July 17, 2010 (White Rock, BC) – Will Routley and Andrew Pinfold emptied their tanks trying to beat each other to the top of Friday’s Tour de White Rock Hillclimb. But there was no argument when both riders were asked to rank the difficulty of the lung-burning race up from White Rock beach.

Despite racing their bikes professionally all over the world, Routley and Pinfold agreed that nothing compares to the leg melting 700-meter ascent up a 16 per cent grade to the top Buena Vista Avenue.

That goes double since organizers decided a few years ago to add some excitement to the race by making the top-5 riders from the first heat go back to the bottom for a winner-take-all drag race back up the hill.

At least Routley got to console himself with a victory after answering a late attack by Pinfold to win the grueling climb by a bike length. “As far as prologues go, that’s 10 times harder than anything else. It’s terrible,” said Routley, a 27-year-old Whistler native now racing for US-based Jelly Belly Pro Cycling. “It’s just the right length that you can go hard all the way to the top and you kind of blow up right at the line. I don’t think I feel that loaded with lactate at any other time, and then to go down there and have to do it all over again. It is just punishment.”

Routley, who won the Canadian National Road Race Championship late last month, has plenty of experience with White Rock’s steep ascents. The former mountain biker also won the 2008 hillclimb.

“You almost want to not go 110 per cent the first time because you can save enough for the second time up,” he said. “I don’t want to go too slow and let someone like Pinfold sprint on the flat at the top and beat me, but at the same time I don’t want to take off too early because whoever starts it off too early everyone sits on him and goes around him. That’s what happened when I won two years ago and that’s what happened this time. You have to time it just right.”

Pinfold, an exceptional sprinter from the American United Healthcare Pro Cycling team, was hoping the pace would stay slow enough for long enough to allow him to win with a late burst. It was close.

“I attacked at the steep part knowing I could probably hold it to the finish and Will was just faster,” said Pinfold, who won the Tour de White Rock overall title last year. “As far as suffering for two minutes, that pretty much takes the cake. There are not many sprints where I just lie down over the top of my handlebars. I know I gave it my all when I do that.”

Routley was actually the second fastest up the first time, just behind the one minute, 42 second pace set by Nic Hamilton of Vancouver’s Trek Red Truck. But Hamilton finished off the podium after a late charge ended up just short – by the width of a wheel – of Shawn Bunnin from Kelowna’s Total Restoration Cycling, who threw his bike at the finish line.

“When it gets steep you’ve got to show your cards,” said Bunnin. “Will showed his and he had a pretty good hand. Then it’s just a fight to the line and trying to keep your lunch down. I laid it all down with 100 meters to go, but couldn’t shake Nic. He was coming good and I saw him coming out of the corner of my eye and knew it was going to be tight, so I kept a little in reserve for a bike throw and I guess it paid off.”

Total Restoration moved up two places on the podium in the women’s race, and it was perhaps fitting the winner was familiar with pain. “Evil,” said winner Jessica Hannah. “Sometimes you are dreading it, especially when you hear you are going back up again and your lungs are still on fire. But once you’re on the starting line you are good.”

Hannah was second to Joelle Numainville’s two minutes and 14 seconds in the first race. But with the sun setting over the Bay in the background, Hannah wisely pulled away from Webcor’s Numainville, an elite sprinter from Quebec who recently won the Canadian Road Race championship.

“I just didn’t want to be anywhere near her in the last couple hundred meters,” said Hannah, a Kelowna native who won the BC Road Race championship in 2009 and was third this year. “So on that last steep pitch when everyone was slowing down a bit, that’s where I attacked.”

Lauren Roschen of the Vancouver-based Westwood Cycle trade team also managed to stay ahead of Numainville, who finished third. For Hannah, the painful ascents were nothing compared to being hit by a car in 2001, an accident that kept her from competitive cycling for seven years.

Hannah returned to race for Giant before moving to her hometown Total Restoration team, and has enjoyed success at the historic Tour de White Rock before, finishing third in the overall standings last summer. “I like the hills here,” Hannah said.

After Friday night, she may have been the only one. The 31st Tour de White Rock continues with the Maximum Collision Criterium Saturday and concludes with the Peace Arch News Road Race on Sunday. For more information go to www.bcsuperweek.ca.

More Greg Descantes photos here.

Results

Elite Women

1. Jessica Hannah (Can) Total Restoration Cycling Team by position
2. Lauren Roschen (USA) Westwood Cycle/Cannondale p/b Vision Sports by position
3. Joelle Numainville (Can) Webcor Builders by position
4. Rachel Mcbride (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling by position
5. Amy Dearden (Can) Keller Rohrback by position
6. Heather Kay (Can) United Cycle by position
7. Laura Brown (Can) Total Restoration Cycling Team 02:21.0
8. Shoshauna Laxson (USA) Trek Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes 02:22.0
9. Margaret Pugh (Can) Westwood Cycle/Cannondale p/b Vision Sports 02:26.0
10. Kristine Brynjolfson (Can) Westwood Cycle/Cannondale p/b Vision Sports 02:27.0
11. Jasmin Glaesser (Ger) Total Restoration Cycling Team 02:27.0
12. Jenny Lehmann (Can) Mighty Riders 02:29.0
13. Naomi Cooper (Can) Trek Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes 02:31.0
14. Andrea Bunnin (Can) dEVo Escape Velocity 02:32.0
15. Megan Rathwell (Can) Aviawest/Blue Competition Cycles 02:34.0
16. Courtney Albert (Can) Trek Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes 02:35.0
16. Shailie Sanbrooks (Can) Russ Hays Cycling Club 02:35.0
16. Leslie Vice (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling 02:35.0
16. Angela McClure (Aus) Webcor/ Alto Velo 02:35.0 +1 sec
18. Leah Kirchmann (Can) Trek Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes 02:38.0
19. Sarah Stewart (Can) Total Restoration Cycling Team 02:39.0
20. Marie-Claude Gagnon (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling 02:40.0
21. Rachel Canning (Can) Local Ride Racing 02:44.0 +1 sec
22. Morgan Cabot (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling 02:50.0
23. Lisa Rogers (Can) Independent 02:52.0
24. Annie Ewart (Can) Trek Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes 02:53.0 +1 sec
25. Erin Redl (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling 02:57.0
26. Jennifer Kohm (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling 03:16.0
DNS Sarah Coney (Can) Independent

Elite Men

1. Will Routley (Can) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda by position
2. Andrew Pinfold (Can) UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling by position
3. Shawn Bunnin (Can) Total Restoration Cycling Team by position
4. Nic Hamilton (Can) Trek Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes by position
5. Bailey Mcknight (Can) Synergy by position
6. Sebastian Salas (Can) Team H&R BLOCK 01:47.0
7. Justin Kerr (Can) Team H&R BLOCK 01:48.0
8. Garrett McLeod (Can) Team H&R BLOCK 01:49.0
8. Mike Sidic (Can) Team H&R BLOCK 01:49.0
10. Cyrus Kangarloo (Can) Total Restoration Cycling Team 01:49.0
11. Aaron Schooler (Can) Team H&R BLOCK 01:49.0
12. Christian Meier (Can) Garmin – Transitions 01:50.0
12. Jesse Reams (Can) Garneau Evolution 01:50.0
14. Marsh Cooper (Can) Kelly Benefit Strategies 01:51.0
14. Dustin Andrews (Can) Team H&R BLOCK 01:51.0
16. Dan MacDonald (Can) Total Restoration Cycling Team 01:52.0
16. Mike Rothengatter (Can) dEVo 01:52.0
18. Jeffrey Werner (Can) Garneau Evolution 01:53.0
19. Steven Devantier (Can) Local Ride Racing 01:54.0
20. Jason Kilmartin (Can) Balance Point Racing 01:56.0
20. Curtis Deardon (Can) Garneau Evolution 01:56.0
20. Chris McNeil (Can) Team H&R BLOCK 01:56.0
20. Cheyne Hoag (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies 01:56.0
20. Matthew O’Hagan (Can) Garneau Evolution 01:56.0
25. Mike Elliston (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling 01:57.0
25. Guy Biggar (Can) Garneau Evolution 01:57.0
27. Marvin Guzman (Can) Independent 01:58.0
28. Bart Ludbrook (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling 01:59.0
29. Svein Tuft (Can) Garmin – Transitions 02:01.0
30. Cuylar Conly (Can) Westwood Cycle/Cannondale p/b Vision Sports 02:03.0
31. Roman Kilun (USA) UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling 02:04.0
32. Allan Prazsky (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling 02:06.0
33. William Goodfellow (Can) BikeReg.com/Cannondale 02:09.0
34. Kyle Buckosky (Can) Team Coastal 02:10.0
34. Boris Martin (Can) Trek Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes 02:10.0
36. Bradley Clifford (Can) ERTC Revolution 02:12.0
37. Christopher McGarity (Can) Garneau Evolution 02:13.0
38. Zachary Young (Can) Local Ride Racing 02:15.0
38. Geoff O’Toole (Can) Garneau Evolution 02:15.0
38. David Gillam (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling 02:15.0
41. Ryan Anderson (Can) Kelly Benefit Strategies 02:16.0
42. Geoff Macdonald (Can) ERTC Revolution 02:17.0
43. Dan Skinner (Can) Trek Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes 02:20.0
44. Alex Candelario (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies 02:22.0
45. Adam Thuss (Can) Trek Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes 03:05.0
46. Jamie Sparling (Can) Total Restoration Cycling Team 03:22.0
DNS Morgan Schmitt (USA) UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling
DNS Adrian Hegyvary (USA) UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling
DNS Mark MacDonald (Can) Team H&R BLOCK
DNS Jacob Schwingboth (Can) Team H&R BLOCK
DNS Tyler Trace (Can) Trek Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes
DNS Mathew Bell (Can) Trek Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes
DNS Nathan MacDonald (Can) Trek Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes
DNS Marcel Aarden (Can) Total Restoration Cycling Team
DNS Tim Abercrombie (Can) Garneau Evolution
DNS Andrew Kyle (Can) Garneau Evolution
DNS Rory McAdams (USA) Glotman Simpson Cycling
DNS John Perkins (Can) Glotman Simpson Cycling
DNS Maurice Worsfold (Can) Team Coastal
DNS Chris Worsfold (Can) Team Coastal
DNS David Stephens (Can) Team Coastal
DNS Stephen Ferris (Can) Calgary Cycle/top gear
DNS Cody Campbell (Can) Trek-Livestrong U23
DNS Hugh Trenchard (Can) Dr. Walker Chiropractor