September 19, 2006 – Darko Ficko (La Bicicletta/J. Lindeberg) set a course record in 49:44 at the Provincial Time Trial Championships on September 10, 2006 at Wellandport. Sponsored by the St. Catharines Cycling Club for the second year in a row, the event ran like clockwork for the 220 racers lining up between 9:01a.m. and 12:40 p.m. During the first part of registration and warm up, light rain drizzled down on the gathering crowd. It quickly let up and the roads were soon dry.

Suspense built during the morning as many racers were finishing with personal bests. Overcast skies, very light winds, and new pavement on the flat course along the Welland River made for the fast times. Although the start changed slightly from last year, racers were informed that the course was about 200 meters short of a full 40 km. Regardless, racers were very enthusiastic about the course, the venue, and their results.

Michael Moore, head of Team R.A.C.E. of Mississauga, was second in the Elite Men category in 50:43. Michael’s summary of the course and the event was a resounding “Awesome!” Michael also bettered his 2005 time by 43 seconds. Ian Young, St. Catharines CC and a pro-level triathlete, was third in 51:42. Ian was unavailable to accept his award later at the ceremony as he had packed up his bike to go and compete in a triathlon that same day. We were informed that it was a short event!

Merrill Collins (La Bicicletta/J. Lindeberg) won the Elite Women’s event in 55:38. Sue Schlatter (Fresh Air Experience) was second in 56:49 followed by Heather Davidson-Meyn (Wheels of Bloor) in 58:35. Merrill commented that “It was a hard race, very difficult,” and that she hadn’t been feeling her best.

At the awards ceremony, Merrill Collins showed her vivacious spirit and delighted the audience by turning the Ontario Cup upside down on her head to pose for photos. Darko Ficko quietly accepted his Ontario Cup for third place male racer. Merrill’s was a tough act to follow.

When asked about the event, Darko had many superlatives for us. “It’s the best time trial course ever, I loved it.” “It’s the way a time trial course should be, flat and fast.”

St. Catharines CC member Willie Coyle noticed an interesting phenomenon during the awards ceremony, that the Master B men’s winning times were faster than the Master A men’s times. David Jack (St. Catharines CC) took the championship jersey in the Master B group with a time of 51:15. Geoff Banner (Jet Fuel Coffee) was nine seconds behind at 51:24. He was followed by Bert Candela, also of Jet Fuel Coffee, in 52:15. Master A winner Stirling McArthur (Cycle 4 MS) won with a time of 54:21, followed by Lorne Anderson (La Bicicletta/ J. Lindeberg) in 54:29, and Brian Lee (St. Catharines CC) in 54:30. The top five racers in this category were in the 54-minute range.

For the first time ever, the Ontario Cycling Association opened a category for Master B women. Interestingly, like the Master Men B, they were faster than the Master A winners. And several of them qualified for a potential Masters C category. Master B winner Janet Silman (Thunder Bay CC) posted a time of 1:01:13. She was followed by Lynne Vaughn-MacDonald (Owen Sound CC) in 1:03:41 and Kristina Mayberry (Independent) in 1:04:32. The top Master A woman was Leigh Bianco (Cyclissimo Cycling) in 1:03:58 followed by Andrea Bowker (D’Ornellas/ Delta Graphics) in 1:04:38 and Tabitha Ferguson (Waterloo Cycling/The Flying Dogs) in 1:05:12.

A record number of youngsters posted excellent times on the 15 Km course, as did Master B paralympian Gord Toneguzzo. Racers from a 10-year old to 74-year old Ernie Regan (Forest City Velodrome & London CC) enjoyed the event.

The St. Catharines Cycling Club would like to thank the Niagara Regional Police, St. John’s Ambulance, Canadian Pacific Rail, and the Reform Church and School of Wellandport. The school offered their facility and provided an excellent homemade chili and cherry pie lunch. CP Rail ensured no trains were scheduled over the crossing at River Road and even provided a CP Rail police officer at the crossing for added protection.

Racers left the facility with OCA medals, trophies, championship jerseys and personal best times, happy that the racing weather was good and the course was excellent.