5^th.

In the Cat 3/4 women’s race Mighty Riders took the majority of the top places. A group of six raced together for the majority of the 60km race, splitting close to the finish. Jenny Lehmann of Mighty Riders took the win, Morgan Cabot was 2^nd and Stacey Hutton also of Mighty Riders finished 3^rd. Rounding out the podium was Jenelle Cassidy of Local Ride Racing in 4^th and Virginia Sellars Balance of Point Racing in 5^th.

The U-17 races were lead by Local Ride Racing’s Maggie Coles-Lyster and Pete Whalen, Both enjoyed special edition Barry’s Roubaix Gold Brew Root Beer on the podium.

A big thank you goes out to the volunteers and sponsors who helped make the race a success:

LOCAL RIDE BIKE SHOP

KICKING HORSE COFFEE

CYCLES LAMBERT

NATURE’S SUNSHINE

GOLDEN EARS PHISIOTHERAPY

TIFOSI EYEWEAR

TARAXCA JEWLERY

GIANT BICYCLES

MET HELMETS

THE CITY OF PITT MEADOWS

PITT MEADOWS REGIONAL AIRPORT

METRO VANCOUVER

By Jean Ann McKirdy

Sandra leads the group  along the gravel section at the start.

Barry’s Roubaix, and old twist on the classic Paris Roubaix, lived up to its name and came through as a challenging, and technically demanding race. I have wanted to win this race, since I first competed in it when I began road racing in 2004. As a racer whose roots are in mountain biking, a road race that is 40% gravel and contains promise of wind or rain is a thrill. The last time I competed in the event, two years ago, I disappointingly flatted on the first lap and spent the rest of the race doing the lonely laps-of-shame.

This year I went into the race with two teammates: Sandra Walter and Rachel Canning. Sandra’s fiery efforts, and Rachel’s race savy, were a huge help in the race. We were able to lead the race and have a large input in dictating its pace.

The race pace was conservative from the start. It had been lengthened from its previous 60km distance, to a longer 100km, and with a smaller field everyone was being cautious with their efforts. After a couple of laps we began to test the field. Everyone was still fresh at that point, and most attacks were quickly chased down. Sandra, however, was able to get a gap from the group early in the race. With Rachel and me following anyone who made an effort to bridge to her, she easily stayed out, and forced some of the other teams and racers to work to bring her back. Eventually the Westwood Cannondale duo of Kristine Brynjolfson and Jasmin Galesser worked together to bring her back.

After what felt like a couple of laps of casual group riding, which almost bored Sandra to death (mountain biker), the pace began to pick up again. With about half way to go, the pace on the dike section was becoming faster, and animated by attacks from our team and Westwood Cannondale. Coming off of the gravel I was finally able to put in an effort in that fractured the group. Claire Cameron (Mighty Riders), Kristine Brynjolfson (Westwood Cannondale), Jennifer Schultz (Fresh Air/ Balance Point Racing), and Marie-Claude Gangnon (Glotman Simpson) and myself gained a gap, and quickly began to work together to increase it.

The only thing that could have made it better would be for me to have a teammate in the group. Luckily for me, Sandra is a feisty red head, who is used to riding with her nose in the wind on her mountain bike. She bridged up to the group, and then I knew I would have someone to cover my back.

With just under three laps to go I attacked on the gravel again, and with Sandra covering chasers, we split the group further. Kristine and I got a gap on the group, and pulled away on the gravel. Clare bridged up to us, and caught us on the road section. Then the race began to be more interesting.

With two laps to go, the pace began to get slack, and I could feel Claire and Kristine conserving for the finish. I figured my race-mates would be more comfortable with a sprint finish. I could see they were more comfortable on the road, and I could tell I had an advantage on the gravel sections.

I decided that, going into the last lap, I would attack entering the gravel, and try to solo away for the win. It was a little bit risky, because there was a possibility that they could work together to catch me, but I knew I was much more comfortable on the dirt, and that it would be difficult for them to work together on the loose bumpy surface in the crosswind.

I went into the gravel corner fast, and attacked hard coming out of it. Due to my winter of cyclocross racing, I managed to quickly get a gap out of the loose corner, and then I worked hard to sustain it. My effort had split Kristine and Claire up, and I could see Claire chasing hard behind me. On the 4km gravel section I was thinking “wow, this is great. Maybe I will win.” But when I pulled off of the gravel, and hit the wind on the way back to the start finish, I began to really hurt. I could still see Claire behind me, so I just kept trying to squeeze through the wind, and keep my speed up. I spent a lot of time looking at my stem in the last 6km.

When I finally came around to the finishing stretch, I looked back and saw that I was alone. I was able to raise my hands as I crossed the line, in my first win on the road. Well I guess in all honesty, it was only 60% on the road. To top the day off I received a bottle of special edition Barry’s Roubaix Gold Brew on the podium.

Thank you Sandra and Rachel, for the great teamwork, Dave for the stellar race support, and Rich and Sarah for feeding us during the race!