VCL Newton Hgts April 27

[Kevin F]

My turn to kick off the race report. The B group was a much smaller than normal today. There were only 6 of us in the B group and I think 19 A's. I was the only TSC in the group b. My race started pretty normal. Each of us trying to see what would happen in the frikin' cold and wet, but not raining course. I drove out so I was extra cold with no toque or leggings . ...then the ladies decided to put the pedal down at lap 4 of 12. I don't know all the players so it kinda seemed to me they had a plan so I... surprise jumped with them. We stayed away from Jag and two other riders for the most part. On lap 6 or 7 we were passed by the A's and like true A wanna be's we passed them back a lap later, only to be passed back again...on lap 8 I took the lead into the hairpin and on the exit I heard a nasty metal carbon crashing sound. Amy touched Nic's wheel (she seemed way faster in and out of the corners) on the exit of the corner and went down pretty hard. I don't think she broke anything. Nic and I pressed on and she seemed to want to push it on the hills so I forced her to set the pace and then waited for two laps remaining and decided it was best to take off since she might have been pretty quick in the last ramp to the finish. I ended up with a decent gap and the win.

[steve]

Well done Kevin! Sorry I couldn't be there - between a four year old with a broken leg and work commitments, I won't be out for a few weeks.

[4827north]

Well done indeed. Two wins in a row! Turned out, I could have come out after all. The rain canceled my son's lacrosse practice. I hope to be out next week. Perhaps the TT on Tuesday too.

--Brad

[jj12]

Awesome Kevin!

[Stéphane Tran]

Awesome Kevin! Do I see a run for the overall "B" title? If so, I am sure we could arrange some team tactics around that goal.

[Dylan J C]

I was out racing with the A's. My whole plan revolved around getting to the front and cause damage which worked well for the most part.

Right off the line Adam and Geordie fired out front, which gave me the great opportunity to sit about 4 wheels back and watch the pro city guys give chase. A few laps later they were pulled back in and I found myself trading pulls with 3 other guys for most of the race. I stayed close to the front the whole time and spent almost no time looking back to see what was going on in the rest of the group. The lap after we past the B's they fired back around us at the bottom of the hill, one of the other A riders was very vocal in expressing his concern that I would draft off of them didn't matter though because we passed them again at the top. On the next lap I moved off to the side to try and drop back a little because I was starting to get tired and had done the lion's share on the front, as I came off I looked back at the group which had dwindled to 6. By the top of that hill 2 guys managed to roll away leaving myself Bob, Steve, and one other (whom I do not know). Myself and the unknown traded pulls for most of the remaining laps until he was dropped, leaving me alone with the IRC guys. I decided it was their turn to pull so I tucked in behind Bob for the last lap. When we got the bottom of the hill I jumped leaving both of them behind for the finish.

[Roland]

Awesome work Dylan.... unfortunately I got spat out the back fairly quickly with a few others. We made a group of about 6, I hung with them for a few laps until I completely exploded and watched the rest of the race from the sidelines.

[Quentin]

Great reports guys!

Congrats Kevin! You're it killing out there dude!

[RyanC]

Excellent work everyone. Congrats to Kevin for another superbe piece of racing. Dylan, my man! Way to shine! All that early spring suffering in the rain has paid dividends. I expect great things of you on the GC at Race the ridge!

R

[sylvan]

Dylan, my man! Way to shine!

Yah, he only dropped Steve Bachop AND Bob Cameron. Good work, gang. I just shared a flight from YYJ to YVR with Ryder Hesjedal. He's heading to Maui to finish recovering from the Ardennes classics and do some prep for California. He said they've had 50 inquiries for 5 spots for Maui Cycling Camps 2011 and thought it was cool that his camp buddy Spiersy was doing Sardinia. The 2011 Gamin-Cervelo casual clothing looks pretty stylin'. Tripleshot-Spinnakers gear would look just as good.

[Lister Farrar]

Yah, he only dropped Steve Bachop AND Bob Cameron.

Dylan, that's mighty impressive. You are a force to be reckoned with.

[steven grandy]

I was the unknown in the A race.

The group was whittled down to about 6 midway through the race. Tom Skinner (was pretty activethrought the race ) and John counter-attacked at the crest of the hill and managed to stay away. I tried to chase but was at the back of the group when they accelerated and was chased down before I could close. (Tired from a few attacks that didn't stick)

The gap widened after Amy's crash and was closed down towards the end. Steve Bachop and Bob Cameron were tiring while Dylan and I were separating from them after cresting the hill. Though the gap was getting closed down by the 90 degree right corner. I figured Steve was working for Bob by conserving him for a sprint at the end. I pulled Dylan to the close to the bottom of the hill hoping that he would have an advantage to out climb them. After than I was gassed and decided I would simply climb for 6th at the end. I was hoping to widen the gap to a few lengths. (Dropped? yes but not against my will)

Unfortunately I did not know that there was one more lap to go. I was confused by the B bell. And, that Jamie Cameron had stayed away for the entire duration. 7th it is. Hills and drafts are complementary differentiators and equalizers. The clusterings of people fell in a way that everyone had close to equal condition. My climbing wasn't such that I could build much separation on the crest or sustain a speed that didn't leave me vulnerable at the bottom. I'm sure the same stands for the others in the group. A factor in John and Tom's success is that they managed to distribute their work well.

I don't think the course favours pure climbers because Jamie managed to build a large gap. My guess is that he made significant time on the flats and descent. It would be interesting to see if he built his gap on the climbs. My experience is that in a group people you have to be on the defensive approaching a climb because anyone drafting has the umph to go anaerobic. What I've seen so far is unless there is some deliberation a chase group is rarely organized enough to close a gap with a strong rider/riders.

I think this is the picture of the break beginning.
http://duanebc.smugmug.com/Sports/Victo ... 36_fc6FZ7w

[4827north]

Dylan, my man! Way to shine!

Yah, he only dropped Steve Bachop AND Bob Cameron. Good work, gang. I just shared a flight from YYJ to YVR with Ryder Hesjedal. He's heading to Maui to finish recovering from the Ardennes classics and do some prep for California. He said they've had 50 inquiries for 5 spots for Maui Cycling Camps 2011 and thought it was cool that his camp buddy Spiersy was doing Sardinia. The 2011 Gamin-Cervelo casual clothing looks pretty stylin'. Tripleshot-Spinnakers gear would look just as good.

I agree, I checked out the new Garmin casual kit, it is very stylie. Wonder if we could source something similar for the TSC clan.. need to start a new thread on this subject...

[M.LeBlanc]

Nice work Kevin and Dylan! I'm hoping to be back out for next week as long as I can get out of work on time.

[JohnT]

Very exciting guys. Well done. I'll pass on the good news.

JT