September 20, 2008 – Bogs was the first word from everyone’s lips after completing Stage 1 of Crank the Shield, Ontario’s first epic MTB stage race. Large bogs, small bogs, rideable bogs, and others that threatened to send riders waist deep in thick mud with a single errant footstep, though an innocuous top layer gave no indication of the perils beneath. The remnants of Hurricane Ike that had passed through the region recently did little to dampen the spirits of most participants and on any other day, the bogs might have been cursed and rued, but the collective spirit of the challenge at hand carried riders to the line. Truly the route was more reminiscent of an adventure race than a traditional mountain bike event, except with the running or other modes of transport.

In the fight for podium positions in the Under 40 Solo men’s race, top contender Adam Morka (3 Rox Racing) may indeed have been a victim of the conditions when an untimely chain failure, perhaps from wear and tear in the sloppier sections, abruptly spat him off the back. That whittled the lead group of race favourites down to Morka’s team mate Derek Zandstra, Peter Glassford of the Trek Store Team, and Matt Hadley of Xprezo/Solid Edge. Glassford, who finished 3rd believing that his Fisher 29er provided him with greater efficiency on the terrain, was philosophical about the results noting, “It was mostly a day to put some fatigue in the other riders’ leg, to see how they might recover for stages 2 and 3.”

According to second-placed Hadley, “The race started at a relaxed pace for the first couple of hours.” (that “relaxed” pace put almost the entire remainder of the field in difficulty early on). “Then together we all started ramping up the pace over the final hour, and started to put a few digs into each other.”

After Morka’s difficulties dropped him back for repairs, Zandstra took the win over Hadley and Glassford respectively in a tight duel over the last few hundred metres. For the Under 40 Solo women, Kate Aardal of Fort Murray, Alberta, handily took the win and will take a significant cushion into day two. Look for comments about the race and daily experiences from the leading solo women and other categories in upcoming reports of the remaining stages.

Norco Evolution’s stellar combination of Catherine Vipond and Sue Haviland dominated the Under 80 Combined women’s 2-person category. Vipond recalled that her day started off on the best foot possible, “Our team received a call up to the start line at the front of the pen, allowing us to latch on to some strong riders once we exited out of Buckwallow’s singletrack onto the paved road section.” Equipment selection also paid off for Vipond who commented, “My carbon hardtail was the perfect choice to power along the road sections and smoother trails, plus the light weight made for easy carries across the bogs.”

The expected duel for Over 40 male supremacy between Ted Ingram of Cycle Solutions / Angry Johnny’s Racing and rival Dave Dermont of True North Cycles lived up to its billing, with Ingram putting over over minutes into Dermont, perhaps using his experience with the local riding, having previously resided in the region. Ingram managed to stay with the lead group longer, leaving the isolated Dermont to try to limit his losses.

Daughter / father duo Jane and Scott Thomson of Arrow Racing rode a smart, measured race to put themselves on top of the leader board for the Mixed 2-person. An obviously proud Scott beamed over the performance of 17 year-old Jane, who had never ridden this distance off road before. Their praise of the opening selection of trails at the Buckwallow Cycling Centre was almost unanimous among all racers, and both also beamed about the organization of the event describing almost “full service mechanical crews at each of the aid stations ready to clean and relube your bike.” Up-and-comer Jane noted, “The stage started to get very tiring toward the end with all the bog crossings forcing us on and off the bikes constantly, but we were mostly riding on our own by that point and could choose a pace that made sense for us.”

Singlespeeder Scott Bentley kept his “secret weapon” hidden until the morning of the stage, only then unveiling an unusual and relatively massive (for trail riding) 2.5:1 gearing of 44×18 to his fellow singlespeeders. Bentley finished the stage confident he had made the right decision, and his position at the top of his category standings in an impressively fast time bore out that sentiment. “I had to walk a few more of the shorter, steeper hills than usual,” explained Bentley who rides for the Sound Solutions team, “But I’m fast with the hike-a-bike, and in those conditions running it up didn’t lose me any time to the riders around me. What it did give me was a huge advantage to build and maintain higher speeds on all of the open gravel and paved sections.”

Brothers Matt and Andrew Handford, from Alberta and BC respectively but riding for Andrew’s shop team Different Bikes / Rocky Mountain Bicycles, used their considerable experience in MTB stage racing and wet conditions often found on the west coast, to take the stage win in the men’s Over 80 Combined 2-person team. Both were quick to show their appreciation for the original aspects of the event compared to other stage races. “The later start time in warming weather was a great way to begin the day,” according to Andrew. Matt chimed in with his comments about the “excellent staff and volunteers, plus the trails themselves which offered an excellent cross-section of variety.”

Day 2 will see riders depart from the lovely Camp Kandalore which is housing the riders overnight in cabin accommodations, and end their day in midst of applause from a local festival in Haliburton that will play host to the finish line. Sean Ruppel of organizer Chico Racing promises that, “If stage 1 was the day of the bog, then stage 2 will be the day of rock.” With the Canadian Shield ever-present throughout the venues and trails, the route is living up to its moniker.

Full Results here.

Results

1. Derek Zandstra (3 Rox Racing) 3:13:12.2
2. Matthew Hadley (Xprezo/Solid Edge) 0:0.8
3. Peter Glassford (Trek Bicycle Store Team) 0:2.5
4. Adam Morka (3 Rox Racing) 07:53.5
5. Robert Parniak (Tall Tree Cycles) 14:10.7
6. Imad Elghazal (Norco – Evolution Team/Ottawa) 14:10.7
7. Matt Klymson (Cycle Solutions/Angry Johnny`s Racing) 17:55.5
8. Justen Winster (Pedal Performance Bolton Pedal Performance) 24:25.4
9. Terry Vanden Heuvel (Courtice, ON) 26:22.1
10. Cory Hancock (3 Rox Racing) 26:30.4
11. Lee Symmes (Mountainview Cycling Club) 28:16.5
12. Scott Luscombe (Uxbridge, ON) 31:05.0
13. Clifford Vanclief (The Hub Bicycle Club/Cambridge) 35:21.2
14. Steve Ferguson (HB Cycling Club) 40:01.1
15. Mike Abraham (Ride With Rendall) 41:23.2
16. Mike Harris (Elite Racing) 47:30.8
17. Jamie Broughton (Uxbridge, ON) 50:18.8
18. Sean Calhoun (Hepworth, ON) 51:42.8
19. Adam Pells (Lapdogs Cycling Club/Toronto) 51:50.5
20. Louis Belanger (Lapdogs Cycling Club/Toronto) 55:57.9
21. Chris Jarvis (Victoria, BC) 56:03.7
22. Michael Dougherty (Chelsea, QC) 56:50.0
23. Paul de Beer (Sault Ste. Marie) 56:51.9
24. Warren WhiteKnight (Elite Racing Oshawa) 57:09.1
25. Chris Reid (Kona Adobe Vancouver, BC) 58:15.3
26. Iyad Abbas (Ottawa, ON) 59:30.1
27. Michael Duncan (HB Cycling Club/Caledon East) 1:02:41.9
28. Chad Houston (Fort McMurray, AB) 1:02:45.5
29. Andrew Coe (The Hub Bicycle Club/Cambridge) 1:03:05.8
30. Bob Ebner (Fresh Air Experience) 1:06:32.4
31. Eric O`Brien ( ) 1:06:39.4
32. Tom Hipsz (Richmond Hill, ON) 1:08:06.2
33. Andy McKean (Toronto, ON) 1:22:41.2
34. Peter Gurney (Harbor Springs, MI/USA) 1:27:40.2
35. Pary Bell (Darkhorse Flyers/Toronto) 1:28:01.9
36. Brendan MacKillop (Toronto, ON) 1:30:23.7
37. Christopher Bacigalupo (Elora Boohai) 1:40:41.2
38. Scott Enns (Lapdogs Cycling Club/Toronto) 1:40:57.6
39. Hung LeHong (Cyclepath Oakville Race Team) 1:44:29.7
40. Braden Pentland (Hamilton, ON) 1:45:58.4
41. Barry Earhart (Cycle Solutions/Angry Johnny`s Racing) 1:47:48.7
42. Raoul Fortier ( ) 1:48:02.0
43. Michael Penza (Jamaica Plain, MA/USA) 1:53:10.2
44. John Warrillow (Toronto, ON) 2:03:04.9
45. Tim Chaplin (Kingston, ON) 2:03:42.6
46. Darren Fry (Grimsby Thorold Trail Hogs) 2:05:36.1
47. Ryan Mahaffey (Kingston, ON) 2:05:50.8
48. Andrew Hall (Ancaster, ON) 2:05:52.3
49. Jose Antonio Chau (Windsor, ON) 2:09:50.9
50. Matt Sanders (Hamilton, ON) 2:16:22.0
51. Stefan Ioannou (Toronto, ON) 2:25:30.0
52. Chris Thomas (Toronto, ON) 2:27:50.5
53. Dwayne Squires (Burlington, ON) 2:29:47.6
54. Dale Gration (Toronto, ON) 2:34:13.8
55. Brodie Bartlett (Uxbridge, ON) 2:43:38.7
56. Chris Dunford (Guelph, ON) 2:58:46.9
57. Trigg Hall (Milton, ON) 3:03:21.3
58. Troy Hall (Milton, ON) 3:03:23.0
59. Brandon McGregor (Cycle Solutions/Angry Johnny`s Racing) 3:05:01.6
60. Mike Sentance (Milton, ON) 3:05:20.4
61. Adam Groen (Lynden, ON) 3:13:58.4
62. David Barton (Claremont, ON/Chico) 3:28:07.9
63. Matthew Labadie (Chatham, ON) 3:28:17.9
64. Grant Barriage (Kitchener, ON) 3:28:22.1
DNS Chris Kennedy (Toronto, ON)

Solo Forty Female 75km

1. Kate Aardal (Hardcore Bike/Fort Murray, AB) 3:53:36.5
2. Tricia K. (Spooner EMD Serono/Stevens/The Cyclery) 18:04.2
3. Tracey Schinkel (The Hub Bicycle Club/Cambridge) 26:34.0
4. Sarah Caylor (HB Cycling Club Caledon) 35:02.8
5. Robin Kay (Lapdogs Cycling Club/Toronto) 37:51.5
6. Tanya Hanham (Ottawa, ON) 54:16.4
7. Rebecca Gerlach (Kingston, ON) 1:25:35.8
8. Shannon Bentley (IMFIT/Younique Cycles/Markham) 1:26:29.4
9. Jennifer Wright (Toronto, ON) 1:28:33.0
10. Lyndsay Thompson (Stoufville, ON) 1:31:09.0
11. Lina Van (der Wel Bolton, ON) 2:47:18.7
DNS Holly Hamilton (Elite Racing/Oshawa)