October 17, 2008 – The cyclocross course at Providence Farm will be one of the fastest and most scenic races of the season to date!! The course starts off with a swift and challenging descent into a 200 m stretch of bumpy field at the base of Mount Tzouhalem. A few short but humbling climbs, fun twisty sections on footpaths through the trees, a nice muddy stretch, obstacles and “¦ for the rest you must come and see for yourself! The forecast looks good! I just got the report on the prizes and there are LOTS (Kona , Norco and Specialized coming in as additional sponsors for this race)! For the first time in the series this year there will be a kids race and the usual categories for beginners, intermediate men, women, masters and elite.

There are toilets on site. There is a sheltered area for registration and food and spectators. Please stick to the course or the roads for warming up etc. There are gardens and grassy areas that we are not allowed to ride through so when in doubt stick to the road. There will be other people using the site on Sunday so make sure to represent the sport (and yourself”¦ I will not expand further) well. We would like to be welcomed back to this venue as it is a great one so please keep that in mind.

Any help with cleaning up after the race would be appreciated.

I look forward to seeing you there!!

Tara Altimas – Race Director

Event Schedule
Registration: 11:00-1:55 (up to 20min before your race)
Pre-Riding: Course open for pre-riding from 11:00-11:55
(NO PRE-RIDING WHEN RACES ARE IN PROGRESS)

BEGINNER ONLY Clinic and Pre-Ride with Sean Lunny from Oak Bay Bikes in Nanaimo will be at 11:15. You need to be registered and you need to be a beginner to go in this mini-clinic. Sean will show you the course, go over basic skills and answer any questions”¦.but again”¦.for BEGINNERS.

– Beginner Race: 12:00-12:45 (race approx 30min for 1st person). Divided into men and women.
– Pre-ride: 12:45-1:00
– Intermediate Race: 1:00-1:45 (approx 40min for 1st person)
– Pre-ride: 1:45-2:00
– Kids race: to be determined (1:45-2:00)
– Master’s and Women’s Race: 2:00-3:00 (approx 45min for 1st person)
– Expert: 3:15-4:15pm (60 min for 1st person)


Awards Schedule
Awards for beginner and intermediate follow the intermediate race. Awards for Masters Women’s and Elite to follow the Elite race.

Directions
From Victoria: Head North to Duncan. Turn RIGHT onto Trunk Road. Follow Trunk for approximately 1km. You will go through 2 sets of traffic lights and pass a 7-11. Once past the 7-11 you will be on Tzouhalem Road. Carry on through the traffic circle (straight through) for approximately another 2-3kms. Providence Farm is on the left. Just before the white church and the graveyard. It comes up quickly so be watching after you go through the traffic circle.

Map links:

For those coming from south of Duncan, view the map here.

From Nanaimo: Head South to Duncan. Turn LEFT onto Trunk Road. Follow the above directions from this point on.

Map links:

For those coming from north of Duncan, view the map here.

Event Categories
Kids: Self explanatory”¦”¦short race. Might shorten the track. Any bike. Any age. Parents welcome to ride along. Fun is the focus.

Beginners: All men and women beginner racers who are not quite ready for the other categories. These racers will have done none, one or two cross races and feel they are not ready to move up. We will have a separate start and results for men and women if there are more than 5 people per gender.

NOTE: There is a feeling that after 3 races you MUST move out of beginner”¦.that is not the case”¦.IF you feel like you should still be racing beginner than please do so. If you are killing all the beginners each race”¦well then we will probably ask you to move up. Most importantly we want you to come out and have fun with as little pressure as possible.

Women: All women unless they are beginners. We will have a separate start for women with the Masters Category.

Masters: All Masters level racers that are 35+ years old. Masters level racers may also choose to race in the Expert category if they feel they want the extra heat.

Intermediate: Category 4 and 5 licensed road riders (or MTB Novice or Sport)

Expert: Category 1, 2 and 3 licensed road riders (or MTB Elite Expert or Sport) If we feel you are sandbagging then we will “politely” ask you to move up a category or two.

Registration Information
– This event is a GRMBA sanctioned event (www.grmba.ca). You do NOT have to have a GRMBA license to participate in this event. IF you do have a GRMBA license then GREAT you MUST present it: SORRY no exceptions. IF you do not have one or do not have it with you then it is only an additional $5 to race for that day. Please don’t let $5 decide if you are going to race these events or not! There are few events that you do not need a license for left and fewer that if you don’t lave a license that it is only $5 extra”¦.
– Sorry a Cycling BC, Masters Cycling BC or other cycling association license does not cover you for this or any of our series events for this year.
– There will be no pre-registration for this race.
– All registration will be done on-site up to 20 minutes before each event.
– Entry fee is $20 for Masters, Women, Expert and Intermediate.
– For Beginners the race entry fee is $10 with or without a GRMBA license. No license needed to race in Beginner category.
– Learn to race cyclocross clinic is Free for all registered racers in any category. 11:15 for Providence Farm
– NOTE: You must be registered before you do the clinic.

Event Rules
– Good sportsmanship and fair play are our number one rule!
– These races are designed to be fun “club” level events. This is not to say that they will not be challenging or competitive BUT we are not as serious as some other events out there.
– Riders must posses a current GRMBA club license or pay an for a one day GRMBA license ($5 at our events). Beginners exempt.
– All events are open to any type of bike; road, mountain or cross. A cross bike should be your first choice followed by a mountain bike”¦.road bikes will not enjoy our courses”¦
– Call up at the first series event at Diver Lake is RANDOM to give everyone an equal chance of getting the front line and also making it so you don’t have to go to the line so early. From event #2 onwards call up will be based on series points for those ranked and then random for all remaining racers.
– All riders will finish on lap following the leader finishing the race.
– Other than these specific rules regular cross rules and common sense will dictate everything else.
– The race organizer and or official have the final say in everything!
– At Cross on the Rock events racers are not pulled if they are lapped by the leaders of their event. All racers finish on the lead racer’s lap so you are never more than one lap down nor do you race much longer than the leader of your race. IF you do not finish on the lead racer’s lap then you will receive a DNF.

Series Rules
– Points will be given out in to all participants in each category with the exception of beginners. If you move up from intermediate or masters to expert during the year you will retain 50% of your points.
– Because we have 6 events this year for the first time we will have a throw away for your worst result/missed event.

The last race is double points and thus will be double the above point break down. Series prizes will be presented at the last event at Beban Park provided by Crankbrothers!

Special Thanks to for Experience Cross:
To Providence Farms for agreeing to let us use this spectacular venue!!! Our Race Director, Tara Altimas. Our host Cycling Club; Experience Cycling Club. Our Local Bike Shop Supporter; Experience Cycling in Duncan. Our Host; Providence Farm. Supporting and Additional Sponsors for this event; Kona (again), Specialized and Norco.

Any Questions?
Feel free to contact me at this e-mail address.
Normon Thibault at normont@islandnet.com
www.island-multi-sports.com

Cross on the Rock is brought to you by our awesome sponsors:

Organized by:
Multi-Sport Promotions in Partnership with the following cycling clubs: VICC, Experience Cycling Club, UROC, Arrowsmith MTB Club and IRC

Supported by:
OBB Victoria and Nanaimo
Trail Bikes in Courtenay
Experience cycles in Duncan
Frontrunners in Nanaimo
Straight Up Cycles in Victoria

Sanctioned by:
GRMBA