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Aurora Cross - C2
Canada, November 6, 2005
Johnson & Bessette make Canadian cross history
By Rob Jones
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One day after the Canadian cyclo-cross national championships, Canada's first ever UCI sanctioned C2 cyclo-cross event took place in Aurora, Ontario, just south of the Nationals site. While the majority of the field consisted of riders who had ridden the day before, there was one significant addition to the men's field: Lyne Bessette's husband and team mate Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com - Louis Garneau). The pair showed why they are considered among the top riders on the continent this season by riding away from their respective fields to record wins.
The Aurora course did not feature the wilderness terrain of the Nationals the day before at Hardwood Hills, but the organizers compensated with a circuit that twisted and looped around a recreational facility, creating, in fact, a course that men's National champion Peter Wedge (Kona Les Gets) said should have been the championship circuit.
Unlike the previous day, there were no torrential downpours, however, rain from the night before made the grass sections slick and treacherous, and wind gusts of up to 80 kilometres an hour had riders grovelling in the headwind sections.
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Bessette took control on the first lap of the women's race, but a slide out at the bottom of one descent spun her around 180 degrees and allowed Nationals silver medalist Wendy Simms (Kona Les Gets) to catch up. Bessette opened a gap again, but was much more cautious in doing so.
"Wendy is a strong technical rider, so I knew she would do well on this course. I could open up on the power sections, but she would gain some time back. I've been doing some technical races in the East, so I'm getting better, and I was able to hold my own."
Simms was having problems out on the course, which negated some of her technical skills. "I went down all over the shop; I had too much tire pressure. After I changed my bike it got better. But I'd make time up then I'd fall, then make time up ... so it was frustrating."
Bessette would eventually win by 27 seconds, with Tara Ross (Victory Brewing) making up for her fourth place in the Nationals with a third today. Stacey Spencer (Cycle Smart) took fourth. The win was Bessette's tenth consecutive one.
Tim Johnson, considered a favourite before the start, left no doubt in anyone's mind after a blazing fast 6:50 opening lap. Greg Reain (Steven's Racing), silver medalist a day earlier was the only rider to even attempt to challenge Johnson, and he was 20 second down by the second lap, eventually finishing 2:10 back.
"I know Peter well, but not Greg" explained Johnson, "so I wanted to give it a really good push at the beginning and see how he would go after yesterday. I was actually hoping for rain - I had set up the bike expecting a downpour - so the pressure in my tires was a little on the low side."
Reain, while not necessarily thrilled with two seconds in two days, was still happy with his weekend: "It wasn't too bad a weekend; I'm definitely racing at a higher level than last year."
Behind the front two there was a constant shuffling of positions for the first 5 laps (of 9). Nathan Chown (Italpasta) was the first to take up the chase, but then Wedge worked his way up to the chase group after a poor start and took control. Andrew Pinfold (Symmetrics) tried a flyer, but Wedge bridged up, followed by Espoir national champion Christian Meier (Symmetrics) and Matt Hewitt. Pinfold and Hewitt faded, leaving the two national champions (Elite and Espoir) to battle it out for third. With two laps to go Wedge finally opened a small gap in the technical sections, which he was able to hold to the line.
"Christian and I were really beating each other up all day." commented Wedge. "We were yo-yoing - I would take time in the technical bits and the sand, and then he would slowly come back up to me. I was just able to hold on to the end."
Race Notes
- It appears that Christian Meier may be slapped with a $1200 fine. UCI rules require that a national champion may not have sponsors on their national jersey for the first 24 hours after the jersey is awarded. Meier, who also is the Espoir road time trial champion, used his Symmetrics logo'd national champion's jersey in the race (allegedly, despite being warned not to).
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Marek Lazarski/www.lazarskiphoto.com
- Tara Ross (Victory Brewing) on the way to third place
- Jennifer Stephenson (Team Biovail) gets muddy on the way to fifth place
- Stacey Spencer didn't need to look worried as she rode to a solid fourth
- Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com - Louis Garneau) - yet another victory for the unstoppable Canadian.
- Wendy Simms (Kona Les Gets) uses the Force to take herself to second place.
- Christian Meier (Symmetrics Cycling - B.C.) gets his game face on.
- Nathan Chown (Italpasta - Transport Belmire) shows the effort.
- Peter Wedge (Kona Les Gets) hammers over the top.
- Tim Johnson (Jittery Joe`s - Kalahari) concentrates hard.
- Greg Reain (Stevens RT:Cycle Logik) takes the push option.
- Andrew Pinfold (Symmetrics Cycling - B.C.) steps up.
- Andrew Watson (GearsRacing.com) tackles the run-up
- Andrew Watson possibly didn't mean to sit right there
- Tim Johnson looks forward to a victory.
- Mathew Hewitt (Oak Bay Bicycles) executes a high-speed bike lift.
- Martin Lazarski (RockyMountain BusinessObjects) - the top under-23 MTBer turned in a solid seventh
- Greg Reain flying toward the finish
- The men's podium - Greg Reain (Stevens RT:Cycle Logik, 2nd), Tim Johnson (Jittery Joe`s - Kalahari, 1st), Peter Wedge (Kona Les Gets, 3rd)
Results
Elite/Espoir Men 1 Tim Johnson (USA) The Jittery Joe`s - Kalahari 1.04.46 2 Greg Reain (Can) Stevens RT:Cycle Logik 2.10 3 Peter Wedge (Can) Kona Les Gets (KLG) 2.58 4 Christian Meier (Can) Symmetrics Cycling - B.C. 3.11 5 Mathew Hewitt (Can) Oak Bay Bicycles 5.03 6 Andrew Watson (Can) GearsRacing.com 5.11 7 Martin Lazarski (Can) RockyMountain BusinessObjects 5.23 8 Andrew Pinfold (Can) Symmetrics Cycling - B.C. 5.47 9 Aaron Fillion (Can) Ottawa Bicycle Club 5.48 10 Peter Morse (Can) Chain Reaction 6.21 11 Nick Friesen (Can) Team Alberta:Bike Shop-AB 6.22 12 Ryan Belliveau (Can) Atlantic Cycling Center NB 6.34 13 Per Strom (Can) Bicisport CC - Alberta 6.48 14 Jonathan Card (USA) Cane Creek - MI USA 7.43 15 David Gagnon (Can) Sportif Bromont - QuÈbec 7.51 16 Tristan Galbraith (Can) Kona Les Gets (KLG) 8.10 17 David Coughlin (Can) 9.33 One lap behind 18 Jer Walker (USA) Cane Creek - MI USA 19 Rob Britton (Can) Team Saskatchewan Two laps behind 20 Travis Brown (Can) The Cyclery 21 Shawn Bunnin (Can) Team Saskatchewan 22 Shaun Adamson (Can) Team Alberta:United Cycle 23 Warren Tilbrook (Can) St. Catharines CC 24 Shawn Clarke (Can) The Cyclery 25 Timothy Carleton (Can) Sports Swap Racing 26 Brooke Boocock (Can) Cycle Logik Racing 27 John Roden (USA) Shickluna - NY 28 Mike Sarnecki (Can) Team Alberta:Pedalhead - AB 29 Keith Moore (Can) Waterloo CC/The Flying Dogs 30 John Fee (Can) Velocity Racing 31 Michael Dennis (Can) Midweek CC 32 Mark Stables (Can) 33 Alexander Fulton (Can) Ottawa Bicycle Club Five laps behind 34 John van Arragon (Can) The Hub Bicycle Club DSQ Nathan Chown (Can) Italpasta - Transport Belmire DNF Ryan Hopping (Can) Team Alberta DNF Benoit Simard (Can) Specialized Bikes - USA DNF Drew MacKenzie (Can) Sugio Factory T:Giant DNF Dave Brown (Can) BikeSports-Pfaff Racing Team DNF John Lamey (Can) DNF Shawn Marshall (Can) DNF Jarrod Forrest (Can) Cycle Cambridge.com-KICX 99.5 DNF Phil Cortes (Can) UC Sable - New Brunswick DNF Osmond Bakker (Can) Cycle Logik Racing DNF Kyle Rothwell (Can) Cavern Cycles - Sneaky Dees DNF Scott Kelly (Can) McMaster CC:Freewheel Cycle DNF Nicholas Vipond (Can) Team Hardwood Elite Women 1 Lyne Bessette (Can) 41.39 2 Wendy Simms (Can) Kona Les Gets (KLG) 0.27 3 Tara Ross (Can) Victory Brewing 3.04 4 Stacey Spencer (Can) 4.16 5 Jennifer Stephenson (Can) Team Biovail 5.39 6 Amanda Shaw (Can) Team Biovail 7.09 7 Sarah Robbins (Can) Team SK:SaskatoonC`ldia 7.36 8 Anne Schwartz (USA) 8.37 9 Jennifer Magur (USA) Team Biovail 9.21 One lap behind 10 Maogosha Pyjor (Can) Wheels of Bloor 11 Jaymie McGowan (Can) McMaster CC Two laps behind 12 Cynthia Phelan (Can) Velocity Racing U17 Male 1 Jared Stafford (Can) Cyclissimo Cycling Club 17.35 U15 Male 1 Noah Summers (Can) Newmarket Eagles CC 11.04 2 Conor O`Brien (Can) Ride With Rendall 0.23 3 Kiernan Orange (Can) Ride With Rendall 1.33 4 Jack Beers (Can) True North Cycles 2.42 Master 40-49 Men 1 David Dermont (Can) True North Cycles 40.20 2 Robert Orange (Can) Ride With Rendall 0.48 3 John E Kalinowski (Can) Chain Reaction 0.49 4 Peter Toth (Can) Team Alberta:ERTC/Redbike 2.49 5 Ian Starke (Can) 3.26 6 Tracy Shearer (Can) Juventus CC 3.30 7 Peter Hennessy (Can) 3.36 8 Adrian Jackson (GBr) 3.40 9 Thomas Stevens (Can) Cycle Logik Racing 3.54 10 Bobby Mrvelj (Can) Mississauga Bicycle Racing C 4.11 11 Jeff Hehn (Can) Saskatoon Cycledelia - SK 5.13 12 John Crumlish (USA) Westchester MBA - NY 6.52 13 Darko Antic (Can) 8.03 One lap behind 14 Philip Robinson (Can) Hup United - MA USA 15 Chris McDonald (Can) DNF Pierre Perrin (Can) Midweek CC Master 50-59 Men 1 Ed Campbell (Can) St. Catharines CC 41.20 2 Joseph Brown (USA) Flying Rhino CC - MI 3.13 3 Don Fox (Can) Team Alberta:Juventus CC 3.33 4 Richard Wade (Can) Newmarket Eagles CC 6.23 5 Martin Kohn (Can) 8.42 One lap behind 6 Rob Galbraith (Can) Bicycle Works 7 Graham Clarke (Can) 8 Francis Morrow (Can) Hamilton CC Two laps behind 9 Richard Jackson (Can) Master 30-39 Men 1 Normon Thibault (Can) Frontrunners - B.C. 39.16 2 Pascal Bussieres (Can) Biogen Idec - QC 0.06 3 Craig C Hawkes (Can) The Cyclery 0.37 4 Michael Wissink (USA) Specialized Bikes - USA 5 Luc Proulx (Can) …quipe Xprezo - QuÈbec 0.55 6 Derek Shiers (Can) Avanti Racing Club-Washington 2.32 7 Keith Bayly (Can) Deadgoat - Alberta 3.03 8 Paul Greene (Can) Chain Reaction 3.08 9 Kevin Simms (Can) Team Hardwood 3.17 10 Stephane Deshaies (Can) St. Catharines CC 3.34 11 Emile Fromet de Rosnay (Can) 3.44 12 Steve Proulx (Can) The Cyclery 3.49 13 Pierre Boilard (Can) Biogen Idec - QC 3.50 14 Chris Wood (Can) Waterloo CC/The Flying Dogs 4.04 15 Steve Holditch (Can) Waterloo CC/The Flying Dogs 5.16 16 Pavle Stanojevic (Can) Mississauga Bicycle Racing C 17 Marc Boudreau (Can) Ride With Rendall 18 Chris Kiziak (Can) BikeSports-Pfaff Racing Team 6.08 19 Richard Strong (Can) Waterloo CC/The Flying Dogs 6.27 20 Brian Haum (Can) 6.46 21 Zachary Steinman (Can) Waterloo CC/The Flying Dogs 6.55 22 Abbey Garnett (USA) 8.28 23 Andre Charlebois (Can) Mike`s Bike Shop - NB 8.56 24 Andrew McRae (Can) FranksRedHot:Aztech 8.59 25 Stephane Marcotte (Can) Cycle Solutions 9.30 26 Greg Black (USA) Test Pilot - NY 9.55 27 Sam Babe (Can) 10.05 28 Erick Begin (Can) Lapdogs Cycling 10.31 29 Scott Gerrie (Can) Team Biovail 10.43 30 Clifford Vanclief (Can) The Hub Bicycle Club 10.44 One lap behind 31 Roaul Khan (Can) ZM Cycle & Fitness CC 32 Joel Rose (Can) Waterloo CC/The Flying Dogs 33 Alex Sanna (Can) Waterloo CC/The Flying Dogs 34 Roderick Olliver (Can) Forest City Velodrome Assoc. 35 Brian Tait (Can) 36 Brian Rogers (Can) Brampton CC DNF Matthew Berridge (Can) DNF John McCormick (Can) The Hub Bicycle Club DNF Michael Lowry (USA) Minuteman Road Club - MA DNF Glenn Cameron (Can) BikeSports-Pfaff Racing Team Master Women 1 Nicola Mann (Can) Avanti Racing Club-Washington 37.45 2 Martha Handford (Can) IndependentFabrication-MA 3.18 3 Carolyne Haill (Can) Chain Reaction 4.05 4 Tabitha Ferguson (Can) Waterloo CC/The Flying Dogs 5.10 5 Vicki Thomas (Can) Ride With Rendall 5.18 6 Alana Cassidy (Can) Saskatoon Cycledelia - SK 6.34 7 Sarah Beers (Can) True North Cycles 7.04 8 Heidi Nixdorf (Can) True North Cycles 8.22 9 Patty Tetreault (Can) Rock`N`Road CC - Sackatchewan 10.05 10 Prisca Natterer (Can) True North Cycles 11.52 One lap behind 11 Michelle Jackman (Can) Franks Red Hot Junior Men 1 Mike Bidniak (Can) Team Alberta:Juventus CC 41.35 2 Garrett McLeod (Can) Valley Stove and Cycle - NS 0.55 3 Tim Clarke (Can) Canary Cycles - Newfoundland 2.25 4 Zachary Winn (Can) Impala Bicycles 4.20
