October 10, 2007 (Victoria, BC) – The Cross on the Rock 2007 #1, Turkey Cross, brought to you by Multi-Sport Promotions, is organized by Elitewave and OakBay Bikes (Victoria) in partnership with the Victoria Wheelers. Special thanks to Mind Over Mountain Event Company and the Juan De Fuca Recreation Center.

Note to racers:A little thanks goes a long way to help us secure and be able to race at amazing facilities such as the Juan De Fuca Recreation Center. Please take the time to send a note of appreciation to: Karen Frost kfrost@jdfrecreation.com

Sponsors
– Converse All Star
– Lighthouse Brewery
– OakBay Bikes in Nanaimo and Victoria
– Norco
– Crankbrothers
– Frontrunners Nanaimo
– eNVy Chainrings and Chainring Protectors

Cross Report

Schick Extreme 3 Razors donated by the Mind Over Mountain Event Co. (along with their sound system) greeted all the participants as they registered for the 1st event of our 2007 series”¦..just in case anyone needed to do some last minute shaving before they got dirty.

With Prizes donated from Oak Bay Bikes and Norco as well as first lap beer primes from Lighthouse Brewery AND a pair of Chuck Taylors for the most aggressive rider AS WELL as series points gave all riders plenty of incentive to race hard from the start.

The course combined a tonne of features including sections of a BMX track, a muddy climb, wooded sections, chip trails, grass, barricades, grass turns, the velodrome, a concrete climb and a tough grass run up OR climb if you could make it. Good sections for every type of cross rider.

The day started off with the Elitewave Kids race. Over 30 kids on BMX bikes, mountain bikes and pocket bikes raced a modified course that had all the features of cyclocross — run ups, BMX whoops, off camber descents, tight corners and chip trail”¦”¦ some kids loved it SO much that they did 3 races. This is the future of cycling in Canada and the competition was ferocious!

Race #1: Beginner
It is always great to see some beginners out there (come on everyone bring a beginner to your next cross race!!). Taking the beginner category was long time cycling in Victoria personality, Lister Farrar (Oak Bay Bikes, Wheelers). While we were not planning on giving out a prize for aggressive riding in this category after seeing the competitive nature of Curran Hunter Jorgsma we had to award him with the Chuck Taylors. This 12 year old from Nanaimo is not fazed by anything in his 3rd season of racing cx. Race organizer Rob Logie installed a special set of cross wheels onto his girlfriend, Diana Rose’s 29er after she got excited helping set up the course. She was the lone female beginners entrant and spent the race battling with young Curran, neither was giving up an inch.

Race #2: Intermediate Men
The largest field of the day with 25 riders on the start line. Plenty of action in this category with Marcel Arden leading it out and taking the Lighthouse Brewery Prime, the Chuck Taylor most aggressive rider prize as well as the win ALL on a borrowed MTB with flat pedals and running shoes! Sean Lunny (OBB) who was returning to cross racing after two years said that they just could not stay with Marcel on the chip trail sections and some of the more technical sections of the course. Lunny was looking forward trying to catch 1st and 2nd (Colin Campbell, Escape Velocity) but also had his hands full with two of his employees, Ben Glassen and Matt Dawes both gunning for their boss and showing their technical skills. In the words of Ben, “On the second straight of the BMX track I doubled the first set, manual, double, manual, manual, manual”¦”¦.” Then I kind of lost track of what he said as he was blowing my mind!!! Get these two on a cardio program and Marcel on a cross bike and we have some more awesome riders!!!

Race #3: Master Men
We are slowly moving the age group up for our masters category in the series. From 30 to 35 this year. To answer some questions”¦.NO it is not based on my age!!

Andrew Brown (CVCC) rocketed from his front line position with Menno Jongsma (Frontrunners) and Steve Bachop (EverTi) on his tail. Steve Bachop is an amazingly accomplished runner from Victoria that races road and MTB events along with his running events. He was one of the few people that raced at the Victoria Running Festival on Sunday (placing top 10 in the 8k) as well as Monday at our event.

After the first full lap the lead group contained, Brown, Jongsma, Bachop and Canadian Masters Champion, Normon Thibault (Frontrunners). This group continued within 20 meters of each other until lap 3 when Jongsma hit the dirt in the forest section leaving Thibault to gap the chase group. Thibault monitored the situation closely through the next few laps growing his lead to 22 seconds and then letting it go back down to 4 seconds to allow 2 people to make it on the last lap without being lapped before the line.

Taking the Lighthouse Brewery Prime was Menno Jongsma. Andrew Brown claimed the Chuck Taylors before fading back to 5th place.

Also a mention goes to Bill McMillan (Arrowsmith) who rode the velodrome astro turf on a bare rim on the last lap for the last points position in 15th.

Peter Stevenson (Experience Cycling) was issued a warning for failure to wear his Canadian National Champion jersey to the club race and will be fined 50 Swiss Francs at the next Island Cross on the Rock series race if he does not comply. (kidding”¦)

Race #3: Women
The women’s race had a small but stacked field with former Mountain Bike World Champion Alison Sydor (Rocky Mountain/Haywood) on the line. However, her bars broke at the first set of barriers. Kurt Knock of Everti gladly lent her his custom cross bike but Wendy Simms (Kona — Yourkey.com) had a sizeable lead by then and could not be caught. The 2006 series leader Trish Sinclair rode solidly in third the entire race. However “hardcore awards” should definitely have been given to two of the women racers as Dawn Berg had an epic Thanksgiving weekend racing the Crescent Partk Cross race Saturday, the Victoria half marathon Sunday and then coming 4th at Turkey Cross. Karen Watson rode from the Swartz Bay ferry terminal to the venue, arrived 5mins before the start and then raced Turkey Cross.

Race #4: Expert Men
The 2006 U23 World Championship bronze medalist Max Plaxton (Rocky Mountain/Haywood) came out to Turkey Cross and toyed with the entire Expert field for 56 minutes and 36 seconds. He took the lead from the gun and established a sizeable lead in the first lap. He then proceeded to perform one legged drills around the velodrome while Kris Sneddon (Kona — yourkey.com) charged after him. The real race was behind them as Johnny Fokkema (Aviawest), Mat Hewitt (Oak Bay Bikes) and Craig Richey (aviawest) exchanged places to end 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively. However, Hewitt was by far the crowd favourite as he performed tricks on the BMX track every lap. Fokemma failed to report for a “random” drug test, as the racers mesmerized by his flowing golden locks questioned his gender. However, as there were no female officials on hand to do the testing, he was only issued a warning. (again”¦kidding)

Awesome racing. A lot of fun! Hope to see lots of people out for our next race in Duncan.

Tragic note: While all of us were very excited to be back racing cross at a new awesome venue on a great course all of the joy of the day was erased with the news that a close friend of ours, Denis Fontaine, as well as a good acquaintance and great champion of cycling in this province, Richard Juryn, died in a kayaking accident.

Article here.

Blog Pictures here.

Denis and Richard will be sadly missed by the athletic community in this province.
Our hearts go out to all their friends and their families

Next race on Vancouver Island and one of the few races to tune your skills for Nationals is the new race in Duncan, Cross in the Valley this Sunday the 14th at the Cowichan Fair Grounds. We will post the complete technical guide in the next couple of days. This will be a great course for beginners and for everyone else to practice their smooth turns and skills.

Pictures for this event can be found at:
Hundreds of images from my Camera here.
As well as hundreds courtesy of Roland Rabien here.

Full results for this event are posted here.

Series points will be updated in the next few days and will be posted on our web site as well.

www.island-multi-sports.com

Results

Race #1 Beginner Women
1. Diana Rose (Victoria) Oak Bay Bikes/Victoria Wheelers

Race #1 Beginner Men
1. Lister Farrar (Victoria) OakBay Bikes/Victoria Wheelers
2. Tony Wakelin (Victoria) Lazy-Boy
3. Jay Ruzicka (Saanichton) OakBay Bikes/Victoria Wheelers
4. Todd Humen (Duncan) OakBay Bikes/Victoria Wheelers
5. Justin Tavern (Victoria) OakBay Bikes/Victoria Wheelers
6. Michael Stoehr (Brentwood Bay) IRC
7. Curran Hunter Jorgsma (Nanaimo) OakBay Bikes/Victoria Wheelers
8. Bill Lane (Sidney) OakBay Bikes/Victoria Wheelers
9. Larry Croome (Nanaimo) OakBay Bikes/Victoria Wheelers

Converse Chuck Taylor most Aggressive Rider: Curran Hunter Jorgsma

Race #2 Intermediate Men
1. Marcel Arden (Victoria) 40:51
2. Colin Campbell (Cowichan) Escape Velocity 1:10
3. Sean Lunny (Nanaimo) OakBay Bikes/Victoria Wheelers 1:23
4. Trevor Jones (Shawnigan) Experience Cycling 1:59
5. Terry McKall (Victoria) OakBay Bikes/Victoria Wheelers 2:25
6. Jason Brooks (North Vancouver) Zimich Coaching 2:42
7. Andy Pitre (Victoria) 2:45
8. Paul Brend (Victoria) IRC 3:10
9. Mike Pollock (Cobble Hill) Experience Cycling 3:24
10. Kurt Knock (Duncan) Experience Cycling 3:25
11. Ben Glassen (Nanaimo) OakBay Bikes/Victoria Wheelers 3:43
12. Mark Adey (Victoria) OakBay Bikes/Victoria Wheelers 3:56
13. Jamie Emery (Victoria) Russ Hays 4:19
14. Kurtis Vallee (Victoria) Aviawest-Rocky Mountain 4:50
15. Jak New (Port Moody) Escape Velocity 4:56
16. Dave Shishcoff (Victoria) Organic Athlete 6:02
17. Daryly Chase (Port Alberni) AVR 6:02
18. Ron Edwards (Vancouver) 7:06
19. Lonnie Nathan (Campbell River) RCCC 7:20
20. Rolland Rabien (Victoria) Dr. Walker 7:21
21. Kevin Knock (Vancouver) OakBay Bikes/Victoria Wheelers 7:38
22. Malcolm Faulkner (Shawnigan) Dr. Walker -1 Lap
23. Nicholas Cowan (Victoria) OakBay Bikes/Victoria Wheelers -1 Lap
24. James Williams (Victoria) OakBay Bikes/Victoria Wheelers -1 Lap
DNF Matt Dawes (Victoria) OakBay Bikes/Victoria Wheelers

1st Lap Lighthouse Brewery Prime: Marcel Aarden
Converse Chuck Taylor most Aggressive Rider: Marcel Aarden

Race #3 Masters Men
1. Norm Thibault (Nanaimo) Frontrunners 44:36
2. Menno Jorgsma (Nanaimo) Frontrunners 0:04
3. Steve Bachop (Victoria) Everti 1:09
4. Sean Cruichshank (Victoria) Schwalbe 1:23
5. Andrew Brown (Comox) CVCC 2:04
6. Jason Sandquist (Duncan) Experience Cycling 2:38
7. Peter Stevenson (Duncan) Experience Cycling 2:54
8. Dave Nokak (Courtney) CVCC/Frontrunners 2:54
9. Graham Cocksedge (Powell River) Frontrunners 3:21
10. Aaron Dusseault (Victoria) Russ Hays 3:24
11. Robbie Bitz (Maple Ridge) Local Ride 3:54
12. Chris Birch (Ladysmith) Arrowsmith 4:54
13. Peter Wellsman (Victoria) Riders Cycle 5:41
14. Tony Z (Victoria) Victoria Wheelers 6:24
15. Bill McMillian (Nanaimo) Frontrunners 6:54
16. Dave Morris (Nanaimo) OakBay Bikes/Victoria Wheelers 7:54
17. Jeremy Hart (Victoria) Experience Cycling 8:24
18. Martin Machacek (Victoria) Organic Athlete 9:04
19. Rick Thiessen (Victoria) Bicisport 9:14
20. Dave Stevenson (Duncan) CVCC/Frontrunners 9:17
DNF Gary Croome (Nanaimo) Frontrunners
DNF Corey Piket (Nanaimo) OakBay Bikes/Victoria Wheelers
DNF Aaron Amar (Nanaimo) IRC

1st Lap Lighthouse Brewery Prime: Menno Jorgsma
Converse Chuck Taylor most Aggressive Rider: Andrew Brown

Race #3 Women
1. Wendy Simms (Nanaimo) Kona-YourKey 46:50
2. Alison Sydor (Victoria) Rocky Mountain/Haywood 2:20
3. Trish Sinclair (Victoria) Kona 3:10
4. Dawn Berg (Victoria) OakBay Bikes 5:20
5. Jaymie McGowan (Victoria) OakBay Bikes 6:10
6. Carey Sather (Nanaimo) Nanaimo Mtb. Club 6:30
7. Kristin Magnusson (Parksville) Arrowsmith Mtb. Club 7:00
8. Joele Guyaup (Victoria) IRC 7:30
9. Robin Nadig (Port Alberni) AVR -1 Lap
10. Tara Altmas (Cobble Hill) Experience Cycling -1 Lap
11. Karen Watson (Victoria) -2 Laps
DNF Sarah Stewart (Victoria) Wedgewood Cycling Club

1st Lap Lighthouse Brewery Prime: Wendy Simms
Converse Chuck Taylor most Aggressive Rider: Alison Sydor

Race #4 Expert
1. Max Plaxton (Victoria) Rocky Mountain 56:35
2. Kris Sneddon (Langford) Kona
3. John Fokkema (Victoria) Aviawest 0:20
4. Mat Hewitt (Victoria) Oak Bay Bikes 1:05
5. Craig Richey (Victoria) Aviawest 1:25
6. Thomas “The tank” Skinner (Victoria) Louis Garneau 1:45
7. Frederic Bussierre (Victoria) Xprezo 3:07
8. Jeff Riemer (Parksville) Arrowsmith 3:50
9. Russell Anderson (Victoria) Oak Bay Bikes 4:57
10. Troy Woodburn (Victoria) Giga-Bike/Lazy-Boy 5:07
11. Chris Hillier (Victoria) Oak Bay Bikes -1 Lap
12. Nick Berry (Vancouver) Mighty Riders -1 Lap
13. Evan Flater (Duncan) Aviawest -1 Lap
14. Jean-Sebastion Lareau (Victoria) Victoria Wheelers -1 Lap
15. Justin Mark (Nanaimo) Arrowsmith -1 Lap
16. Emile de Rosnay (Victoria) Organic Athlete -1 Lap
DNF Bryn Shapperd (Victoria) Arrowsmith
DNF Dan Skinner (Victoria) Total Restoration
DNF Kelly Guest (Victoria) Giant
DNF Drew McKenzie (Victoria) Straight-Up Cycle

1st Lap Lighthouse Brewery Prime: Max Plaxton
Converse Chuck Taylor most Aggressive Rider: Kris Sneddon