March 7, 2008 — Stage 12 of the Ride with Rendall/Peak Winter Racing Series was part of the MAXXIS sprint competition. In this sprint, the rider’s weight is factored into their maximum wattage to see who really is the “king of the sprints”. Ryan Phelps posted an astounding 16.97 watts/kg to take top spot over Patrick Seguin (15.42 watts/kg) and Rob Orange (13.09 watts/kg). The women’s “queen of the sprints” went to Kathy Bradley, who cranked out an impressive 9.10 watts/kg to turn heads and take the win. Second went to Kristin Marvin (6.60 watts/kg) and third to Wendy Blagdon (6.41 watts/kg).

As the series moves into its later stages, the length of the stages are increasing. The profiles and lengths of these long courses demand a bit more pacing than a regular stage and, as a result, many riders got suckered into going out to hard, only to fade in the last 10km. Stage 11 winner, Mike Nash rode the first part of the stage conservatively – a strategy that ultimately proved wrong as Jetfuel rider Derrick St. John threw caution to the wind and proceeded to power his way through the stage 12 course to take the overall win by just over a minute (51:31.7 vs. 52:34.1). Third place went to Mike’s RWR teammate Jim Tsilmos, who finished with a time of 54:43.9.

The women’s show, or rather the Tenille show, played out much the same as most of the stages this year. Triathlete vs. road rider, with the triathlete taking the win. Tenille Hoogland (elite triathlete) won the stage with a time of 59:00.8 over Wendy Blagdon (Stevens road), who had a time of 1.02.52.2. Kristin Marvin finished third with a time of 1:04.13.6.

For more detailed results and power data on the riders, visit www.ridewithrendall.com

Mike Nash and Derrick St. John have been the big players in this year’s series up until now. Mike has won six stages and Derrick has won three. Most of the stage wins have gone to either rider, however, on most occasions the win comes when the other rider is not present. Barring Derrick’s stage 12 win, the sole other exception occurred the first time the series visited the extended time trial stage course in stage 7. On that occasion, Mike trounced Derrick by over a minute to establish the record to beat when he clocked a time of 45:22.9.

Lucky stage 13 will be played out on the series extended time trial course. The tone is set for an epic, providing both Mike and Derrick show up.

The challenge is out. Can you beat the record or your PB? Register now by contacting the center nearest to you. With heats expanded to Sunday’s in Ottawa, and Tuesday’s in Vancouver and Montreal, it’s time to get 2008 underway.

To book your start time, call:
– Vancouver, Peak Centre, (604) 299-7959
– Montreal, Peak Centre Mansfield, (514) 390-1230
– Ottawa, Peak Centre, (613) 737-PEAK or visit the online booking system