October 15, 2008 – Here is the latest cyclocross news from Ontario, including race reports from last weekend’s OBC Eastern Ontario Cyclo-cross Event #3, ZM Turkey Cross Report, and a preview for the upcoming Southern and Eastern Cross Series Challenge.

OBC Eastern Ontario Cyclo-cross Event #3 Report – October 12th, 2008
report by Bob Woods (Organizer)

Sunday morning provided beautiful weather for the Ottawa Bicycle Club’s Eastern Ontario Cyclo-cross Series visit to Almonte. Almonte is probably the most liked course on the circuit despite its challenging nature.

We were short a number of riders as many were off to Nationals in Edmonton and others to the big US event in Gloucester Mass. Still there were plenty of very good riders in attendance.

The first race saw a large field of 92 riders start with 2 laps of the athletic track and then on to the course. The loop was a long one, and first across was Jon Gee (Euro-sport/The Foodery), followed closely by Ron Amos (Ride With Rendall), Chris Olsen (The Cyclery) Matteo Dal-Chin (Independent) Eric Moody (Equipe C.G.R. ) and Greg Christie (Ride with Rendall). By the second lap Jon had a gap and riding even 10 minute laps, held on to the lead to the end and finished 1min and 30sec ahead of Greg Christie. Matteo raced well and finished in 5th place over all and 1st Jr man. Kathy Lewis (TI Cycle racing) riding her first Series race this year rode strongly and took 1st place woman. Kathy was the only woman to place on the same lap as the race leader. Yohan Patry (Espoir Laval) ad Carroll Roy (X-Cycle) rode to first place in the U17 Men and Master D categories respectively.

The second race saw 58 riders start the race. As Osmond Bakker was away, it was time for others to step up and see if they could take some first place points. The first lap proved uneventful, with a group of 8 rider crossing the line in a group. However, Craig Hawkes (EMD Serono Stevens) push and had a small gap as he cross the line for the start of the third lap. Aaron Fillion (Ottawa BC) was close behind and caught up. These two rode together until the last lap when Aaron make a decisive move and put a gap on Craig, and crossed with a 5 second lead. John Fee (The Cyclery), with his recently arrived son James looking on, came in as top MA. Jennifer Stephenson (Ultralink) rode comfortably and held a 1 min lead on Tricia Spooner ((EMD Serono Stevens/Cyclery) as she crossed first in the Elite Women’s category. The OCA’s Matthew Knight ( Cycle Solutions/Angry Johnny’s Racing) had a credible ride, placing 30th overall and 15th in the Elite Men field.

A number of small prizes, courtesy of Kunstead Sports, were handed out after the races to non-sponsored riders.

Click here for results.


ZM Turkey Cross Report – Cadervale Park, Toronto – October 12, 2008

Another great ZM cycle event. 150 riders took to on the challenging Cedarvale course that has become a classic on the Southern series calendar.

Click here for results.

Click here for more great photos for sale.


Southern and Eastern Cross Series Challenge – Lake Ontario Park, Kingston – Sunday October 19th, 2008

Don’t miss out on what could be the biggest cyclocross race in Ontario ever!

Important information:
– Two race starts: 10:30am and 12:30pm
– Southern and Eastern series points will be awarded
– Placings will help determine rider call ups at Provincial championships

There will be two races as usual. The Second race will be for Elite Men, Elite Women and Masters A/Master 1 (OCA Category). The first race is for all other categories.

In order to harmonize the UCI age categories for Masters that the OBC series uses and the categories that the OCA uses (ability based) the categories below will be used:

OBC/UCI Category – OCA Category – Race
– Master A/M1 – 2 (12:30)
– Master B/M2 – 1 (10:30)
– Master C/M3 – 1 (10:30)
– Master D – 1 (10:30)

All riders who have registered for the OBC Series (those having numbers up to 201) do not have to register on line with the OCA. You come to the race as usual and highlight your name on the white board (some have not been doing this, but please do so). You will use your same numbers for the race.

For those registering with the OCA site, please come to the registration table on race day, and have your UCI or Citizen Permit with you to show the registration people. You will be given your number then.

For those waiting to register until the day of, please remember to bring your UCI, or Citizen Permit or else you will have to purchase a one day permit. It is cash only – no credit cards! Give yourself lots of time do not show up 20 minutes before the race and expect to race.

On-line registration is $20 and closes Thursday at 11:59pm. Race day registration is $30.

If you have any questions, please email me at bacwoods@storm.ca as well, check the Series web site at www.cyclocross.org

Make it a full race weekend and race the Durham Cyclo-Cross Classic on Saturday.

December 4, 2007 – Here is the latest from the Ontario cyclocross scene, including news and results from the final race of the Eastern Ontario Series and the 2007 Cyclocross Final Club Challenge Standings.

Eastern Ontario Series Race #9

Well the last race of the 2007 season in Mooney’s Bay on December 2 proved to be one to remember! 52 hardy riders braved –12 C temperatures and a course with some deep snow on the ground, the threat of the seasons’ first snowstorm, and the occasional cross country skier. Due to the conditions, our usual 2 races were combined into 1 race, reminding riders of previous years.

Conditions on the ground proved to be passable, but required lot of running in the early stages of the race. As the race progressed riding condition actually improved with most riders riding the entire course by the last lap. Well “improved conditions” really meant that the hard crusty snow broke down to be soft snow, with a consistency that reminded riders of sand.

The last race of the season brings with it a final chance for riders to either move up the standings, or to protect their lead. As many riders chose not to ride due the conditions, a large number of points were up for grab for those who were hungry.

The race started with teammates from The Cyclery: Osmond Bakker and Derrick St. John escaping from the pack. Osmond and Derrick put time on the following pack every lap. Osmond and Derrick dropped 30 second every lap as the ground conditions became better. The chase group held together for a couple of laps, but conditions eventually pulled them apart. Derrick held onto Osmond until the final lap when a combination of Osmond pushing and Derrick getting behind a slower rider that Osmond crossed the line several second head. Ryan Atkins (phat moose cycles), Sylvain Jean (Expresso Sports form Quebec) and Steve Proulx (Stevens/The Cyclery) rounded out the top 5 riders overall and in the Senior Men category.

The Master A race saw an end to Paul Skafel’s recent string of 1st place finishes as he dropped behind Chris Westwood (The Cyclery) and Rob Orange (Ride With Rendall). In the Master B race, Paul O’Blenes rode a steady race placing ahead of Jon Gee (TI Racing) and Chris Olsen (Ride With Rendall). Jim Laird (TI Cycle) found himself in the unusual position of riding in the middle of the pack due to the combined race and finished ahead of Allan Cameron (Ride With Rendall). The Women’s race saw the women from the B field lead the Women’s race with Jen Adams (Ottawa Bicycle Club) riding to a comfortable cushion over Patricia Konantz (Ride With Rendall). U15 Yohan Patry (Espoir Laval) braved the weather conditions and drove from north of Montreal, and chased Junior Trevor Damen (Ottawa Bicycle Club) for most of the race. Trevor was able to hold him off as they both took their respective categories. Derrick Gee (Ottawa Bicycle Club) in the U13 category rode a strong race and had enough left to challenge Mike Nash (Ride With Rendall) for a finishing sprint.

The Series Awards Night will be held on Wednesday evening, the 5th of December. Trophies will be awarded for the top three riders in each category, and medals go to the 109 riders who rode more that half of the races (unless they are a trophy winner), including 9 riders who rode all 9 races of the series this year. A number of draw prizes will be drawn including a Stevens cross frame and 2 Prologue cross frames donated by The Cyclery and Eurosports.ca respectively.

For results, info and series standings, visit www.cyclocross.org

2007 Cyclo-Cross Final Club Challenge Standings

Ontario cyclo-cross racing experienced a year of tremendous growth. The Southern Series had a full calendar from the end of September until the end of November.

The Eastern Series run by the Ottawa Bicycle Club had huge fields all season long and The City of Ottawa can arguably claim to be the Cyclo-Cross Capital of Canada.

The 2007 Club Challenge cyclo-cross points are posted here.