September 21, 2009 (Camp White Pine, ON) – Ideal weather and the event’s longest course faced riders on day 2 of Crank the Shield MTB. The complete revamp of the day 1 course provided a much improved experience, but the longer and more physically demanding course left many riders feeling the rigours of a multi-day event as stage 2 began.
The 3-day format invariably leads to quicker pacing than for a 7-day event. True to form, the pace off the start line was quick, with several rocky fireroad climbs and limited line choices serving to split the pack almost immediately once the flat roll out was completed.
A larger group of 11 riders formed off the front consisting of overall event leader Stu Alp (Norco Factory Team) and his Under 30 category rival Dan Souter (KHS Canada). Men 15-79 Team front runners included Kyle Douglas and Haydn Boucher (both 3 Rox Racing), pre-event favourite in the singlespeed division Jamie Davies (BikeSports Racing Team), Jim Brogden (speeddriver.com), Jean-Michel Racine (Olympus NDT/Quebec), Matthew Farquharson (HB Cycling Club), Jason Everaert (CoachChris.ca/Ted Velikonja) who was staying riveted together with close Men 30-39 Solo competitor Rob Parniak (Tall Tree Cycles), and Matt Klymson (Cycle Solutions-Angry Johnny’s Racing/B.C.)
This grouping remained intact through the first 2/3 of the stage which lasted almost three hours. The course characteristics, which featured many short but technical climbs on large formations of exposed Canadian Shield rock, plus some dismounts over a series of older wooden bridges, promoted frequent re-grouping but also slowly drained precious physical resources out of those riding in the rear as they were forced to chase back on after navigating each obstacle in single file. Once the course opened up into quicker terrain on an open hydro cut, Klymson, Davies, and Brogden were all shed off the back of the group, while Farquharson and finally Racine succumbed to the pace at the front later on the closing 19km straight run into downtown Haliburton.
As the inevitable attacks for stage glory began in earnest among the survivors, ultimately it was the team of Douglas and Boucher who displayed both the legs and tactics to find the right wheels and take overall honours. Alp and Parniak each defended their solo category leads against Souter and Everaert respectively. Later that night over dinner at the camp Souter offered up an analysis of his prospects to overtake Alp. “Unfortunately, my body has picked the wrong time to get a slight cold, so with Stu and I being so close it’s all I can do to stay with him right now. The gap he got on me on stage 1 seems impossible to make up without being on my best form, but I’ll give it a go tomorrow and at least make him earn it.”
Earning the win will be the challenge for Kate Aardal (Hardcore Racing/Alberta) on day 3, as she was given no quarter by Tricia Spooner (Stevens Racing presented by The Cyclery) who completed another day of shadowing close behind her consistent Alberta competitor. Aardal nailed down her 5th consecutive stage win spanning across 2 years in the Women Under 40 Solo, but in contrast to 2008 her lead over Spooner is far from secure. “Kate’s a great rider and I’m really happy to be pushing her more this year,” commented Spooner, adding, “Last year I had some time off with surgery, and didn’t ride my mountain bike enough, so my form is definitely improved this year. I’ll just ride hard and see what happens.”
Spooner also provided some insight into her partnership with Men Under 40 Solo leader Rob Parniak. “Having a live-in training partner is fantastic, but in our case I think it helps that we can understand each other’s needs to take time away for our own racing and training when required. The arrangement works great for us!”
Brogden’s strong stage 2 allowed him to climb to the top of the Men Over 40 Solo rankings. Gord Ruder (Pedal Performance) had started day 2 ahead of Brogden in the standings, but an untimely series of mechanical issues culminating in a drivetrain beyond repair left him stranded 20km from the finish. With hope fading, Ruder’s Pedal Performance team mate Justen Winster arrived just in time to develop an ingenious solution that would have otherwise seen him walking for the next couple of hours, or finding a local taxi with room for a bike! Winster decided to forego his own stage placing and instead swapped turns with Ruder on their 1 working bike, towing the other with a tube in the best spirit of teamwork. Gord will no doubt be mounting that tube somewhere in a display frame somewhere in his home after the event.
Davies, finishing together with Klymson, made a major move in the general classification, recouping significant losses resulting from his day 1 mechanicals to overhaul Joe Cruz in the Men Solo Singlespeed category. Davies’remarkable ability to hold his own with the top gearies for most of the stage spoke well of both his own prowess, and that of his Misfit Psycles steed.
Born and bred right in Ontario, Misfit Psycles has parlayed a quirky tongue-in-cheek quest for world domination into a cult status among the 29er and singlespeed crowds, which has been steadily extending its reach far beyond provincial borders. At the nightly dinner, which featured a sumptuous spread once again courtesy of the staff at Camp White Pine, I corralled Misfit representatives Kim Jones, Marc Risdale, and the iconic Mark Lepper;
Kim & Marc, can you sum up what this Misfit thing is about?
Kim & Marc: The Misfit gang has some pretty interesting races within the races for bragging rights, but it’s all in good fun. Where we fit into overall results isn’t so important. We like to do our own thing, which sometimes means racing hard, or other times just enjoying our own pace on the trails.
Mark, you get the largest cheers out of anyone at the nightly awards, and I even have a souvenir Misfit coaster with your name emblazoned on it. How does an “every man” go about achieving this kind of status?
Mark: It wasn’t my fault.
For racers, the experience at Crank the Shield is as simple as can be. Our only task is to enjoy ourselves on the trails, while all our other needs are magically taken care of around us. Chico Racing runs a tight ship for the event organization and logistics, so much so that participants barely have to think about what to do, or when to do it. The various event support services always seem to run like clockwork, ranging from mechanical assistance provided by Norco and Shimano, to baggage transport, flawless production and posting of results by timer extraordinaire Al Hawley, on-site massage therapy from Brian Bennett and his crew, fool-proof marking of 80+ km of course every day (I’ve never needed to look at a map either in 2008 or 2009), plentiful food both at each finish plus later at each nightly dinner, and even time for the top dogs Adam and Sean to attend to miscellaneous personal needs of participants as they arise.
The stage 3 finale promises to bring back the best memories of 2008, with several more ominous spikes on the elevation profile, and a healthy dose of fast semi-technical singletrack featuring a run in the opposite direction through the new namesake legacy trail “Crank the Shield” that was also part of the day 1 course.
For Stage 2 full results click here.
For GC after Stage 2 click here.