Latoria

[JohnT]

With a few minor edits after the photos:

The sun came out for the start and the temperature went up. A nice reward for everyone that left home in cold rain. Turns out, a lot of people left home in the cold rain: There was a big A, B, and C field today. The course was slick to begin with, but most of it dried out by the end. Calgary Steve and Luke were our representatives in A and Brian, Barton, Stephan, Trevor, and Brent (I hope I didn't miss anyone) were there in B. Kevin, Josh, Roland were racing too, so lots of TS riders (past and present). I don't think we had any C's in the race. Again, sorry if I missed you. Too bad, because I'd guess that there were at least 15 people in that race.

The pace was fairly quick for three or four laps in B, but then settled down. In fact, the B race got a little boring midway through, partly, I think, because there was no lap counter, so no one really knew how far we had to go. As far as I could see, everyone followed the rules - no potential disqualification drama today. The B's did a good job of neutralizing when the A's went by.

John and Doug from IRC spent time near or at the front, as in the past, but things were different today - they had Lionel and Kelly (last year's B champion) with them. So, we needed to keep an eye on them. There were a few strong Russ Hayes guys and Roland and a friend from Trek/ProCity.

It turned out that one rider [Jon Johnson] did a heck of a lot of work on the front, No-name jersey and Trek shorts. When the data are posted, I'll edit this to give him credit. I heard him mention that no one helped. Yes, but if someone seems determined to pull the pack around, there's little point fighting for the job.

IRC guys attacked on a couple of occasions. Roland pulled the group for half a lap midway through and then he and his team mate picked up the pace with two laps to go. This was the beginning of the end for us, ....... a very nice end. Roland didn't really attack, he just upped the pace stretching out the still very large peloton. The A's went by before the end of that penultimate lap and Kelly, in my opinion, jumped too soon, essentially chasing (though not drafting) the A's. I wasn't sure how that was going to play out, so I went off after him. By the bell it was clear he wasn't going to run around just behind the A's, but that move, like Roland's a lap earlier, stretched out the group a bit more.

Red-jersey Trek guy [Jon] was, yet again, in front after the bell. At this point, things started to go really well. I was running next to Kelly who had slowed up a little. Brian passes on my right. I look to see who's behind him - Trevor. Trevor offers me Brian's wheel and I strategically decline. Tired Trek guy, Brian, Trevor, then me and we had just passed the bell.

Brian moves to the front just before the halfway point. Trevor is behind him and I am in a battle with Doug (IRC) and Steve Munro (Russ Hayes) for Trevor's wheel. Doug and I touched a few times - it's thrilling to ride that close - seriously, three of us fit in Trevor's draft, me in the middle.

That resolved itself with me eventually positioned at number two after Brian had let Trevor take the lead. "Do what you can Trevor". He was riding with the Oak Bay kit, so I knew I was making a special request. When I saw the cones showing the right hander I knew things would go well. Trevor got me to that turn - an amazing effort. I was in a good gear for jumping after we'd slowed a little for the turn - I was able to attack right away on the steep section. I had to soft-pedal very briefly midway up to get a couple more gears and then just went for the line. 1st place. Brian had jumped back into the line and held on [correction - out-sprinted Doug Doyle] for 3rd and Stephane was 5th.

We didn't have a plan, but you'd never have known it from that last lap.

JT

[trevor]

Well written John and congrats on a solid effort. It was a great race and I thought we did a bang up job finding each other out there - especially on the bell lap. There were always 3 to 5 TSers in the top 10 throughout the race including Dan Nanninga (OBB kit).

Now with a little more communication and similar team sacrificing I'm sure we'll see more strong results.

And yes, although I race under the OBB banner I am happily a partner in crime with the TSers.

Well done to everyone out there!

[bill]

Congrats John and everyone else who raced to day.

Wish I could have been there. Next time

Bill

[Stéphane Tran]

Well done John on the win and the thorough race report! It was great to finally start racing again what seems to have been a long layoff. As always, it was good to see all the familiar faces, whether in TS kit or not! I didn't really have any expectations and did not feel strong enough to animate anything, rather I was hoping to take my chances in a bunch sprint. So, I sat in the pack for the entire race, moving up and down as the race went on, but I never actually pulled on the front, the closest I got to the front was 2nd or 3rd position. I noticed that the IRC guys work really well as a team together, when one of them would try to break away a team member would sit at the front and slow things down. Luckily, we were able to cover most of their moves.
Halfway through the race, my stem bolts were loosening, causing my handlebar to shift down over bumps and rough patches. It was quite disconcerting and I considered quitting (probably the safer option) but couldn't bring myself to do it! Luckily I was able to finish without incident.
On the last lap, John and Brian were smart and positioned themselves well on the last flat stretch. I tried to move as close to the front as possible and came round the last corner in 10th position or so. As John mentioned, it is imperative to be at the head of the race around the last corner as there is very little room to pass on that last uphill. I think that if I had been better positioned I could have finished higher. That being said, I felt pretty good and moved up about 5 spots on the final uphill, but only by aggressively attacking the slimmest of openings by the cones, I bumped elbows with at least 1 rider and actually ran over the lip of a cone, barely staying in bounds, so it was aggressive but not illegal. I think that last year I would have been too hesitant or timid to make such a move in the same situation, and would have finished 10th instead of 5th or 6th. I spoke to the other riders after, and there were no hard feelings. I was happy to see that John and Brian finished 1st and 3rd, and I am sure that Brent could have been top 5 if he had not flatted. All in all, a fun and successful race for TSC. Next up: Windsor Park!

[Plawless]

freaking awesome John! Also Brain, Stephane and our secret TSC weapon Trevor. How cool is it to have 3 of the top 5 and MORE IMPORTANTLY have them there as a result of planning and not just "as it turned out". I know John has been chasing that bullet for a while - well deserved.

Peter

[beegull]

I've got a complete write-up here, but the long and short of it is that I flatted out with a lap to go, but felt lucky despite that to watch as John, Brian and Stéphane ripped it up in the sprint at the finish. Gaining position in that course is definitely more difficult than Caleb, and the fact that you guys all ended up at the front was some great racing!

[barton bourassa]

Well congratulations to everyone that raced and raced so well! What a crew!!
While Brent commented in his blog, "The section along Klahanie Dr. was rough, bumpy, and broken up, and between my tires, the remaining water on the road, and jostling for position in the back half of the pack, my nerves were getting a bit frayed.", I had similar feelings but apparently much stronger. Unlike Brent, I did not stay in the race. After the first screamingly fast down hill and the first couple corners, I knew my nerves were just not in it at all. With the state of mind I was in I was a danger to myself and others. I have never been so nervous or tense in any race. It might have been the attempt to corner at 40 K in a pack (at the back mind you!). Or it could have been the skipping tires as I flew down the hill on the rough wet pavement. It was more likely my dear wife's admonition for me to stay upright!
I watched a few laps from the sidelines and headed home. I must say I am looking forward to the relative calm of longer Master's races! This VCL is definitely for those with stronger nerves!

[sylvan]

1st place.

Yes! Well done. Well earned from a ton of consistent training with the club over the past few years.

[Kevin F]

Nice work gents.

[AlW]

How cool is it to have 3 of the top 5 and MORE IMPORTANTLY have them there as a result of planning and not just "as it turned out".

+1

Also note that TS currently claims 4 out of the top 5 spots in the B's overall. John Taylor is first, with Brian, Brent and Bruno in 2nd, 4th and 5th respectively.

Good job guys.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub ... ES3c&gid=1