June 2, 2010 (Sooke, BC) – At 9:00 am on May 29, grey clouds made the sky indistinguishable from the ocean, heavy drizzle made the road slick, and unseasonably cold temperatures had riders shivering on the start line. Welcome to BC’s Provincial Road Race Championships.

“These are the conditions in which Sooke should be raced,” said Curtis Dearden (Garneau Evolution) to his team mates.

Eleven strong, Garneau Evolution (GE) planned to have most of their squad riding the front of the race to keep the pace high, with Dearden, Tim Abercrombie, Jason Thompson, and David Gerth waiting for decisive moves. And as it turned out for the GE men, Dearden’s comment was apt.

“I noticed the cold and wet conditions affecting some of the riders around me. I had neoprene gloves and booties and was pretty well dressed,” Abercrombie said, partially crediting the weather for his success.

When race favourite Rob Britton (Bissell) powered up Shirley Hill only 35km into the 140km race, a dozen riders followed, making for an early selection. GE had Dearden and Abercrombie in the move, and the thirteen men worked well together distancing themselves from the pack.

“Rob Britton was the key threat,” saidAbercrombie. “After Britton took a hard turn at the front of the pack about 85km into the race, Jamie Sparling (Total Restoration) launched an important attack to separate from Britton”.

Abercrombie, Dearden, Nic Hamilton (Trek Red Truck), and Aaron Schooler (H&R Block) followed Sparling. With two riders of five, and with Britton out of the equation, the break was favourable to GE.

“With about 20km to go the attacking began,” explained Abercrombie. “Curtis [Dearden] knows this road very well, and warned me about the hill coming out of French Beach. When I knew we were about half way up, I attacked and Schooler was the first to fall off the pace.”

With Hamilton sitting on, Sparling and Abercrombie continued to trade attacks, amidst weather conditions that had deteriorated to the point that visibility was near nil.

“This is like riding by Braille!” shouted Abercrombie to Sparling through the spray.

Temporarily reduced to shrapnel from the Abercrombie-Sparling rounds, Dearden managed to chase back on and attack with about 10km to go, burying himself to set up Abercrombie for the win. Sparling countered Dearden’s effort, but Abercrombie had the last word, attacking and soloing to victory over the last few km. Hamilton and Sparling picked up 2nd and 3rd, Dearden and Britton 4th and 5th.

“For the last few years, I’ve been a key player in BC provincial road race championships, but I’ve never had the honour of the jersey,” commented Abercrombie.

This win is particularly sweet for Abercrombie who has been in the top ten at provincials every year since 2006, with a notable late attack and failed solo attempt in 2007 that earned him the “most aggressive rider” award.

Women’s Race
BC women marked Olympian Erinne Willock (Webcor Builders) as the early favourite in the women’s race at BC Provincial Championships. The race rolled out into a headwind for a relatively tame first half, a few attacks shedding some riders on the climbs.

“Immediately after the turn around it was now tail wind, downhill and game on,” said Willock. “Total Restoration and Trek Red Truck were launching attacks everywhere, and with the rain and fog it was very hard to follow wheels or see who was going up the road.”

The attacks from Total Restoration (TR) and Trek Red Truck (Trek) resulted in a small break away, including Leah Guloien and Jessica Hannah (TR) and Leah Kirchmann (Trek). But dooming the small move was the absence of Amy Dearden (Keller Rorhback) and Willock herself.

Dearden’s team mate Patricia Bailey took a strong turn on the front on the way into Jordan River. Then Willock and Dearden went to the front, setting a searing pace on the climb out of Jordan River, eventually catching the TR/Trek trio with Naomi Cooper (Trek) and Jasmin Gleasser (TR) in tow.

Willock attacked on the way out of French Beach, but was only temporarily successful, with Hannah catching her on the descent.
“Because we weren’t working well together we eventually got caught by rest,” commented Willock.

Best represented in the group of seven leaders was TR, with three riders – the objective was to drop Willock. “Everyone on the team committed themselves selflessly to tiring Willock out,” Gleasser said.

“I knew I had to chase them, and I also knew I still had a chance for the win since the last 1km was uphill,” added Willock. “So once I hit the last km I went to the front and set the hardest pace I could… …fortunately I still had enough in the tank to hold them off. I finally won my first Elite BC Provincial Championships!”

Gleasser, Hannah, and Guloien picked up 2nd through 4th for their efforts, with Dearden 5th. Only in her first year of racing, the provincials proved a great learning experience for Gleasser. “I think the race was an excellent display of team work by Total Restoration,” she commented. “It’s great to have competed against an Olympian and realize that I can hold my own.”

Full results here.