February 15, 2008 – Patrick Seguin (RWR) wasted little time in climbing to the front of the pack in Stage 8 of the Ride with Rendall/Peak Winter Racing Series. The course in this stage confronted riders with a continuous climb that had some on the ropes, at least mentally, from the beginning. Not to be discouraged, Seguin rode up the climb and finished with a time of 45:58.4. Not far behind was Sue Schlatter (Stevens), who climbed to the win in the women’s category and set the second fastest time behind Seguin when she finished with a time of 46:28.4. Second place in the men’s category was a hard fought East vs. West affair with Vancouver’s Ted Russo outpacing Montreal’s Louis Boulieau in the final kilometers of the climb (47:08.7 vs. 47:25.5).
Rounding out the podium in the women’s category was Cynthia Wilson and Tenille Hoogland with times of 49:23.6 and 51:54.0.
Seguin might have just edged out Schlatter on the fastest climb of the day, but in the Pedal KOM it was the complete opposite. Both riders took first place points in their respective divisions but bragging rights go to Schlatter. Her superior average watts/kg labeled her as the best climber of the day. Second place in the women’s Pedal QOM went to Wilson, followed by Hoogland. Rounding out the podium in the men’s category was Russo and Boulieau.
Stage 9 of the Ride with Rendall/Peak Winter Racing Series was held on a flat course at various centers across Canada. While more than a few riders cracked on the mentally challenging course, Mike Nash showed why he is one of Ottawa’s best time trialists when he powered to a time of 36:57.4. Jim Tsilemos took second with a time of 38:18.7 and third place turned into a battle between riders Ron Stead, Ryan Atkins, Mike McIvor, and Brad Martel. In the end, less than 30 seconds separated all four, but Atkins took the last podium spot with a time of 39:39.4.
Elite Triathlete, Tenille Hoogland (41:53.3), also relied on her time trialing abilities and firmly established herself as the top GC contender with yet another win in the series. Behind her, Kathy Bradey and Wendy Blagdon took second and third with times of 44:46.5 and 45:31.1.
Stage 9 was also part of the MAXXIS Sprint competition and the flat parcours let the sprinters rest their legs. The MAXXIS sprint competition is determined by using riders max power/kg achieved on the stage. While Nash and Hoogland took the stage honours with their time trialing abilities, other riders stole some of the thunder. Proving power and weight mean more than big power numbers, Glen Rendall and Kathy Bradey took the sprint competition by generating 15.2watts/kg and 9.23watts/kg, respectively.
With nine races left in the 18 stage RWR/Peak Winter Racing Series, riders will once again return to the series TT course this weekend for Stage 10. Riders will have another crack at breaking the course records held by Aaron Fillion (34:17.6) and Natasha Elliot (38:02.6).
The TT is one of only two courses that is repeated so riders can try to set new course records and personal bests on a profile that is used once a month throughout the series. Right now the challenge is out to see if anyone can beat Fillion’s or Elliot’s course records.
Sunday heats are now available in Ottawa. Check the schedule for details.
For more detailed results and power data on the riders, visit www.ridewithrendall.com