Provincial Road Race Championships

This weekend was the OCA Provincial Road Race Championships. For those of you at the race, this report will mostly just be what you already know (ie. it hurt like hell) and here's a run down for those unlucky few who were unable to participate ...

Master B

We had a good team showing the MB field: Lorne, Mark, Andrew and John were all in attendance and flying team colours. The flying part was mostly on the Bell School Line descent (80 kph). The race was 6 laps of a 15 km course finishing with one of the toughest climbs in Southern Ontario - Appleby Line to Rattlesnake Point. The climb is over 100m of vertical in less than a kilometre - the last 500m averaging close to 12% with two switch-backs.

The MB field was strong and included over 70 riders. The race was underway at 11:30 am and the first climb was indicative of how the rest of the race (and the rest of the day) would go. The field stretched and broke on the climb - gaps opened and the peloton formed small groups across the feed zone (a rolling 1 km stretch across the top of the escarpment). The groups worked to chase back on every lap but the effort was forcing riders to abandon on every lap.

Mark was off the pace early but put in a long effort with a small group off the back of the main peloton. John, Andrew and Lorne faired well the first three climbs. John eventually lost contact in the feed zone and joined another chase group working to catch back on. Andrew and Lorne continued to climb each lap with the main group, rejoining the leaders across the top. The race came down to the final climb - the peloton (39 riders still) arrived in a bunch and the win went to Carmine Caravaggio (Invita Racing).
All four of the Project Freeride MB starters finished the day.
25 Lorne Cunliffe   0:53
33 Andrew Stewart   1:08
47 John Wiman      12:16
49 Mark Davies     15:13

Master A

Since Gord was slumming with triathletes in BC and Jamie was, well, I'm not quite sure what he does with those Maxim girls, I was the sole representative for our Master A team. The MA field was similar in size to the MB field (~70 riders) with perhaps a bit more depth. The laps were more or less a roll around with the occasional flyer (much to the amusement of the peloton) thrown in for good measure. The climbs, however, were an entirely different story. I trained on Rattlesnake point a few times this season - with measurable improvement each session. Using markers at the top and bottom of the hill, my hardest repeats ranged from 3 minutes 15 seconds to 3 minutes 30 seconds. The first climb on race day was 3 minutes flat. The next two were both at 3 minutes 10 seconds and although there was grumbling in the peloton, it was clear that this race was all about how hard we could go up that hill.

On a side note, I have to say that the spectators lining the climb (thankfully held back by barriers) made this race an incredible experience. The screams, shouts and cheers buoyed my otherwise tired legs and I'm sure everyone pulled a few more watts out of their suitcase of courage in response to the side-of-the-road enthusiasm.

As with most other climbs in Ontario, I felt my chances in a group climb at the end of the race wouldn't be great. My plan was to get into a good break with a small group and then count on my climbing ability for a podium, and possibly the overall win. On the fourth climb an opportunity presented itself. There were two very strong riders (Ramon Mira De Orduna and Warren MacDonald - 2nd, TT Nationals) 1 minute 10 seconds up the road so I put in an all out effort on the climb and left the peloton more than 25 seconds behind. I didn't time myself on the ascent but I am pretty sure I've never come anywhere close to that kind of effort on that hill (or any hill). I was cross-eyed at the top but didn't stop to rest. Instead, I put my head down and rode the next 20 minutes at a steady, hard effort. I joined with Ramon and Warren on Appleby Line. We took it in turns to pull to the hill and then hit the climb together. At the crest, we were joined by Peter Moog. With four strong riders together, we felt confident we would be able to stay away.

Unfortunately, the peloton had other plans. Despite our best efforts, we were caught on the 7th lap with only 2 climbs remaining. The long break effort used all of my reserves, the seventh climb I was wracked with leg spasms and my day was done. I rolled through the last lap with the peloton and the final climb was a tough slog. The peloton had been whittled down to just over 20 riders and I hung on to close out the group at the finish line. The win went to Jason Vincze (Sound Solutions) who rode a great race and put in an outstanding effort on the final climb.

The general consensus seemed to be that despite the difficulty of the race, everyone enjoyed pitting themselves against both the hill and the peloton. I don't know if there will be another road race at Rattlesnake Point next year but, if there is, I have no doubt it will be another epic day!