April 11, 2013 (Langley, B.C.) – March is supposed to “come in like a lion and go out like a lamb” and the last two weekends of the month in the Lower Mainland did just that… weather-wise that is. However the Escape Velocity Spring Series races were anything but tame during those last days of racing.

With two relatively flat(ish) courses on the weekend of March 23rd and 24th it came down to aggressive racing that made for tired legs.

Saturday’s Wix Brown course saw an attack and early break right off the start in the A’s. With almost all of the teams represented up front, the group got a big lead that held until the end. In fact the short course almost created a situation where the lead riders were going to lap the pack. Triple Crown Racing’s David Gerth outsprinted the last remaining breakaway riders for the win, with Cid Martinez of Russ Hay’s / Accent Inns and Ian Baldwin of Hagens Berman rounding out the podium.

The B group saw a bunch of breaks form that all looked like they would stick, but somehow the aggressive pack brought them back time and again. A good group of riders arrived at the line with Tritan Dimmock of Escape edging out two young riders with loads of talent and future ahead of them, Jackson Pickell of Local Ride Racing and Keifer Livingston of Devo finished in 2nd and 3rd.

The C group had the Mussete Cafe riders displaying their strengths by hoarding the podium with Christian Shubart Knapton, Kevin Hay, and Craig Dewar finish 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, respectively.

Sunday’s Long Course out in Aldergrove, with its punchy finishing climb tore most of the groups into shreads. Dave Gerth took his second victory in as many days with Colin Daw again on the podium for 2nd, and Jeff Werner of Russ Hay’s / Accent Inns finishing in 3rd.

The B group saw three new riders on the podium when John Irvine rode in 1st for a hard fought win ahead of Chris D’Arcy from Wedgewood and Arturo Suarez finishing in 3rd.

Same scenario with the C group as new riders made appearances on the podium. Cooper Rombold racing for Shuskan Velo won the day with Robert Hargrove coming across for 2nd and Jason Rhodes of Todd’s Racing rounding out the podium for 3rd.

The last weekend of the month was the largely anticipated dEVo Classic Stage Race. A morning criterium on Saturday followed by a TT later in the afternoon, with the Snake Hill Road Race on the Sunday made for some great racing. In all three groups, consistency ruled as the winners in each category scored points in each of the weekend’s disciplines.

The A group was won by Curtis Deardon of Russ Hay’s / Accent Inns who won the criterium in a confusing final sprint that saw the lead group catch the pack on the final lap. A podium placing in the TT and a 5th place in the Road Race earned him top honours over Garrett McLeod of Team H&R Block with Jordan Cheyne from Ride Okanagan rounding out the top three.

In the B group, Todd’s Racing’s Jake Howe stood on the podium in all three events to capture 1st place over Trevor Pearson of dEVo with Geoffrey Parslow of Todd’s Racing beating out two other riders all tied on points for 3rd place.

Amiel Flett of the Aboriginal Youth Cycling won in the tightest competition of the weekend in the C group. He passed Speed Theory’s Jeremy Hopwood who failed to score points in the Road Race, putting him in 2nd place with Craig Dewar of Musette Cafe rounding out the podium for 3rd.

More info about the EV Spring Series HERE.
More info about the EV Sportif Summer Series starting April 12 HERE.

Escape Velocity would like to thank all the riders for coming out and making this a great month of racing. We would also like to thank all our sponsors;
– Catalyst Kinetics Group, TRG Group Benefits, Sugoi, Cannondale, Continental Repairs, Roberts Composites, Bicicyle Sports Pacific, Velofix.