November 10, 2008 – Round seven of the BC Cup of Cyclocross did not disappoint! The long standing course at Aldor Acres has hosted many a cyclocross battle over the years and the rainy west coast weather once again prevailed to create a mud filled day of racing. Race Director Basse Clement pulled out all the stops to ensure that the racers had a great course including chain sawing a fallen tree on race day morning. Over 100 racers braved the weather to fight for series points and compete for great prizes from event supporters Mavic, Kona, KINeSYS and Pedal.

The racing started with the Beginner class hotly contested with Kevin MacDonald (BSP) edging out Morgan Taylor (East Van CX) and Matt Kennedy coming in third. Heather King (Activelife Multisport) won the Women’s Masters ahead of Kathleen Negraeff (Team Wedgewood) and Barb Zimich (Zimich Coaching).

In the Women’s B race Kelsey Millar (Team Wedgewood) pedaled in ahead of Louise Oram and Debbie Low. The Men’s B race saw John Markez (Team Race BC), ahead of Andrew Lea (Team Coastal) and Ben Jackson (Escape Velocity). The Men’s Masters race was once again the largest category with Sean Howie (Reps West Racing) and Clayton Sansbury (Kona-Adobe) doing battle from the gun. Sean increased his overall series lead with the win over Clayton and Rick Rodland (Team Alliance) completed the podium. Jean Ann McKirdy (Local Ride) rode away in the Women’s A race, finishing ahead of Melanie Vanghan (Steed Cycles) and Karen Todd (Different Bikes).

The Men’s A race shaped up to be a tough battle with current BC Cyclocross Cup leader Kevin Noiles (Trek-Red Truck) put to the test as Kevin Calhoun (Rocky Mountain Different Bikes) put the power to the pedals and challenged the field to keep pace. Feeling the pressure of being on the event poster, Kona-Adobe’s Zack Garland dug deep to hang on for the win, “Sitting on his wheel was blinding, like riding with my eyes closed,” said Garland after the race.

Kevin Noiles and his team mate Sven Strum (Trek-Red Truck) were in hot pursuit with Dan MacDonald (Kona-Adobe). As the race and mud progressed, Garland recovered from Calhoun’s blistering opening pace and put in his own attack to build a 12-second lead. The Trek-Red Truck duo of Noiles and Strum worked well together but could not close the gap. In the end Zack Garland impressed on his Kona Jake to get his first cyclocross win of the season. Kevin Calhoun powered in for second place and Kevin Noiles finished third to maintain his BC Cup series lead with Strum and MacDonald completing the podium.

Unofficially, with two races left in the BC Cup Series Noiles holds a 12-point lead over Calhoun with Garland one point back in third. Now that Kona-Adobe’s Garland is getting the hang of cyclocross racing, it is bound to be a very close battle to the end of the Series.

For full race results and rider diaries, check the team site at www.steamerracing.ca Race images click here.

Special thanks to all the event supporters and racers for coming out to compete and help us raise funds for the MS Society. Also, thanks to Vince Lee and Contact Printing for once again providing spectacular event posters.

Good luck with the rest of your cyclocross season!