This is not the traditional sequence but the Women’s A battle has been so close all year I feel that this deserves the first mention. Kelly Knowles from Peak Ottawa and Alison Wood from Peak Vancouver have traded wins and podium spots throughout the year, and the title was to be decided this week. The advantage went to Kelly with her 3.4 second victory over Alison landing her all 20 points and most importantly three bonus points. Alison did not set a personal record time and this was the clinching factor for Kelly as she took the series by a three point margin! Their respective finish times were 40:43.3 and 40:46.7. Coming in third place for the final stage was Summer Ohlendorf from SBR Coaching Wisconsin with a time of 41:19.1. This podium finish allowed Summer to land herself a GC bronze, just three points ahead of Carol Deavy from Peak Ottawa who has been a strong contender all season. Well done ladies you have given us some awesome racing!

The fastest time for Stage 12 went to Alexandre Gagnon from Peak Ottawa. Alexandre took the gold in style with his sixth win of the season with a super fast time of 37:01.9– again showing how having the highest average watts/kg is a stage winning factor. In second place was powerhouse Kory Seder from SBR Coaching Wisconsin. Even though Kory was nursing an ankle injury sustained whilst scoring in a soccer game he still managed a more than respectable finish time of 37:16.1, only 15 seconds off the win. Making his second podium of the series (his last was on the OTT too) was Mr. consistency, Glenn Budgell from Peak Ottawa. Glenn is always in the mix for points in Men’s A and his strong finish time of 38:00.0 was enough to place on the final stage podium. With all the points totaled it may not come as a surprise that we are to congratulate Alexandre Gagnon for taking the Men’s A GC win. Alexandre’s win is fully deserved after winning half of the stages, all three KOM points stages, and only failing to podium on one occasion (where he placed fourth). A total of 174 points was enough to secure the gold, 19 points ahead of Sam Janicki from Tri-Fitness Minnesota who seems to have been distracted by the nice weather over the last couple of weeks. A further 20 points behind and taking the GC bronze is Dwayne Kress from Challenge By Choice Squamish, who again showed that consistency is the key to success.

Men’ A seems to be the only category where the overall title was settled by more than three points. This week in Women’s B it was Michelle Newton from Peak Vancouver that dominated the Time Trial course to set a personal record time and take the stage win – her third in a row! Michelle’s finish time was 43:14.5. Coming in second place and finding podium form once more was Candace Anderson from Peak Ottawa. Candace had three consecutive fifth place finishes before Stage 12, but her 44:10.3 finish time this week shot her back to the podium for silver. After racing the first Original Time Trial back in stage three, Claudia Edwards from Peak Vancouver returned to the series for Stage 12 following what can only be assumed as hard training as she took the final podium spot in a time of 44:13.6 – a mere 3.3 seconds shy of second. In a similar fashion to Women’s A, the B category GC winner was decided by a three point margin; in fact, the top four ladies were separated by only five points. After all was said and done it was Peak Burlington’s superstar Melanie Shields that ran away with the gold medal, with a point total of 116. In second place with 113 points was Candace Anderson, who’s finish this week proved vital as she finishes one point ahead of her Peak Ottawa teammate Emily Flynn. Congratulations to these three ladies along with Michelle Newton, Claudia Edwards, and Kerri Labrecque who earn themselves promotion into Women’s A for the Fall season following their top performances in this weeks course.

Last but not least we move on to Men’s B, again another category that has been hard fought all season long. The man that led the pack this week was Bill Martin from SBR Coaching Wisconsin with a commanding winning time or 38:43.2. Peak Vancouver’s Bob McLaren had the ride of his life this week as he raced into second place and his first podium of the season after finishing in 40:23.8 – saving the best till last Bob! Bob was closely pushed by fellow Vancouverite John Forsyth who landed himself the final podium position by finishing in 40:36.6. The overall title came down to the wire once more, and following trend the win was sealed by a three point gap. The victor after the dust settled was Peak Vancouver’s John Forsyth, who has had a really strong season from start to finish. John earned this win with nine podium spots including two stage wins for good measure, totaling 148 points. The unlucky runner up was Bill Martin from SBR Coaching Wisconsin who managed four wins in his quest for success, but could only manage 145 points. Taking the final GC podium spot, and showing that interns can do just as good a job as the athletes was Alex Willis from Peak Vancouver (originally hailing from the University of Bath, UK). Alex managed a stage win and a sprint points win on his way to the bronze medal for Men’s B. Look for John and Bill to be competitive in Men’s A next season for sure.

For the full results, please follow the link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhXrz7isgo7NdDg2LWZrNS01dmlwMTZocE9vR3MxQXc&hl=en_US#gid=1

So riders, this is it. Thank you so much for being a part of this fantastic series. Let’s step outdoors for summer training and racing and we will meet on the CompuTrainers for the Fall season.

The Peak Team.

With Alexandre Gagnon from Peak Ottawa winning the last two KOM stages, could he do it again and three-peat? The answer was yes, Alexandre was the only rider to go faster than 42 minutes as he stormed to another stage win, and a full 20 points into both the GC and KOM standings. The time to beat this week was a 41:43.8! The second place finish went to Peak Vancouver’s Ted Russo who only comes out to play when there are hills involved. Ted had one of his best races and climbed onto the podium for the first time this season with a time of 42:06.4. Just under a minute further back was Dwayne Kress from Challenge By Choice Squamish who finished in 43:04.8. After a couple of weeks without a podium finish, Dwayne found the legs to race hard and find his fifth of the season. With the absence of Sam Janicki for stage 11 due to nice weather down in Minnesota, it allowed Alexandre to extend his lead at the top of the GC standings to 14 points going into next weeks Original Time Trial. Bronze position is still currently in the hands of Dwayne Kress as he holds an eight point gap ahead of SBR Coaching Wisconsin’s powerhouse Kory Seder.

After a week off, Kelly Knowles from Peak Ottawa came back to the racing with a huge race to take the Women’s A stage win. Kelly showed the mountains who’s boss, finishing over 45 seconds ahead of her fierce competitor Alison Wood from Vancouver. The pair finished in 46:41.9 and 47:27.0 respectively and the battle will continue right into the final stage next week! The third spot went to no other than Summer Ohlendorf from SBR Coaching Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s star lady continued her fantastic form with her fourth consecutive podium after finishing in 48:25.4. Summer’s awesome racing has now put her in reach of the GC bronze position as the gap between herself and Carol Deavy from Peak Ottawa is only two points! The battle is as tight as can be at the top and it seems that it will all come down to who takes the Stage 12 win as only three points separate the leader Alison Wood from Kelly Knowles in second.

Just over 40 seconds separated the Men’s B podium which was occupied with both regular and new faces. Taking the final podium place for Stage 11 was Jean-Phillippe Leclerc from Peak Montreal in a great time of 46:11.1. After debuting to the series last week it didn’t take too long for the Montreal rider to discover the feeling of making the podium! The battle for first was between the two top dogs in the GC standings – Bill Martin from SBR Coaching Wisconsin and John Forsyth from Peak Vancouver. It was John that had the slightly better mountain legs as he managed to finish just over 30 seconds ahead of Bill with a finish time of 45:29.2. Bill came in second with a time of 46:06.9 which was enough for 15 points and a two rider leapfrog into the GC silver position. Alex Willis from Peak Vancouver is one point shy of Bill as he lies in the GC bronze spot, whilst it is John Forsyth who commands the standings with a 13 point lead at the top.

Making it two podiums in a row in Women’s B, and in commanding fashion was Michelle Newton from Peak Vancouver. Michelle raced to an extremely strong finish time of 48:43.3, one that was just shy of the Women’s A podium! Wendy Blagdon from Peak Ottawa came in second place with a finish time of 50:34.7 and this result makes it three podiums in four races for Wendy! Coming in third place again, repeating last weeks performance was Peggy Labonte from Peak Montreal. Finishing in 51:56.2 Peggy had a great race and took 15 points into the GC standings. With one stage left it is still Peak Ottawa’s Emily Flynn that occupies the top of the podium but she is under some serious pressure from Peak Burlington’s Melanie Shields who is just four points behind. The battle for third comes down to a five point gap between Jessica Yurchich from SBR Coaching Wisconsin currently in the bronze position and Candace Anderson from Peak Ottawa.

Stage 11 also marked the completion of our King of the Mountains competition. This weeks results first and it was Kelly Knowles from Peak Ottawa that doubled up with the stage and KOM victory after averaging a massive 3.88 Watts/Kg. In second place for the women was Peak Vancouver’s Michelle Newton with 3.60 Watts/Kg and in third was fellow Vancouverite Alison Wood with 3.50 Watts/Kg. It was a double win in the Men’s too as Alexandre Gagnon did what he does best – averaging silly Watts/Kg! This week was no different as he laid down 4.47 Watts/Kg. There was stiff competition from Peak Vancouver’s Ted Russo however as he averaged an equally impressive 4.39 Watts/Kg. Dwayne Kress came in third with 3.98 Watts/Kg which made it a repeat of the Men’s A podium. Onward to the final KOM standings and congratulations to Kelly Knowles who took all KOM stage wins and achieved the maximum 60 points. Second place went to Kelly’s Peak Ottawa teammate Carol Deavy who collected 42 points, and Peak Vancouver’s Alison Wood finds herself in third with a total of 39 points. There must be something in the water over in Ottawa as Alexandre Gagnon mirrored Kelly with three KOM victories and a maximum 60 point finish! Teammate Glen Budgell took the second spot with a total of 42 points, and Ted Russo’s incredible Stage 11 performance shot him to the final podium spot with a 34 point total.

Here is the link with the full results of the stage and updated GC results

Onward to the season finale and we return to the Original Time Trial course that we all know and love. Extra points are available for a season PB and with the GC standings as close as they are, these points could turn out to be vital!

To Register for Racing in Vancouver:

If you want to race you have to book in. You can do this via phone (604-299-7959), email (info@peakcentrevancouver.ca, or booking online (please call to set up a password).

Vancouver heats take place at times of:

Saturday 1pm & 2.30pm,

Monday 5pm, 6.30pm & 8pm

Tuesday 9am, 10.30am & now 6.30pm!

Onto the results, and it appears that Tri-Fitness Minnesota’s Sam Janicki is prepared to battle to the very end to take that number one spot! Sam clocked the fastest time for Stage 10 and was the only rider to go faster than 35 minutes. His finish time of 34:30.5 was not only 30s faster than his nearest contender, but secured a second consecutive stage win and his fifth overall, overtaking Peak Ottawa’s Alexandre Gagnon for total number of stage wins! The two riders in second and third were alone in the 35 minute range, and it was Alexandre who came in second place, as he keeps a firm grasp on the overall lead. Alexandre finished in 35:07.9 and was pushed by third place rider Kory Seder from SBR Coaching Wisconsin who rode to a time of 35:31.5. With the GC points drop having its first action, Dwayne Kress from Challenge by Choice Squamish jumps above Glen Budgell from Peak Ottawa in the GC standings to take third, whilst Sam Janicki’s stage win helps him to close the gap between himself and Alexandre to only nine points.

Peak Vancouver’s Alison Wood  took advantage of Peak Ottawa’s Kelly Knowles absence to extend her points lead in what has been an exceptional battle for top woman!  Alison capitalized on the opportunity by taking the win in fine fashion, as she was the only female to go sub 40 minutes, clocking a winning time of 39:04.9. In second place this week, finishing in 40:41.8 was Summer Ohlendorf from SBR Coaching Wisconsin. Summer has now earned herself three consecutive podium finishes with her recent form, with Stage 10 being her highest finish of the series – congrats Summer!  Just over half a minute behind was your third place finisher Rua Reid from Challenge by Choice Squamish. Rua found her way back to the podium after a couple of week’s absence with an impressive 41:16.2 finish time. The points drop prevents women’s GC leader Alison from gaining too many points over second placed rider Kelly Knowles, but does extend her lead to eight. Maintaining third place is Carol Deavy from Peak Ottawa, but finds herself under some pressure from Rua Reid and Summer Ohlendorf; and with these ladies racing well the next two stages could change everything!

In Men’s B, it was Bill Martin from SBR Coaching Wisconsin who took the all important stage win. Bill returned to the top claiming his first win since Stage 6 with a Men’s A worthy finish time of 37:02.2. Expect Bill to be mixing it up in Men’s A next season along with the other top dogs in this category. Taking second place, and blasting onto the series with an excellent debut ride Peak Montreal rider Frederic Matheiu. I’m not quite sure where Frederic has been hiding but it is great to see yet another top rider mixing it up with the rest of Men’s B. Frederic represented Peak Montreal well with a finish time of 37:51.3. Rounding off the Men’s B podium was your current GC leader John Forsyth from Peak Vancouver who finished only a few seconds behind Frederic with a finish time of 37:55.9!  John has the scent of GC victory but there are still two stages where he needs to put in solid rides, as there is still only six points that separate himself from second placed Alex Willis also from Peak Vancouver. The bronze is an even closer contest; Shawn McCleery from Peak Ottawa currently occupies the space, but Bill Martin is only one point behind – this is going to be down to the wire!

Women’s B showed us what great racing this series can produce, as the time difference between second and third place was only 1.4 seconds!  Just missing out on stage silver was Peak Montreal rider Peggy Labonte who finished in a time of 43:35.4, showing us that Montreal has some serious cycling talent!  Only just getting the better of Peggy was Peak Burlington rider Melanie Shields who finished in 43:34.0.  This result was just what Melanie needed after a few weeks off the podium. Taking the stage win was Michelle Newton from Peak Vancouver. Michelle earned herself promotion to the A category for next season with a stellar time of 41:21.0, and took 20 points into the GC standings for the third time this year! In the GC standings it is Jessica Yurchich from SBR Coaching Wisconsin who maintains third place with an eight point cushion and it is the same margin that separates  Peak Burlington’s Melanie Shields in second from first place rider Peak Ottawa’s Emily Flynn!

Here is the link with the full results of the stage and updated GC results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhXrz7isgo7NdDg2LWZrNS01dmlwMTZocE9vR3MxQXc&hl=en_US#gid=1

Next week it is all about climbing as we head toward the second Uphill Mountain course of the series. Expect little recovery, some steep grades, and of course lots of fun!

The fastest rider of the week laid down a seriously fast time, and was the only rider to go sub-35 minutes. This man was Sam Janicki from Tri Fitness Minnesota who captured the maximum 20 points after racing to a time of 34:31.8. This could have been the largest victory to date as Sam’s nearest contender Alexandre Gagnon from Peak Ottawa came in over one minute behind Sam to take second place, finishing in 35:39.5. Rounding off the podium was Peak Ottawa’s Glen Budgell. Glen has been Mr. Consistent this year by frequently placing just shy of the top three but this week he finally managed to step onto the podium after finishing in a time of 36:15.7. This boost in points for Glen has helped him climb to third in the GC standings, while Sam remains in second place behind Alexandre, with the two separated by 19 points.

After a few weeks of Vancouver dominance, Kelly Knowles from Peak Ottawa restored some winning form for Stage 9. The racing was close, but it was Kelly who prevailed after clocking the fasted female time of the week – a 39:08.9. Peak Vancouver’s Alison Wood ensured Kelly didn’t steal too many points as she finished in second place, 16s behind the winner in a time of 39:26.8. A further seven seconds behind was SBR Coaching’s hot shot Summer Ohlendorf who took the final podium spot this week in a time of 39:33.5, taking her second consecutive podium finish. There is no movement at the top of the GC as it is still Alison who occupies the top spot, with Kelly only five points behind. Carol Deavy from Peak Ottawa refuses to give up third place as she still holds on to a 22 point gap over Rua Reid from Challenge By Choice Squamish.

Congratulations to Connor Byway from Peak Ottawa! After weeks of knocking on the door Connor has finally topped the race for a Men’s B stage win. The times were tight between the top three riders but it was Connor who came out on top after laying down a time of 38:03.8. Coming in second place, and only a shade over 12 seconds behind Connor was Bill Martin from SBR Coaching Wisconsin. Bill marked his return after a couple of weeks off with a solid time of 38:16.0 earning 17 all important GC points. Taking the final spot was your Men’s B GC leader John Forsyth from Peak Vancouver. After a couple of weeks absent from the podium John put in a solid ride coming in a mere four seconds behind Bill, finishing in 38:20.5. Stage 9 did not change the faces on the overall podium, but John Forsyth has extended his lead to a more comfortable eight points, whilst Shawn McCleery from Peak Ottawa separates himself from Alex Willis of Peak Vancouver by a lonesome point!  It still is up for grabs.

There was a surprise in Women’s B this week as new rider to the series Kerri Labrecque from Peak Ottawa debuted straight to a stage win. Kerri had the legs to race to a finish time of 41:50.3 which was only eight seconds faster than current GC leader and team mate Emily Flynn from Peak Ottawa who finished in 41:58.6. Preventing Ottawa from filling the podium was Jessica Yurchich from SBR Coaching Wisconsin. Jessica’s time of 43:23.0 was enough for 15 points and her second podium of the series. Jessica has now closed the gap on Melanie Shields from Peak Burlington to three points in the GC standings as they occupy third and second respectively. Emily Flynn still reigns supreme at the top with a nice 25 point cushion.

Stage 9 also marked the final chance for riders to put out some max power for Sprint points. The women’s podium was topped by Carol Deavy from Peak Ottawa who took her second sprint win with a huge 9.04 Watts/Kg. Second and third place was more closely contended as Emily Flynn from Peak Ottawa and Summer Ohlendorf from SBR Coaching Wisconsin were only separated by 0.07 Watts/Kg. Emily came out on top with 8.17 Watt/Kg whilst Summer powered to 8.10 Watt/Kg. Carol’s stage 9 win secured her the overall Sprint gold with 57 points, with Emily Flynn taking silver with 41 points, and Summer claiming bronze with 35 points. The maximum 20 points for the men’s sprint were awarded to no other than Peak Ottawa’s Alexandre Gagnon. Alexandre showed us once again that is arsenal has variety as he maxed out at 12.41 Watts/Kg. Roger Lee from Peak Vancouver was second  with 12.01 Watt/Kg and Jay Menning from Peak Vancouver was third with 10.31 Watts/Kg. This stage win for Alexandre allowed him to squeeze past Roger at the final hurdle, taking the overall sprint gold by one point!!! Alexandre totaled 50 points, while Roger took silver with 49 points. Completing the men’s podium was Peak Vancouver’s Alex Willis with 38 points, just one ahead of Jay Menning!

Here is the link with the full results of the stage and updated GC results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhXrz7isgo7NdDg2LWZrNS01dmlwMTZocE9vR3MxQXc&hl=en_US#gid=1

One rider deserves a special shout out this week for his immense dedication. Rob Neilson from Peak Vancouver turned up to race sporting a nice plaster cast covering his broken radius and ulna. We applaud your commitment Rob!

Next week we look forward to the second Net Downhill course of the series. As you all know by now, the course name should be taken with a pinch of salt – check out the course profile on our website for a sneak preview!

Earning back the stage win after a few weeks was Alexandre Gagnon from Peak Ottawa. On his second attempt after a mechanical, Alexandre was the only rider to go faster than 37minutes and sealed the Stage 8 victory with a superb time of 36:49.8. Coming in second and third were SBR Coaching Wisconsin teammates Kory Seder and Curtis Bice. The race between friends was fierce as Kory only managed to edge Curtis out by 3.3 seconds!  Kory took second in a time of 37:07.9, whilst Curtis stamped a huge ‘welcome to the series’ ride with a finish time of 37:11.2. Dwayne Kress from Challenge by Choice Squamish was a further four seconds behind, showing the competitiveness at the top of Men’s A. This weeks results has not changed the shape of the GC podium, as it is still Peak Ottawa’s Alexandre Gagnon that reigns supreme, followed by Tri-Fitness Minnesota rider Sam Janicki, and Challenge by Choice Squamish rider Dwayne Kress.

A big well done is sent out to all the riders in Women’s A. Every one of them that raced in stage 3 went faster this week, so well done to all. Coming in third place in and taking her first podium finish of the series was Summer Ohlendorf from SBR Coaching Wisconsin. Summer has been on the brink of the podium for a while now, but she must have strapped her shoes tight this week  and managed to race to a finish time of 41:17.6. Second on the podium was Kelly Knowles from Peak Ottawa, finishing 19 seconds ahead of Summer in 40:58.6.   The win this week went to Peak Vancouver’s Alison Wood who rode strong to a time of 39:38.4 (averaging 280W!!!) and breaking the previous women’s course record here in Vancouver.  Like the Men’s podium, Women’s A maintains it’s look with Alison staying on top, Kelly keeping second, and Peak Ottawa’s Carol Deavy lying in third.

The winner of Men’s B only seems to come out to play when the Time Trial course is involved!  Kurt Becker from SBR Coaching Wisconsin took the stage win in fairly convincing fashion as he was the only Men’s B rider to go sub-40minutes, and was a whole minute ahead of the competition with his finish time of 39:26.9. The next two podium places were brought back to Vancouver, as Peak Centre riders Chuck Fortier and Alex Willis took the second and third spots respectively. Chuck finished 16 seconds ahead of Alex with a finish time of 40:26.5, and this marked a second podium out of three races for the powerhouse!  Alex continued his great form and finished in a respectable 40:42.3, and boosted himself to joint second in the GC standings – level on points with Peak Ottawa’s Shawn McCleery! John Forsyth from Peak Vancouver still tops the charts, but it really is all up for grabs as only two points separate these three guys!

Continuing her great recent form since joining the winter season was Wendy Blagdon from Peak Ottawa, bettering her second place last week to take the Stage 8 win!  Wendy showed her strengths as her 43:26.6 finish time was over a minute faster than her fellow Women’s B contingent. Coming in second place and making it three podiums in a row was Candace Anderson from Peak Ottawa, who again is showing some excellent form recently. Candace claimed her highest points finish of the season with a finish time of 44:52.8. Ensuring Peak Ottawa did not sweep the entire Women’s B podium was SBR Coaching Wisconsin rider Jen Schweigart. It appears Jen has been putting in some secret training since her first race (stage 1), and it’s paid off as she took 15 points into the GC with a finish time of 45:11.1. The only change to the GC podium is that Jessica Yurchich from SBR Coaching Wisconsin leaps above Peak Vancouver’s Grace Menning to secure third place, while Melanie Shields from Peak Burlington occupies second place, and Emily Flynn from Peak Ottawa is sitting in the number one position.

Here is the link with the full results of the stage and updated GC results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhXrz7isgo7NdDg2LWZrNS01dmlwMTZocE9vR3MxQXc&hl=en_US#gid=1

Two riders deserve a special shout out this week for improving the OTT time by a seriously huge margin! Big congrats to Sue Weiskopf-Larson from Tri-Fitness Minnesota who improved over her Stage 3 time by six and a half minutes, and Bruce Thoms from SBR Coaching Wisconsin who improved by almost four and a half minutes – gigantic gains guys!

Next week it’s back to a Rolling course, and as we’re at the tail end of the series expect a couple of steep grades. The course is really anyone’s game, and to add to the fun next week marks round two of the Sprint Competition – Let’s see some big maximum watts per kilo guys!

Indeed it was the ‘big power’ riders who led the way, as the top three all averaged well over 340 watts – huge!  Riding himself to a third place spot, and making a comeback to the podium in a very competitive field was SBR Coaching Wisconsin’s Kory Seder with a 35:24.5 averaging a massive 364W for the entire stage. The battle for the stage win was down to the wire. Both riders went sub-35mins and were only separated by 3.7 seconds. Finishing in a time of 34:44.9 and ending up second best was the Tri-Fitness Minnesota machine Sam Janicki. This marks Sam’s fourth consecutive podium so congratulations to you Sam. Edging Sam off the top was last weeks stage winner Dwayne Kress from Challenge By Choice Squamish. Dwayne’s time of 34:41.2 allowed him to take another 20 points into the GC standings, which boosts him to third overall. Alexandre Gagnon from the Peak Centre Ottawa remains at the top, but Sam is breathing down his neck after closing the gap to only seven points.

After weeks of back and forth wins for Peak Ottawa’s Kelly Knowles and Peak Vancouver’s Alison Wood, it was actually a surprise to see Alison take consecutive stage wins!  The Vancouver superstar lady had a fantastic race which resulted in her finish time of 38:31.7 being over a minute faster than the rest of the competition. Kelly maintained the close points race between the two as she came in second place, after racing to a finish time of 39:49.8. Pushing Kelly all the way, and maintaining podium form was Challenge by Choice Squamish rider Rua Reid. Rua came within two seconds of Kelly’s time as she finished in 39:51.1.

Men’s B is potentially the category that undergoes the most change week by week – we can never guess who’s going to come out on top. Taking round 7 in championship fashion was Peak Vancouver’s British import Alex Willis, who had his best average watts of the season while coming off the back of a ‘rest week’ and powered through the rolling course in a time of 37:51.7. Close behind was Connor Byway from Peak Ottawa who raced to his first podium of the season finishing in 38:05.6. Connor has showed some real improvement in the last couple of weeks, which could see him battling for a GC podium spot come stage 12. Third place went to another rider earning their first podium ride of the season, Chad Olson from SBR Coaching Wisconsin. Chad’s finish time of 38:19.9 was enough for a spot on the podium and 15 points into the GC standings. With the top two guys in Men’s B not making the podium this week, it gave a chance for others to catch up. Alex Willis sure capitalized on this jumping back into the bronze spot, a mere nine points away from gold. Shawn McCleery from Peak Ottawa drops to second place, whilst Peak Vancouver’s John Forsyth is your current leader, with a 3 point lead over Shawn.

Michelle Newton from Peak Vancouver races sparingly throughout the season, but when she does she poses a real threat to the rest of the Women’s B field. She did just that in stage 7 as she went over 40 seconds faster than any other rider in this category!  Michelle’s finish time was on the cusp of the Women’s A finest, as she rode to a time of 41:34.7. Coming in second place in her second appearance of the season was Peak Ottawa’s Wendy Blagdon with a finish time of 42:18.0. If these two ladies race this fast for the remaining five stages, we could see some disruption at the top  of the GC!  Rounding out the podium, Candace Anderson from Peak Ottawa once again came in third place, with a time of 43:16.0. The top riders in the GC remain unchanged, with Emily Flynn from Peak Ottawa sitting pretty in first, and Melanie Shields from Peak Burlington lying in second. Third place is as close as can be, with Jessica Ulrich from SBR Coaching Wisconsin sharing the podium with Peak Vancouver’s Grace Menning!

Here is the link with the full results of the stage and updated GC results:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhXrz7isgo7NdDg2LWZrNS01dmlwMTZocE9vR3MxQXc&hl=en_US#gid=1

So there we have it for another week. Next we head back to the Original Time Trial Course in which riders will be batting not only each other, but themselves as there are bonus GC points available for personal best times for the season!

To Register for Racing in Vancouver:

If you want to race you have to book in. You can do this via phone (604-299-7959), email (info@peakcentrevancouver.ca, or booking online (please call to set up a password).

Vancouver heats take place at times of:

Saturday 1pm & 2.30pm,

Monday   5pm, 6.30pm & 8pm

Tuesday 9am, 10.30am & now 6.30pm! 

All the best, and see you next week!

The top race times for stage 6 were seriously fast, and it was the three riders to go sub-36 minutes that earned themselves a podium spot in the Men’s A category.  Our first surprise was that the course may not have been steep enough for Peak Ottawa’s Climbing Class Act  and current GC leader, Alexandre Gagnon, whose awesome power to weight ratio could only push him into a third place finish this week with a zippy finish time of 35:42.7.  Alexandre was not far off second place, as a gap of just 1.9 seconds separated Sam Janicki from Tri-Fitness Minnesota who was the second fasted rider this week, and finished in 35:40.8. Just over 25 seconds ahead of Sam, and cementing a dominant first placed ride was last weeks runner up Dwayne Kress from Challenge By Choice, Squamish. Dwayne seems to be ever improving and a hot shot in the game, so look for him to keep rising up the GC standings. Alexandre remains 15 points ahead of Sam in the overall standings. Glenn Budgell from Peak Ottawa jumped up to third spot with an excellent ride. With three points separating three riders gunning for the bronze medal position, Glenn is going to have to work hard to keep his placing!

For the second week running, Bill Martin from SBR Wisconsin prevailed in the Men’s B race. Bill has clearly found his groove and finished in super fast time of 39:04.2. Coming in second place was Peak Vancovuer’s powerhouse Chuck Fortier. Chuck improved upon his stage 2 ride and rode straight to the podium this week, finishing just behind Bill in a time of 39:17.5. Regular podium finisher John Forsyth of Vancouver completed the Men’s B podium this week. John was a mere 6 seconds behind Chuck, laying down a time of 39:23.6. The surprise this week was that Peak Ottawa’s Shawn McCleery was knocked off the podium for the first time! This allowed the rest of the competition a chance at closing the point gap with John Forsyth capitalizing the most as he has now closed the gap behind Shawn to a single point. Bill Martin’s second consecutive win places him on the GC podium, a reachable 13 points behind John.

Just when we thought the fight for the Women’s A win cannot get any better, Kelly Knowles and Alison Wood just keep bringing the goods. The gap between the two this week was it’s closest to date, at only 2.6 seconds. Picking up the win this week was Peak Vancouver’s Alison Wood, making the contest as tight as can be as now Kelly and Alison are even at three wins a piece. Alison’s finish time was 40:38.3 whilst Peak Ottawa’s Kelly Knowles took second with 40:40.9.  Thrid place was taken by Sarah Zirkle from Tri-Fitness Minnesota who exploded onto the series with her first race to date. Sarah’s time of 41:14.9 was enough to mark her debut with a podium finish and 15 points in the GC standings.  In the Overall GC results Alison took back first place from Kelly by just 2 points, with Peak Ottawa rider Carol Deavy keeping consistent week by week and holding strong to third spot. Who will come out on top in six weeks time?  It is anybody’s guess but we, for one, cannot wait to find out.

Another fantastic debut ride was witnessed in the Women’s B category. Taking the win on her first outing was Veronik Bourgon from Peak Ottawa with a time of 43:52.2.  Back to business was Melanie Shields from Peak Burlington who finished second, just over 10 seconds behind Veronik in a time of 44:03.1. Rounding off the podium was Candace Anderson from Peak Ottawa. Candace has scored high points in all of her three rides, so look for her to challenge for an overall podium soon!  These results allowed Melanie to overtake Peak Vancouver’s Grace Menning for second spot in the GC standings pushing Grace to third, while Emily Flynn from Peak Ottawa remains the lady at the top!

With King of the Mountain points up for grabs this week, it added yet another element to the stage. Peak Ottawa dominated the women’s battle by having riders occupy all three podium spots, a mirror image of Stage 2’s KOM racing. Taking maximum points was Kelly Knowles. Kelly averaged a huge 3.96 watts/kg which most riders would kill for – awesome Kelly!  A shade behind was teammate Carol Deavy who averaged 3.84 watts/kg, whilst Ali Wilson came in third with an average of 3.60 watts/kg. Peak Ottawa just seem to love the KOM points as two of their riders scored the podium in the men’s contest. Making up for not taking the stage win, Alexandre Gagnon made it two for two in the KOM battle, after averaging a gigantic 4.70 watts/kg. Coming in second was this week’s winner Dwayne Kress, capping off a great week for the Challenge by Choice Squamish rider with an average 4.32 watts/kg. Glenn Budgell was the third most powerful man, with a 4.27 watts/kg average, only just missing out on the second spot!

Here is the link with the full results of the stage and updated GC results:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhXrz7isgo7NdDg2LWZrNS01dmlwMTZocE9vR3MxQXc&hl=en_US#gid=1

That’s right guys, we have now reached the halfway point of the Winter Series! Six more stages remain and that means six more fabulous stage reports.  It really still is all up for grabs in the GC standings and we have some excellent courses in store. Next week we head back to a Rolling Course (profiles now available on our website), so It’s anyone’s game!

To Register for Racing in Vancouver:

If you want to race you have to book in. You can do this via phone (604-299-7959), emai (info@peakcentrevancouver.ca, or booking online (please call to set up a password).

Vancouver heats take place at times of:

Saturday 1pm & 2.30pm,

Monday   5pm, 6.30pm & 8pm

Tuesday 9am, 10.30am & now 6.30pm! 

All the best, and see you next week!

Onto the racing, and again what a week it was. In Men’s A, Peak Ottawa superstar Alexandre Gagnon shredded the tough course this week, averaging over 300 watts while being one of the lighter guys in the competition. Alex separated himself from the rest by almost a minute, finishing in a time of 34:18.5. Second and third place was more of a battle between Squamish and Minnesota. With less than four seconds to separate the two riders, it was Dwayne Kress from Challenge by Choice Squamish that got the better of Sam Janicki from Tri-Fitness Minnesota, as they finished in 35:10.6 and 35:14.0 respectively. Seven of the Men’s A riders were separated by less than a minute this week, showing how competitive and variable the points can be from week to week. Alexandre further extends his overall lead by a margin of 17 points over Sam Janicki, with Peak Vancouver’s Roger Lee maintaining a closely contested third spot.

Women’s A showed just how strong they are again this week, with the top three ladies putting in times that would score them big points in Men’s B! The battle for the top continues as this week it was Kelly Knowles from Peak Ottawa nudging herself to the win over Peak Vancouver’s Alison Wood. The times were close, but Kelly found the legs to go seven seconds faster than Alison finishing in 38:19.4. The fierce battle between Kelly and Alison continues as Kelly’s win puts her back at the top of the GC standings, only one point ahead of Alison. Finding podium form once again was Challenge by Choice Squamish rider Rua Reid, who took third place and is really starting to impress. Rua went sub 39 minutes as well as the rest of the podium, finishing in 38:55.5.

Following on from Rua’s great performance was fellow Challenge by Choice Squamish rider Renee Brickner. Renee was the one to beat in the Women’s B race this week, winning the stage and taking 20 points in the GC standings. Renee’s finish time was 41:02.3. Coming in second this week, and doing Peak Vancouver proud was Grace Menning. Grace managed to hold off last week’s winner Emily Flynn as she rode to a time of 42:06.1. A further 15 seconds behind was Peak Ottawa rider Emily Flynn, who scores another podium for the season with a time of 42:21.1. Emily maintains her 10 point lead at the top of the Woman’s B overall standings, whilst Grace Menning jumps into the second spot, only two points from Peak Burlington’s hot shot Melanie Shields who lies in third.

The rest of Men’s B did indeed step it up as requested, and the rider who took the biggest leap was SBR Coaching Wisconsin rider Bill Martin. It is rumored that Bill took a rest day prior to the race this week, and his tactics paid off as he took the stage win in style, finishing in a time of 37:04.1. This was enough to earn him a 20 second gap over last week’s winner Shawn McCleery from Peak Ottawa. Shawn did himself justice coming in second place in 31:24.7. Close on Shawn’s wheel was Peak Vancouver’s John Forsyth, a previous stage winner himself. John took well to the tough course and finished a mere six seconds behind second place, with a time of 37:30.6. In the overall standings all three podium riders are only separated by 10 points! Shawn McCleery retains the top for another week, six points ahead of John Forsyth, who is another four points in front of Peak Vancouver’s Alex Willis. Alex did manage to win some accolades with this week’s Golden Bucket award – nice to see you duffer buddy!

Here is the link with the full results of the stage.

Onto the halfway point we go, and next weeks course is one for the climbers. We face an Uphill Mountain Stage where it will be average watts/kg that matters most. More King of the Mountain points available next week as well.

The overall winner of the week was Tri Fitness Minnesota’s finest, and Stage 1 winner, Sam Janicki. After two stages without a win, Sam came back strong this week, laying down some huge watts and achieving the only sub-39 minute time with a zippy 38:35.2. Sam’s time was almost 40 seconds faster than SBR Coaching Wisconsin’s big gun, Kory Seder who was the second fastest rider this week. Kory used his tree trunk legs to secure the silver finishing in 39:13.4. Rounding off the podium, making it four in a row, was Peak Centre Ottawa’s superstar Alexandre Gagnon. Alexandre showed he has more than just climbing strings to his bow, taking 15 points to the overall standings after finishing in 39:16.2, a mere three seconds behind Kory. Alexandre remains the leader of the overall standings, whilst Sam’s stage win takes him back above Roger Lee from Peak Vancouver who occupy the second and third spots.

The Women’s podium was a mix of familiar and new faces this week. Usual suspect Kelly Knowles from Peak Ottawa placed third this week, maintaining her 100% podium record for the season. Kelly once again showed her strengths with a finish time of 44:02.4. After coming in fifth last week, Challenge by Choice Squamish rider Rua Reid stamped her mark on the competition with a second place finish this week, coming in 13 seconds in front of Kelly, finishing in 43:49.3. Taking the illusive Women’s A win this week was Peak Vancouver’s superstar lady, Alison Wood, securing her second consecutive win. Alison went over a minute faster than her competition, finishing in a time of 42:34.8. This win for Alison gives her the lead in the overall standings by two points over Kelly Knowles, while Carol Deavy from Peak Ottawa still hangs on to the third spot.

The top dog in Men’s B this week was Shawn McCleery from Peak Ottawa for the third time this season. The only time Shawn has not won a stage was when he didn’t race, so come on Men’s B lets step it up! Shawn finished in a respectable time of 41:28.7 which was only five seconds quicker than his Ottawa teammate Mark Parsons who finished in 41:33.2. Rounding off the Men’s B podium and maintaining the tight racing was Ben Eksteen from Challenge by Choice Squamish. Ben came in another four seconds back from Mark, finishing in 41:37.6. The overall podium for Men’s B could not be much tighter as the top three are all separated by four points. Shawn’s win puts him at the top, but Peak Vancouver’s Alex Willis is hot on his tail only one point behind, followed by Peak Vancouver’s John Forsyth a futher three behind!

In the second week of Women’s B racing, we have a completely different look to the podium. Coming in third place for stage four was Tri Fitness Minnesota rider Jane Deppert, who had the ride of her life this week to finish in a time of 47:03.8. Just over 20 seconds ahead was Renee Brickner from Challenge by Choice Squamish. Renee finished in a time of 46:41.5 which was only 16 seconds off of the top spot, which went to Emily Flynn from Peak Ottawa this week. Emily did Ottawa proud with a time of 46:25.8 and took the full 20 points into the overall standings. This result actually boosts Emily to second place in the GC standings, but it is still Melanie Shields from Peak Burlington who keeps the top spot by a margin of three points. Occupying the final place on the Women’s B overall podium is Jessica Yurchich from SBR Coaching Wisconsin.

Stage four also provided riders with their second chance at sprint points for this seasons racing. The lady with the most power this week was Summer Ohlendorf from SBR Coaching Wisconsin with a huge 7.99 Watts/Kg sprint. Second place was Carol Deavy from Peak Ottawa who managed to max out at 7.70 Watts/Kg, and Carena Dean from Challenge by Choice Squamish came in third with a max sprint of 7.46 Watts/Kg. The men’s contest was as close as can be, as we had two Peak Centre riders sharing the exact same power legs this week. Alex Willis from Vancouver and Alexandre Gagnon from Ottawa both hit a gigantic 12.53 Watts/Kg sprint and took 20 points a piece into the overall standings. Taking the third spot was Warren Sheridan from Peak Burlington who maxed out at 11.70 Watts/Kg, another impressive sprint!

Here is the link with the full results of the stage

Next week we race a challenging set of plateaus that have to be earned. The first Plateaus and Climbs course of the Winter season will challenge riders to sustain power. It’s anyone’s game so we could be in store for some new faces at the top!

While no records were broken this time, there were some fantastic results as this week’s Mens podium consisted of the only three riders that went sub 38 minutes!  Coming in third with a time of 37:48.3 was Challenge By Choice Squamish rider Dwayne Kress, marking his first appearance to this season with a podium spot. Coming in just over 20 seconds ahead was SBR Coaching Wisconsin powerhouse Kory Seder, with a time of 37:26.2. Kory reports he is recovering from the Black Plague so expect him to be making a run at the GC!  Taking the win for the second week in a row was Alexandre Gagnon from the Peak Centre Ottawa. Showing he is not just a climber, Alexandre extends his lead at the top of Men’s A with a time of 37:19.7. Roger Lee from the Peak Centre Vancouver and Sam Janicki from Tri-Fitness Minnesota swap around to claim 2^nd and 3^rd in the Men’s A overall standings. A noteworthy mention goes out to Marcel Lavoie and Darrin Grace from the Ottawa Peak Centre, as their times earned them a promotion to the Men’s A category.

The Women’s competition has also undergone a makeover. With now over 50 ladies competing we have created an A and B category. A-status was defined by any time under 45 minutes  in the time trial, and the newly formed category contains 9 riders currently.  If you’d like to compete in the “A” Cat just drop us a line and we’ll move you in. The fastest woman of the week was Peak Vancouver’s Alison Wood. It took her a few stages but she finally got the edge on her main rival Kelly Knowles from the Peak Ottawa, who in finished second this week.  Their  times were 40:53.4 and 41:35.0 respectively. Rounding off the first Women’s A podium was Ali Wilson from the Peak Centre Ottawa with another great time of 43:02. Kelly maintains a three point lead over Alison at the top of the GC, with Carol Deavy from Ottawa still occupying the bronze position, a further 12 points back.

After Marcel’s and Darrin’s promotions, the Men’s B stage and overall standings were to undergo a change this week. The new podium was an all Peak Centre affair; maybe we have a slight ‘home course’ advantage over our new affiliates since we have been racing this course for 8 years!  Last week’s winner John Forsyth from the Peak Centre Vancouver rode to another podium finish placing third, with a time of 40:50.2. Peak Centre Vancouver’s intern Alex Willis got the better of John by 26 seconds and took the silver spot after finishing in a time of 40:24.0. After a week off, Shawn McCleery from the Peak Centre Ottawa took the win in Men’s B with a time just 16 seconds short of promotion at 40:16.7. This win boosted Shawn back onto the overall podium, occupying the third spot, nine points behind Alex Willis in second, who is only one lonely point behind John Forsyth.  A special mention goes to Bob McLaren who, on the way to a 3yr PB on the TT, earned this week’s Golden Bucket Award with a sprint finish that shook loose his competitors and his lunch… We love the intensity Bob! 

Women’s B gets off to a bang with close racing right out of the gate, with the top three ladies being separated by only eight seconds. Michelle Newton from the Peak Centre Vancouver took the win in a time of 45:14.2, with another Vancouver rider Nancy Austin finishing just behind in 45:18.7 to take the second spot. Rounding off the podium was Peak Centre Ottawa rider Laurel Johnson who just edged out a strong ride from Melanie Shields of Burlington by less than three seconds. Laurel finished in a time of 45:22.6. Melanie Shields from the Peak Centre Burlington, Jessica Yurchcich from SBR Coaching Wisconsin, and Emily Flynn from the Peak Centre Ottawa make up your Women’s B podium in that order, with it all to play for over the coming weeks racing!

Here is the link with the full results of the stage:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhXrz7isgo7NdDg2LWZrNS01dmlwMTZocE9vR3MxQXc&hl=en_US#gid=1

Next week it is ‘big guys’ to the front with our first Net Downhill course of the Winter Season.  Rest assured that “Net Downhill” does not mean “Downhill” so there will be plenty to challenge you next week.   Maybe we’ll see some new faces at the top!