September 23, 2009 (Haliburton, ON) – Like 2008, Crank the Shield’s final day began with a neutral, untimed 17km road ride from Camp White Pine’s excellent facilities to the official stage start. However, a major change to the format this year was to have all participants choose their own departure time and riding partners to arrive for the 9:45am timed start, rather than all ride together in a massive peloton. With two days of epic riding already in the books, this gentle, extended warm up was a welcomed opportunity to shake the morning cobwebs out of both heads and legs. Instead of racing, we were able to enjoy a casual, rolling conversation with many of those same riders we were going head-to-head with during the timed portions.

Low temperatures overnight gave way to perfect temperatures in the low twenties, with much of the day’s layout also under the additional shelter of a dense tree canopy. Any extra bits and pieces of clothing were gleefully discarded in favour of an idyllic fall day in shorts and short sleeves.

General classification positions within several categories were still fully in play at the start of the day. While some, such as Stu Alp (Norco Factory Team) in the Men Under 30 Solo and the combo of Kyle Douglas and Haydn Boucher (3Rox Racing) in the Men 15-79 Team were able to ride both quickly and cleanly to bring home the prestigious overall titles, others found only heartbreak.

The ever-present potential for disaster struck no one harder than Kate Aardal (Hardcore Racing/Alberta). The steely veteran who had won every previous CTS stage spanning both years of the event, was pushed hard all the way by Tricia Spooner (Stevens Racing presented by the Cyclery), which may have been a contributing factor in the total failure of Aardal’s drivetrain. The catastrophic consequences to Aardal’s GC aspirations glared out from the final results sheet, which showed a deficit of 1.5 hours to Spooner on the day, far more than was required to turn the tables on the overall.

Spooner patiently waited for Aardal at the finish line the entire time, her focus at that point more of concern for her rival. An embrace of respect between the two followed Aardal’s arrival, and words were exchanged which did not have to be heard to be understood – that any true racer would prefer to settle placings with skill and fitness instead of ill fortune.

In a related twist of fate, the laws of universal equilibrium struck within Spooner’s household. Her off-the-bike partner Rob Parniak (Tall Tree Cycles), with whom she was featured in our stage 2 report, entered the day with a scant lead over Jason Everaert (CoachChris.ca/Ted Velijonka) in the Men 30-39 Solo GC. At the front of the race, the group which formed during the opening climbs though a hydro cut was largely similar to the previous day, with the exception of the absent Jamie Davies and Jim Brogden who hovered slightly behind.

The difference on this day was that the back markers Jean-Michel Racine (Olympus/NDT) and Matt Klymson (Cycle Solutions/Angry Johnny’s Racing) had expended significant energy closing the gap to slowly and painfully catch back on to the front. At the same time, Parniak was in danger of dropping off. Ultimately, Parniak, Racine, and Klymson were all summarily ejected from the lead group within the first hour of racing.

Parniak and Klymson teamed up shortly afterwards in an attempt to minimize Parniak’s time losses to Everaert ahead, with Parniak spending more time on the front during flatter sections, and Klymson setting the pace on the climbs. In the end it was not destined to be for Parniak, who bled enough time to yield the final GC title to Everaert by a few minutes.

The pairing of Andrew Maemura and Matt Prosser (Cycle Solutions / Angry Johnny’s Racing), both riding singlespeed against the geared riders in the Men 15-79 Team division were on great form for the day. They found a course that was much to their liking as several of the steeper climbs – including the intimidating Lookout Climb newly added for this year – necessitated hiking sections for almost all riders, negating any advantage that the gearies may have otherwise enjoyed on other slightly less severe, or loose ascents that were difficult to clear riding singlespeeds. For their efforts the CSAJ duo was rewarded with a 2nd place category finish on the day, plus enough of a gap to launch them past Cory Hancock and Scott Luscombe (3Rox Racing) into 2nd spot on the final GC.

Leslie Summers also had a successful run in the Women Solo Singlespeed category, following in the pioneering footsteps of Mari Evans who was the lone entrant in 2008. The division doubled in size for this year with Jennie Jackson (True North Cycles) added to the mix, but Leslie expressed her hope for a similar increase next year even if that puts a dent in her standing at the top of the heap. For now though, she looked entirely satisfied to be able to cart home another CTS GC title to the Summers trophy case, to match the Men Solo Singlespeed win taken away by Mark Summers in 2008. Mark was unable to defend this year, being buried deep within his project to open the doors soon at the new GTA indoor bike park in Markham.

The team categories were mostly stories of dominance with several teams winning all 3 stages and the overall GC, including Jeff Shikaze and Narius Botyrius (Cyclepath Oakville Racing Team). Narius summed up their success in simple terms. “We’re both very competitive personalities, and so we know that if we push each other then as a team we’ll ride fast.” Sally Heath and Terri Truscello took home honours for the Women Teams, while Robin Kay (Lapdogs Cycling Club) was untouchable in the Women Over 40 Solo.

Jim Brogden (speeddriver.com) parlayed his strong day 2 performance into a confident GC win in the Men Over 40 Solo Jim Brogden. Brogden credited his own stubbornness in staying with the lead group as long as possible in the middle stage for building the critical time gap that would eventually bring him the overall victory the following day.

Crank the Shield’s inaugural 2008 odyssey took place amidst a bizarre confluence of significant meteorological events in the weeks prior, leaving many segments of the course littered with oft-repeated muddy crossings. Chico Racing, ever the “students” of participant feedback, invested resources to shore up routes so as to be suitable for all-weather conditions in future years.

As Chico’s course mastermind Sean Ruppel described, “This year is the event we originally envisioned for Crank. We’re proud to see that so many people put enough trust in us to come back for another year. A seamless, almost transparent quality of organization is always key to riders’experiences at any event, but in 2 short years Chico has now filled in the missing piece of the puzzle with heavily upgrade to routes. For 2009 and future years, CTS is now the complete package.

While riding and racing is the foundation upon which the events are built, the hidden treasure within the genre of MTB stage racing remains the shared time with fellow riders, who collectively exist in a sort of parallel reality for a number of days during which we interact and converse exclusively with other mountain bikers. Regardless of the topic of discussion, melding thoughts with a group of fellow riders has a unique air to it. This intimate environment is difficult to imagine anywhere outside the cozy confines of a stage race where all the participants ride and live together day and night. The return to the real world always comes far too quickly, and leaves us dreaming of the next adventure.

Stage 3 results here.

Final GC results here.