October 04, 2012 (Vancouver, BC) – The 2012 Vanier Park Cyclocross in Vancouver, BC, was a roaring success. Vanier Park racing is known to have blessings from above, but this year the weather was crazy sunny – unlike anything we have seen before. And so was the turnout: the event had at times the flavor of an open air concert with people sitting around on the grass, eating, and watching the race, kids laughing and riding around, and lots of women and men with big sweaty smiles- on track to a great result.

The volunteer crew from WestCoast Racing and TREK RedTruck Racing created a course that revealed years of hands-on experience and made sure that legs and lungs would hurt. Less bumpy, but with tricky loose ground sections, the course demanded full attention through the hig-speed turns and over the challenging man-made obstacles.

Racing started at 10:30 with the citizen categories setting the mark with a fast pace and a deep field, with many now unlicensed former fast men and women mixing it up with the beginners followed by juniors. Taking the win was Hugo Van Hoogstraten (who is clearly in the Dutch tradition of cross) and David Stringer in second, while the Citizen Women was won by Carol Prince.

In the second start we saw the Open Women and Master Women battle for victory, with Local Ride/Dr. Vie Superfoods+’s Sandra Walter taking the top honors, Jean Ann Berkenpas (Secret Cycles/Xprezo) in 2^nd and Steph Roorda (Local Ride/Dr. Vie Superfoods+) in 3^rd, while in the Master Women’s ceremony, the winners shared the podium with their little ones (with US mom Emily Sportman on top, followed by Karen Todd and Corinne Issel). At the same time, we had the Men 3/4 and Master Men 3/4 steamrolling across the course with a fierce battle for Alpha Male dominance. When the dust settled the winner emerged in form of Squamish allrounder Kelly Servinski, Nigel Kinney and Ted Martin for the Cat 3/4 Men. Vincent Marcotte made winning look easy by beating out Jussi Jrakkola and Aaron Weiss for the places.

The crowd was in a good mood after the Steed Cycles’ free Kids race where around 70 (!) kids of all ages tried to copy their bike obsessed parents. They were totally excited and Distance Runningwear’s Dave Cressman had his hands more than full (and was glad to retire onto the Single Speed bike right after). A nice little course that was busy long after the kids event was over saw many giggles and cheers but also true competition among the little ones.

While the Kids and parents were lining up for the BBQ it was getting quiet on the course, the calm before the storm. The last start of the day had three groups of men: the men without shifters (single speed), the men without age (master), and the men without limits (elite). Never before has Vancouver seen such a lineup of single-speed competition (watch out, Portland, here we come) with 9 committed no shift warriors on the start. Nick Berry would take the cake despite his efforts with the New Brighton race the day before, Nils Steiner in second and co-race director Paul McClosky (also tired from lap counting on Saturday) rounding out the top three.

The ageless Master Bobby Welbourn and eventual winner had his work cut out to keep runner-up Chris McNeil at bay with Martin Bojesen finishing in third. And then there were only the elites left on the course …

It was clear when 5-time winner Tyler Trace didn’t show up that we see a different race in Vanier Park. And unlike last year when Tyler rode away to a convincing solo win over Pinfold this year team tactics played a big role. It was Team H&R Block (Andrew Pinner Pinfold and Aaron Schooler) against Team Kevin (Noiles and Calhoun) while in the background the battle for 5^th was in full swing. The H&R guys put up a smart fight while Kevin Calhoun suffered a mechanical, making Kevin Noiles do the bulk of the work in the later part of the race. But the winner takes it all: Pinner made it clear that despite being a daddy he still can let his legs to the talking. Vanier Park race director Sven Sturm didn’t find the shortcut he hoped for and got beaten on the line by a stronger riding Trevor Pearson. Matt Hornland was another race director (New Brighton) in the elites and narrowly avoided being lapped.

All together racers came out yet again in record number (we counted 194 licensed racers) to one of BC’s top cyclocross events. While we will be talking about the never-ending summer of 2012 for a while the memory of the 2012 Vanier Park will be a fond one. And as usual, there would be no racing without our generous sponsors and supporters:

Patisserie Lebeau and Umbria Caffe, Mountain Equipment Coop, CLIF Bar, Giant Bicycles, Steed Cycles, The Vancouver Bike Gallery, Musette Caffe, Race Face Components, Schwalbe Tires, Cycles Lambert, Banditas Taqueria, Active Life Physio, Uprising Breads, Island Farms, Whole Foods, Ryder Eyewear and of course City of Vancouver.

And who would be responsible for all that? WestCoast Racing and TREK RedTruck Racing, two of Vancouver’s finest bike clubs and racing teams, and their dedicated volunteers.

Results

Open Women
1. Sandra Walter (Local Ride/Dr. Vie Superfoods+)
2. Jean Ann Berkenpas (Secret Cycles)
3. Steph Roorda (Local Ride/Dr. Vie Superfoods+)
4. Jenny Lehman (Trek Red Truck)
5. Lotterhos Hos
6. Kristine Brynjolfson (Trek Red Truck)
6. Sarah Coney (Local Ride/Dr. Vie Superfoods+)
8. Karen Fedoruk
9. Eva Kuzyk – 1 lap
10. Justine Clift – 1 lap
11. Heidi Manicke – 1 lap
DNF Jennifer Gerth (Mighty riders)

Elite Men
1. Andrew Pinfold (The Old Man and The Bike)
2. Kevin Noiles (SBR)
3. Aaron Schooler (Norco Bicycles – Sri Import)
4. Kevin Calhoun (Rocky Mountain)
5. Trevor Pearson (Devo)
6. Sven Sturm (Trek Red Truck)
7. Sherwood Plant (The Bike Gallery)
8. Jonathan Benskin (Condo Group)
9. Mike Berkenpas (Secret cycles)
10. Matt Schweiker
11. Wai-Ben Wong (Glotman Simpson Cycling)
12. Matt Hornland (Mighty Riders / OTR)
13. Richard Machhein (Local Ride Racing) – 1 lap
14. Brett Wakefield (Local Ride Racing) – 1 lap

Junior Women / U17
1. Maggie ColesLyster (Local Ride)
2. Margaret Ovenell – 1 lap

Junior Men
1. Carsten Lapointe (RTC Vancouver)
2. Fergus Horrobin
3. Joshua Hardwick
4. Peter Whalen (Local Ride)
5. Matt Hardwick – 3 laps
DNF Kian Zandi

Masters 30+ Women
1. Emily Sportsman (Republic Bicycles)
2. Karen Todd
3. Corinne Issel
4. Barb Morris (Performance coaching)

Citizen Women
1. Carol Prince
2.
3. Donna Bartel
4. Tara Conway
5. Lara Spence – 1 lap
6. Amy Saari – 1 lap
7. Lynsey Huxham – 1 lap
2nd?/DNF Becky Roberts
DNF Rosemaary Gin

Master 1/2 Men
1. Bob Welbourn (Sunday Best Racing)
2. Chris McNeil (SOUL SPORTIF)
3. Martin Bojesen
4. Kim Steed (Steed Cycles)
5. Shawn Pettersen
6. Brad Issel
7. Matthew Drown (Daryl-Evans Racing)
8. Jason Fluckiger (Daryl-Evans Racing)
9. Pete Holzhuter (Daryl-Evans Racing)
10. Keith Wilson
11. Scott McGregor (Steed Cycles)
12. John Irvine
13. Brad Collins
14. Rick Rodland (Team Alliance/ Norco)
15. Kalle Karu
16. David Kvick (Rocky Mountain)
17. Ryan Newsome (maple Rye)
18. Colin Campbell (Escape Velocity)
19. Mike Murphy (Steed/Frontrunners)
20. Dale Ewanchook (Norco/Aliance)
21. Joshua Weiss (Daryl-Evans Racing)
22. Tyler Dumont (Physiomoves)
23. Nick Hani (USA Fusion Sport)
24. Brent Hambleton
25. James Neil (Speed therory)
DNF Chris Saverj

Masters 30+ Men 3/4
1. Vincent Marcotte
2. Jussi Jrakkola
3. Aaron Weiss (Daryl-Evans Racing)
4. Dan Gronross (Steed Cycles)
5. Christian Hansen (Independent)
6. Ray Lachance
7. Gavin Eaton
8. Ryan Kazakoff
9. Darrin Grund (Escape Velocity / dEVo)
10. Kurt Withers (Norco Bicycles)
11. Michael Goodman (Glotman Simpson)
12. Jason Bond (Bond Trainer)
13. John Tani (Cvc)
14. Patrick Beckstead (Mighty)
15. Jeff Hanninen (Daryl-Evans Racing)
16. Tobin Copley (Escape Velocity / dEVo)
17. Dave Collins
18. Michael McArthur
19. Chris Wilberg (Trek Red Truck)
20. Michael Dolling (Daryl-Evans Racing)
21. Brian Store (Escape Velocity / dEVo)
22. Brian Willock (Glotman Simpson)
23. Jay Loder (La bicicletta)
24. Andrew Lea
25. Chris Cole
26. Kevin Kondra
27. Chiron Kantakis
28. Jon Taylor (Daryl-Evans Racing)
29. Piers Cunnington (Fulgas)
30. Matt Kennedy (West Coast racing)
31. John Forstrom (Trek Red Truck)
32. Benjamin Low-Beer (CVc)
33. Scott Wilton
34. Brian Greening
35. Paul Craig (Local Ride)
36. Peter Wuerr – 1 lap
37. Robert Airey – 1 lap
38. John Wong (Team Whistler) – 1 lap
39. Brian Gunn (Daryl-Evans Racing) – 1 lap
40. Bill Riley (Vancouver Velo Vets) – 1 lap
50. Chris Hardwick (CCN/Cove/Empire) – 1 lap
DNF Jeff Van Mulligen (Atomic/Speed Theory)

Cat 3/4 Men
1. Kelly Servinski (SCOTT Bikes)
2. Nigel Kinney
3. Ted Martin (Triple Crown Racing)
4. David Morrissey (Triple Crown Racing)
5. Evan Wishlaff
6. Anderew Summers
7. Ben Sigston
8. Troy Neale (Westwood cycle)
9. Alexander Dove
10. Chris MacDonald (Leading Edge)
11. Chett Hopkins
12. Ben Jackson (lululemon)
13. William Fergusson
14. Michael Parmish
DNF bBrandon Thomson (Speed Theory)

Single Speed
1. Nick Berry (Mighty Riders)
2. Niels Steiner (West Coast Racing)
3. Paul McClosky (Mighty Riders)
4. Mark Oldenburg (VAN.S.S.)
5. Ashley Stotts (Mighty Riders)
6. Scott Sportsman (Republic Bicycles)
7. Dave Cressman (Distance Runwear)
DNF Lucas Gallagher
DNF Wayne Leslie (Evolve)

Citizen Men
1. Hugo van Hoogstraten (Atomic Racing)
2. David Stringer
3. Domitr Szopa
4. Paul McCarthy
5. Peter Wilson (The Bike Gallery)
6. Brian Reguly
7. Dale Tiessen (Daryl-Evans Racing)
8. David Gilmour (Atomic Racing)
9. Andrew Appleton
10. Drew Hemmingson
11. Maarten Elferink
12. Tom Craik
13. Matthew Sipple
14. James MacGregor
15. Adam Cameron
16. David Watt
17. Scott Wheeler
18. Brent Fahl
19. Owen Wood (The Fix Inc.)
20. Duncan Coo
21. Harry Henderson
22. Evan Crawford
23. Jason Glacken
24. Andre Perret (Team “Huge Thighs”)
25. Robert Wasylyshyn
26. James Davison
27. Audey Korpus
28. Geoffrey Wherrett
29. Hubert Lam
30. Kevin Letchford
31. Ronald Noakes
32. Paul Chaytors
33. Brian Roth (Leading Edge)
34. Sheldon Boreen
35. Brad Hiebert
36. Mike Tannah
37. Robert de Rot (Ballistic Velo Racing)
38. Glen Ross
39. Keith Ng – 1 lap
40. James Clarke – 1 lap
41. Jordan McAuley (West Coast Racing) – 1 lap
42. Raphael Fang – 1 lap
43. Doug Giles (Speed Theory) – 1 lap
44. Paul Verlann – 1 lap
45. Martin Richardson – 1 lap
46. Doug Brons (Escape Velocity) – 1 lap
47. Edwin Beange – 1 lap
48. Bob McLaren – 1 lap
DNF David Usher
DNF Matt Klymson (West Coast Racing)
DNS Jason Rhodes
DNS Kian Zandi
DNS John Smith
DNS Chris Nicholson
DNS Graham Holborn