This past weekend was the first Ontairo Cup mountain bike race of the long standing series now run by Sean Ruppel of Superfly Racing. It was a great event and very well put together as always and it was an exciting way to kick off the season again this year.
This year I participated in a new event run by Mike G and the OCA/CCA called the 'Eliminator' on the Saturday, which turned out to be a very fun event and good prep for anyone planning to race in the Canada games this summer. It was a short circuit of around a kilometre with a rock garden section and a nice concrete dropoff with some tight twisty sections to break it up.
It began with the individual time trial on the course for seeding at 10am in order to build the heats for the race. I qualified with a time of 1:53, which did not place me very high in the rankings but I would definitely complete the course faster in the heats ahead in order to make it through. This then gave me time to complete most of an O-cup lap in between when my heat would start and once I got back I was feeling a little more warmed up and ready.
First heat I was slated against Marc-Antoine, Steve Noble and a couple others I didn't recognize. Steve ended up with second row position after the ITT, which did not help on such a short and tight course for making moves. I got a decent start off the block and settled in behind MA and the two of us then made it through to the semis.
After a little wait we were then ready to race in two very stacked heats to qualify for the finals. Mine consisted of Kevin M (who was destroying the course), Andrew L, MA again, and two Quebec riders. I didn't get quite as good of a jump this time and was chasing down Andrew, Kevin and MA the whole time, not quite being able to hold on to their wheel. Down the finishing stretch I eased off a little since I realized I wasn't going to qualify, which was a big mistake as one of the guys behind me passed me right at the line and gave me a second row position in the small final (didn't realize there would be one at first).
The small final went off before the finals and we were racing for our $5 entry fee so the competition was fierce! Evan took the early lead and I sat in my poor position after starting in the back row and didn't seem to have the power to get by. Marc after missing a pedal off the start was able to make some slick passes and take the win in the final stretch for his prize winnings.
Was very happy with my riding today and it was great to be racing with everyone again after having to take some time off at the end of last year. Great event and hope it grows in popularity so we can have some more in Ontario this year.
Now after some rest and recuperation Saturday night it was time for the big day on Sunday, my first Ontario Cup back after my injury. Everything seemed to be going well, I was feeling in good shape, my new Norco was feeling awesome and super light and I felt very prepared for the race as well.
It was quite the field this year as over 50 riders were on the start line with a few different Provinces represented, which is more than I've ever had in an Ontario Cup for sure. This made it very important to have a good position in the starting grid since there was little room for passing on the start stretch. After some warmup laps on the practice loop near the finish line, I headed down to the start line and luckily got there early enough to secure myself a decent spot near the front of the race.
The start went off pretty quick and it was actually not too bad just sitting in the pack to draft for the first flat section. Then once the first steep climb came I really started to feel the hard pace that was being laid down. Gaps began to open up on the first climb right away and a fairly large lead group formed after the first lap. I didn't quite make this group but felt I was riding a good race and the second lap was spent trying to recover a bit from the crazy hard first lap effort, which destroyed my legs. I settled into a rhythm and was trying to keep a couple Quebec riders in sight for laps 2 and 3 until unfortunately my right cleat had come loose and I had to stop to tighten it, which caused a pretty large gap to form. Kevin M then bridged up to me by the end of the 3rd lap, and I tried to hold his wheel for the next lap or so but some lap traffic got in the way a few times and it broke up just enough that he got away.
Picture from the Top of the Rock Garden Section
The final lap I gave it all I had to finish strong and weaved my way through lapped riders from other categories as I saw that Tyson W was just in sight. I almost managed to catch him by the end but in the last singletrack section I almost got taken out by a lapped rider who tried to go for a pass at the same time as me and luckily I just managed to stay up. I sprinted across the line for 18th place in a stacked field of riders and felt very satisfied with my ride, what a great feeling it was to be racing my mountain bike again and I really had a lot of fun out there.
Elite Men's Podium
Can't wait for the next one in two weeks at Tremblant for the first Canada Cup. Hope to keep improving and building on each one as I make my way back into racing again.
Big thanks to my sponsors: Norco who provided me with such a sweet bike, LG for all their great equipment and race fuel and Cycle Solutions for their constant support. Also many thanks to Emma and Johnny for always making sure I have everything I need and Peter Glassford for being such a great coach to put me at the level where I am.
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