April 11, 2016 – A total of 90 riders took to the start of the 2016 Tour of Pelham on Sunday, April 10, under mostly sunny skies and a cold wind in Thorold, ON. Frozen trails were quickly thawing into a slick surface, promising to provide a challenging 33.5 km course for the riders.

Entering the Steve Bauer rail trail almost immediately after a quick 1.3 km on pavement, a select group quickly formed including favourites Nathan Chown (Team CF), Erik Box (Cycles Devinci), Gaelen Merritt (Wheels of Bloor/Graywood Developments) and Lance Johnson from Orchard Park, NY.

By the mid-way point, after many riders suffered flat tires and other mishaps in the trails along the Niagara escarpment, Chown and Box had more than 30 seconds lead over solo chaser Nick Friesen, followed by others in small groups including Johnson and Grahame Rivers (OCTTO Cycling Team).

The riders entered a cyclocross-style section in Mathias Farms, where Chown opened a small lead over Box. Others in the field described this section with both enthusiasm and disdain, as it proved extremely tough with many climbs through the farm property that had most off their bikes.

Heading to the final off-road section – the McSherry Lane “chute” which riders rode (or walked) up, rather than the traditional downhill direction – Box was closing in, but was unable to bring back Chown before the finish, which follows soon after.

Nathan Chown finished in a time of 1:08.25 for an average speed of 29.4 km/h, with the overall podium completed by Erik Box in second and Nick Friesen third. Ruby West (Centurion Next Wave) was the first Under 19 woman in a time of 1:26.11, and Lindsay Sferazza (Kallisto-FCV p/b Toyo Tires) was the first 19+ woman in a time of 1:32.24.

905 Racing would like to thank all who supported the event, including Merrittville Speedway, AutoFX, County Cycle, Honeymaxx, CLIF Bar, Ontario Power Generation, Niagara Regional Police, City of Throld and the Town of Pelham. Plans are already underway for the 2017 edition, along with new course sections and perhaps a finish on the Merrittville Speedway track akin to the well known Roubaix velodrome finish to Paris-Roubaix.

Results

U19 Women
1. Ruby West (Centurion Next Wave) 1:26:11
2. Vanderlee Marlee (Energy Cycling Club) 13:14
3. Melanie Goertz (Energy Cycling Club) 13:53

U19 Men
1. Scott McDougall  1:17:15
2. Brayden Hudson (Energy Cycling Club) 19:47

Women
1. Lindsay Sferrazza (Kallisto-FCV p/b Toyo Tires) 1:32:24
2. Karen Grujic (Pedal Harder – Six S Partners) 01:51
3. Valerie Flower (Rock and Road Cycle) 02:12
4. Maureen O’Hare (CoachChris.ca/Joe Rousseau/Garneau) 12:50
5. Lenka Branichova (Lapdogs Cycling Club) 16:45
6. Vanessa Chan (Dark Horse Flyers Cycling Club) 26:05
7. Helen Finlay  42:10
8. Allie Abell (Brock Dance) 42:44
9. Kathleen Banville (Urbane Cyclist) 44:55
DNF Nicola Kidd (Bateman’s Bike Co)

Men
1. Nathan Chown (Team CF,  19+ Men) 1:08:25
2. Erik Box (Cycles Devinci,  19+ Men) 00:15
3. Nick Friesen (19+ Men) 00:35
4. brian truman (19+ Men) 02:42
5. Grahame Rivers (OCTTO Cycling Team,  19+ Men) 02:43
6. Lance Johnson (Nimrod Squad,  19+ Men) 02:45
7. Jacques Cormier (19+ Men) 04:29
8. Derek Oosterveen (Neworld Cycle,  19+ Men) 04:39
9. Chris Barson (CoachChris.ca/Joe Rousseau/Garneau,  19+ Men) 04:48
10. Andrew Merrick (Bateman’s Bike Co,  19+ Men) 07:02
11. Tim McClure (Team CF,  19+ Men) 07:14
12. David Mccaig (Urbane Cyclist,  19+ Men) 08:27
13. Scott McDougall (U19 Men) 08:50
14. Christopher Bozek (OCTTO Cycling Team,  19+ Men) 08:51
15. Cory Hoffer (Energy Cycling Club,  19+ Men) 10:17
16. Isaac Goertz (Energy Cycling Club,  19+ Men) 10:23
17. Alex Lefebvre (Speedriver.com,  19+ Men) 10:25
18. Ciprian Scriuba (Dark Horse Flyers Cycling Club,  19+ Men) 11:17
19. Robert Bateman (Bateman’s Bike Co,  19+ Men) 11:17
20. Bob Bergman (Canadian Cycling magazine,  19+ Men) 11:29
21. Chuck Taylor (St Catharines Cycling Club,  19+ Men) 13:48
22. Mark Palma (NCCH p/b Dec Express,  19+ Men) 14:05
23. Michael Harding (Bateman’s Bike Co,  19+ Men) 14:05
24. Jody Brown (Beaches Cycling Club (BCC),  19+ Men) 14:43
25. Owen Ardal (Urbane Cyclist,  19+ Men) 15:36
26. Alex Sanchez (Lapdogs Cycling Club,  19+ Men) 15:56
27. Sean Thibeault (19+ Men) 16:52
28. Jonathan Mckinley (True North,  19+ Men) 16:53
29. Ruby West (Centurion Next Wave,  U19 Women) 17:46
30. Scott Buschlen (19+ Men) 19:02
31. john roden (WNY Cyclocross Club,  19+ Men) 19:47
32. Sean Sealey (Bateman’s Bike Co,  19+ Men) 20:29
33. Steve Grujic (Pedal Harder – Six S Partners,  19+ Men) 20:52
34. William Ban Fu (19+ Men) 22:17
35. Lindsay Sferrazza (Kallisto-FCV p/b Toyo Tires,  19+ Women) 23:59
36. Roderick Olliver (Morning Glory Cycling Club,  19+ Men) 24:34
37. David Anthony (OCTTO Cycling Team,  19+ Men) 24:55
38. Marcel Badertscher (Morning Glory Cycling Club,  19+ Men) 24:57
39. Dan Nicks (19+ Men) 24:59
40. Kevin Gibson (Waterloo Cycling Club,  19+ Men) 25:24
41. Ross Shepherd (La Bicicletta,  19+ Men) 25:46
42. Karen Grujic (Pedal Harder – Six S Partners,  19+ Women) 25:50
43. Valerie Flower (Rock and Road Cycle,  19+ Women) 26:11
44. Mike Spagnola (Bateman’s Bike Co,  19+ Men) 26:12
45. David Labancz (NCCH p/b Dec Express,  19+ Men) 26:13
46. Brayden Hudson (Energy Cycling Club,  U19 Men) 28:37
47. Tim Breadman (19+ Men) 28:38
48. Paul Parker (Dark Horse Flyers Cycling Club,  19+ Men) 29:23
49. Mark Weymouth (Waterloo Cycling Club,  19+ Men) 29:24
50. Gaelen Merritt (Wheels of Bloor/Graywood Developments,  19+ Men) 29:25
51. Martin Szydlowski (NCCH p/b Dec Express,  19+ Men) 29:33
52. Tom Flynn (19+ Men) 30:26
53. Marlee Vanderlee (Energy Cycling Club,  U19 Women) 31:00
54. Johnny Hipwell (Energy Cycling Club,  19+ Men) 31:02
55. paul st marseille (St.Catharines Cycling Club,  19+ Men) 31:06
56. Melanie Goertz (Energy Cycling Club,  U19 Women) 31:39
57. Alex Fortuna (Urbane Cyclist,  19+ Men) 32:08
58. Adrian Chao (Urbane Cyclist,  19+ Men) 32:32
59. Gary Jacombs (19+ Men) 33:18
60. jay johnston (19+ Men) 33:44
61. Maureen O’Hare (CoachChris.ca/Joe Rousseau/Garneau,  19+ Women) 36:49
62. Warren Shiau (Dark Horse Flyers Cycling Club,  19+ Men) 37:00
63. Denis Racine (Energy Cycling Club,  19+ Men) 39:43
64. Ian Darling (Pedales Rapidos,  19+ Men) 40:24
65. Lenka Branichova (Lapdogs Cycling Club,  19+ Women) 40:44
66. Bob Abell (Waterloo Cycling Club,  19+ Men) 41:21
67. jay gallagher (19+ Men) 43:13
68. Andrew Grice (19+ Men) 43:20
69. Dan Dissanayake (Urbane Cyclist,  19+ Men) 44:55
70. Alain Arcand (19+ Men) 45:51
71. Steve Shikaze (Waterloo Cycling Club,  19+ Men) 47:30
72. Vanessa Chan (Dark Horse Flyers Cycling Club,  19+ Women) 50:04
73. Corey Sullivan (Urbane Cyclist,  19+ Men) 53:26
74. Julian Montague (19+ Men) 54:53
75. Daniel Spurio (Buffalo Lazy Randonneur Club,  19+ Men) 54:54
76. Dave Elia (19+ Men) 56:12
77. Pat Elia (19+ Men) 58:11
78. Steve Bator (19+ Men) 1:02:52
79. Helen Finlay (19+ Women) 1:06:09
80. Alex Macdonald (19+ Men) 1:06:10
81. Allie Abell (Brock Dance,  19+ Women) 1:06:43
82. Kathleen Banville (Urbane Cyclist,  19+ Women) 1:08:54
83. Michael Kelly (19+ Men) OTL
DNF Nicola Kidd (Bateman’s Bike Co,  19+ Women)
DNF Jason Williams (5MAN HOT TUB,  19+ Men)
DNF Steve DEBOER (Team CF,  19+ Men)
DNF Isaac Smith (To Wheels/Bcc/Epic Sports Performance,  19+ Men)
DNS Jaret Gracey (Midweek Cycling Club,  19+ Men)
DNS Gary McGahey (Oakville Cylcing Club,  19+ Men)