Tuesday Night Crit In Review

The entire Manitoba Provincial Team was racing and using the Midweek Criterium Series as a training camp before Bike On Broadway this coming weekend. So you can imagine that each of the races got up to speed in short order – no slackers here. There were a few small breaks in each Cat that were brought back just as quickly; on this course its pretty hard to get out-of-sight-out-of-mind.

In the Cat 4 race Dave P (Woodcock… I think), who had tried his first Crit last Tuesday, was back for more and stole the show. An extremely quick study, Dave sat in hiding like an old pro. To the delight of a roaring crowd the Big Man cranked up his twin turbines on the prime (pronounced preems) lap demolishing all contenders. OMG! Not to be out done last weeks Cat 4 winner Marlin (Woodcock) setoff his own display of fireworks to take the win over Dave in a match sprint.

In the Cat 3 race everyone seemed particularly anxious to move up to the front and bump elbows with the faster riders, but Dylan (Olympia) had marching orders to drive the pace and that is exactly what he did! Tim W (Woodcock), Jay H (Rock Star), Ollie (Woodcock) and Dylan jumped off the front while the pack, suffering from shellshock, pretty much stayed together for the entire duration of the race. The whole field was about to pay the ultimate price for failing to recognize the threat posed by a Dylan-Time-Ollie-Jay train and never organizing a chase. Like dogs of war the four hard men of the day hunted down the other riders. The lead group’s goal was pretty simple – lap the field. Taking turns pulling through they managed to both rest and gain time on a highly disorganized pack. The catch was made with about 5 laps to go.

On mass the field – lapped riders and leaders alike - charged into the finishing sprint. Unfortunately for Ollie ( boxed on the inside) someone failed to hold their line, and he was force to demo his cyclocross skill at nearly 50 km per hour. Careening into the final turn on 2nd wheel Dylan could smell the fear of the other top riders. A gap formed with Dylan, and Marian (Woodcock) going head-to-head. In the final 40-meters Dylan ignited his high octane afterburners and exploded across the line for his first ever Crit win!

Most Improved Rider: Big Man Dave P
Most Aggressive Rider: Dylan H
Best Race: Dylan H

Next Race: Race 3 – Tuesday, May 19th

Result Here

Pic Here