May 19, 2007 – A total of 25 hardy souls braved a cool and windy Saturday morning at the Glenmore Velodrome in Calgary for a UCI Omnium event. The omnium came back to the world championships this year with a five-race, continuous event – 200m TT, 5km scratch, 3000m pursuit, 15km points, kilo.

The riders were grouped into an experienced track rider group (A) and new riders who just started on the track this season (B). We had planned to have two experienced groups but several people shied away because of the spotty weather, while others chose to race on the road in Saskatoon.

Both groups had spirited team-dominated racing in the bunch events, while disc wheels and aero bars were the order of the day for most riders in the A group in timed events.

The A group saw the return to the track of Trevor Gunderson (H&R Block), who claimed not to have ridden the track for nine years and not to have done a sprint for 15 years. Gunderson finished first, second or third in every event to win the omnium with 9 points, ahead of Rob Leeds (Cyclemeisters/Bow Cycle) and Chris Hooper (Synergy), who both has 13 points, with Leeds taking second based on his win of the kilo.

Synergy dominated the points race with Reid Dalgleish winning ahead of Chris Hooper, Trevor Gunderson and Craig Good (Synergy). The Synergy guys also provided a little assistance to their teammate Natasha Kuzmak, who was the first woman and the first finisher among the riders who normally ride in the B category at CBTL’s Thursday night series.

The B group was dominated by Kelly Hall (Juventus) from Edmonton, who won everything except the points race. In that event, Bicisport teammates Jessica Kissell and Ellen Sparling teamed up to set a hard pace from the start and split the first two positions in all the sprints, with Kissell winning the last sprint for the race win. Kelly, Jessica and Ellen finished 1-2-3 in the overall results, followed by Krystyn Ong and Samantha Grover, both from Edmonton.

Thanks to all the parents and retired racers pressed into service as holders, lap counters and timers, the event was a success.

The next big event at the Glenmore Velodrome is the Cyclemeisters/Team Bow Cycle Spring Clean Up on May 26 and 27. This event will be used to select the provincial junior team for track nationals. The organizer (that would be me) has promised that all entry fees not used to cover race costs will be used to fund the prize pot. For event details, see www.cyclemeisters.com

Results

A Group

1. Trevor Gunderson 9
2. Rob Leeds 13
3. Chris Hooper 13
4. Reid Dalgleish 19
5. Craig Good 26
6. Natasha Kuzmak 36
7. Derek Lynn 42
8. Jamie Marshall 43
9. John Dobrowolski 52
10. Justin Williams 53
11. Brad Knapik 53
12. Brayden McDougall 55
Norm Kalmanovitch
Greg Yanicki 13

B Group

1. Kelly Hall 7
2. Jessica Kissell 9
3. Ellen Sparling 14
4. Krystyn Ong 25
5. Samantha Grover 27
6. Gina Kisselll 35
7. Emily de Freitas 35
8. Trevor Kissell 43
9. Logan Garvin 45
Jaye Milley