July 8, 2008 (Victoria, BC) – We promised an intense schedule, and racers were begging for mercy! Over 30 riders were out, about half from the mainland, half from Victoria, and we also welcomed a Seattle racer – TrackFest is now International! All were vying for a fairly hefty purse, and all went home with at least a few dollars, as well as delicious vegan pizza from The Joint and organic sodas.

Saturday opened with the OrganicAthlete Omnium, a shortened version of the UCI Omnium format, which challenged racers with the Flying 200m Sprint, the 500m ITT, a 2km Pursuit, 5km Scratch and 10km Points race.

The small all-Victoria C field saw Brian Belcher (Dr. Walker CC) in control in all events, 15yr old junior rider Will Holder (Schwalbe) held his ground finishing 2nd, and Even Guengerich (OrganicAthlete) edged out masters racer David Emery (OBB/Wheelers) by one point due to a strong 200m sprint. In the B field, another junior rider strutted his stuff, taking 1st overall by winning both bunch races was Craig Logan (Aviawest). Dr. Wayne Walker (self-titled 😉 took 2nd thanks to his dominant sprinting and strong pursuit, and mainlander Brandon Edwards (Escape Velocity) actually tied the good doctor in scoring, but his combined 500m and Pursuit times were not as favorable, regardless he ensured terra firma was represented on the podium.

The Women’s field saw Gillian Carlton (OrganicAthlete) and Laura Brown (Giant Canada) battle it out, Gillian took the sprint events, and Laura rode a very strong Pursuit, but in the end there can only be one in first, and that was the young Gillian after an impressive sprint from near the back of the pack in the Scratch race. In the A’s , it was no surprise that Don Gillmore (Schwalbe) aka ‘The Immortal’ demolished the tightly contested A field in both sprint events. With the exception of Don, almost all times (200m, 500m and 2km) were quite close, and the point spread wasn’t too far off. However, Scott Laliberte (Campione-Ratcliff) was certainly formidible, as was Murray Solem (Glotman Simpson) who edged out Alistair Howard (KONA-ADOBE) by one point for 3rd.

OrganicAthlete Victoria was proud to sponsor the Omnium, gave out over $700 in prizes to racers and spectators in a raffle, raising over $120 for the Save the Velodrome legal fund.

After a break we continued with the first two Madisons in this grueling series. Teams were chosen by the organizers in an effort to balance the event, with stronger riders pair with slower or less experienced riders, and for the most part this worked out well, and all enjoyed the experience of racing Madisons on a decidedly less-intimidating track than Burnaby. 😉

‘Team Canada’, featuring the sole junior rider in the A field Jacob Schwingboth (dEVo) was paired with Murry Solem, and they worked well together, winning three of the five events, and collecting the overall title. There was a JSD outbreak, and none could contain it! (JSD=Jacob Swingboth Disease) ‘Team Organizers’, with Glenn Barr (a 2008 Provincial Madison Champion, btw) and Dave Shishkoff (that’s me – bronze medal Madison rider as well) won the opening 3km Madison Pursuit, and remained near the top for the entire series, securing 2nd. Hot on their heels were Scott Laliberte and Malcolm Falkner as ‘Team Blue & White’ aka ‘Experience Plus Legs’. There were 7 teams on the track for each event, perhaps a record for Victoria in recent years! While Madisons have been immensely popular at the Burnaby velodrome, riders have been more hesitant to jump into the event on the island. Hopefully that will change, as the Madison will be featuring prominently in future events!

Sunday saw the series of Bunch Races interspersed with the Madisons; two were scheduled for Saturday evening, but when the Madisons were finished, only Madison riders remained! What kind of racers are these??

In the C’s , Brian once again remained unbeatable, despite also racing in the Madison tournament – the B’s and C’s were generally grouped together for these races, and he was often with the B’s ! Perhaps it’s time to upgrade. =)

David Emery managed to outride Holder in the bunch races, and Evan rounded out the C’s . In the B’s , fresh legs would make the difference as one-day rider Anthony King (Glotman Simpson) came out and won all the races he entered! The B’s were wearing thin at this point, many were also racing in the Madisons, and so Kevin Park (OrganicAthlete) was able to take advantage and collect 2nd, and Brandon Edwards collected 3rd overall in the B Bunch Race Series.

It was unfortunate for Laura Brown that she was the only women’s rider out on Sunday, but saw more of the ‘fortune’, meaning she automatically won the $100 women’s purse. She took advantage of the day by joining the in the Madisons (her first time!), and getting a good workout racing with the A men. Speaking of whom, in the Bunch Races, Scott Laliberte once more took top honors. Glenn Barr (RepsWest) surprised himself even by taking 2nd (thanks to numerous accidental lead-outs by the author 😉 and Chris Reid (KONA-ADOBE) edged out the Schwingbot for 3rd. Special thanks to Eric Waterman (Byrne Invent) of Seattle for coming all this way to race as well!

$1,400 in cash was divided out to the barely-able-to-walk racers, and several chose to donate it back to the club which resulted in another $150 being donated towards the Save the Velodrome legal fund.

Looking ahead, the second and final TrackFest ’08 event will be on the weekend of August 16th and 17th, and another $1,400+ will be up for grabs, plus all the riders who competed this weekend who attend the second event are eligible for the Series Championship, earning both TrackFest titles (and lovely imaginary jerseys), and part of the final $700+ Championship purse. The second TrackFest will be run with a similar format, featuring the OrganicAthlete Omnium, as well as the Madison and Bunch Races, both of which are seeking title sponsors! (Contact the GVVA if interested!)

A big thank-you to all our volunteers this weekend, especially Dave Richardson, Brenda and Tom Hobor, Mike Cooper, and John Errington and Bruce Falk for donating their time to put up with me…I mean commissaire. Also, a thank you to the kind contributions from The Joint pizza, Dr. Walker, Mike Cooper and Oak Bay Bikes and Aviawest for providing tents.

All results have been posted, and links to photos will be added as they become available here.

Hope to see you at TrackFest ’08 #2 – registration will be online shortly!

Dave Shishkoff
Director of Racing, Greater Victoria Velodrome Association