August 07, 2015 (Terra Cotta, Ont.) – Not everyone knows where Terra Cotta is. Nestled in the hills near Brampton, the sleepy little hamlet on the banks of the Credit River roars to life every August long weekend to welcome hundreds of cyclist from across Ontario for the annual Tour de Terra Cotta. The beautiful course is an 8.6 km loop which cyclists of all ages complete a number of times, based on their age category. The Centurion Next Wave Cycling Team again fielded athletes in a number of races and showed its muscle with numerous podium placings.

The day started off breezy and cloudy with the occasional rain drop. But by the end of the day it was sunny and warm, making the course safer and more enjoyable for all the participants. The Youth Races served as the fifth stop for the 2015 Ontario Youth Cup circuit and the young riders were the first to race in the morning. As usual, the youth cup event features two races: a time trial where athletes start in 30 second intervals and race by themselves against the clock and a road race which features a mass start and 1-4 laps of the 8.6 km road course. Notable finishes in the time trial included Owen Clark winning the PeeWee boys category, Paul Mysko and Colton Woods finishing second and third in the Minime boys category and Tyler Clark finishing second in the Cadet boys category (losing the top podium position by only 0.35 seconds). Amongst the girls, Ava Holmgren continued her season winning streak by taking the time trial win in the Squirt Girls category, followed by teammate Elli Clark in second place.

The Youth Cup Road Races were equally exciting. Escaping from the main pack on the final lap, Owen Clark placed third in the PeeWee boys race out of a strong four-man sprint which included Max Holmgren, who finished fourth. In the Minime boys category, teammates Paul Mysko, Dylan Kerr, Rich Elliott and Colton Woods all finished in the front group with Mysko best of the quartet sprinting to third place. In the Cadet Boys race, Tyler Clark sprinted to a fourth place finish. The girl’s races again showcased the talents of Ava Holmgren and Elli Clark who placed first and second again beating not only the Squirt girls field, but also the entire Squirt boys field.

The Centurion-Next Wave Junior boys entered the adult road races. The most notable result came from Noah Simms who, after 52km of racing, found himself in the front pack of the Intermediate Road Race and uncorked a powerful sprint to claim third place overall, and win his age group. There were 130 riders in his race. In the Elite race, Gunnar Holmgren was the best placed rider of the team, finishing 15th overall, third in his age group.

The team is now looking forward to the Provincial Road Race Championship <x-apple-data-detectors://3>on August 23rd, followed by the Green Mountain Stage Race in Vermont on Labour Day Weekend and wrapping up the road racing season at the Blue Mountain Centurion Prospects Race on <x-apple-data-detectors://4>Sept 18-20.