Ontario Cup #1.........

Jay, Kim and I drove up on Friday to Mansfield, Ontario, for the Ontario Cup #1.  Unlike last year, where I had a couple of races under my belt before the first O-Cup, this was my first race of the season.  We kept things pretty relaxed on Friday and Saturday.  Kim even hopped on my 29er to get a feel of what big wheels are like.  She was all smiles!  Hopefully in her search for a "new" bike she will consider this option!  ;o)

The weather was nice all weekend and the trail conditions were perfect.  The course was flowy, with open gradual climbs, a couple of pitchier climbs and some very fast and fun downhills!

After a decent night's sleep it was race morning.  I woke up with instant butterflies.  I had almost forgotten about the nerves that come with the excitement of the season opening race! 

A couple of people had said that the pro race time had changed from 1:30 to 1:45.  So I started my warmup at around 1:00.  While out riding around, I started to see fewer racers warming up, so I thought I would go back to the starting area to double check the time.  Well, the call ups for the elite men was in the process.  I little taken back by the fact that the race would be starting at normal 1:30 time, I quickly found Jay for my bottle and went over to the assigned staging area.  

The field was huge!  I was in the back of about 20 elite women.  Amongst us were some of Canada's top national and world ranked racers.  No doubt the race would be fast from the start.  So with my 27 minute warmup, I was soon called up first.  (Winning the overall series last year got me plate #100)  Once at the line the count down was quick and we were off! 

My start was good and a group of about 7 of us held together up the opening climb.  Once we got to the top my recovery was not great but I managed to hang on with the leaders for a bit.  Throughout the first lap I felt strong, my climb and recovery was okay but I had good flow and stayed steady.  Going into lap #2 I was in 6th place.  Throughout the second lap I went back and forth with a couple of Quebec riders, with Mandy Dreyer holding a steady short distance in front of us.  Toward the middle of lap #3 I was able to break away from the Quebec riders and spent the lap on my own as I would for the forth and final lap.  I was pleased with my effort taking a 6th place finish. 

Elite women  results:

1 104 Emily Batty -  Subaru−Trek from Brooklin 

2 109 Amanda Sin - 3 Rox Racing from Collingwood 

3 132 Mikaela Kofman - 3 Rox Racing from Toronto
4 116 Laura Biettola - 3 Rox Racing from Greenwood 
5 111 Mandy Dreyer - from Hamilton
6 100 Susan Stephens - from Harrow
7 129 Kristina Laforge -  Équipe du Québec : Cyclone d’Alma 
8 131 Andréanne Pichette - from Québec, QC
9 102 Heather Gray - Cycle Solutions/Angry Johnny`s CC
10 130 Valérie Meunier Équipe du Québec : Cyclone d’Alma 
11 103 Tricia K. Spooner Stevens Racing p/b The Cyclery 
12 107 Celine Foreht Cycle Solutions/Angry Johnny`s CC 
13 110 Cayley Brooks Trek Canada MTB Team/New Lowell 
14 106 Ashley Barson - CoachChris.ca / Multisport−Zone 
15 123 Carmen Sweet - Reactivated Racing from Oshawa 
16 108 Kristen Lake - Sweet Pete`s from York 
17 115 Mélanie Bernier - CoachChris.ca / Multisport−Zone 
18 105 Erica Bota - Wild Bettys from Sudbury 
DNF 112 Kaitlin (KK) Michener - Lapierre Canada from Meaford 

Kim had a great race, racing as a Master Expert, staying steady through her 3 laps and closing the gap on the leaders from last year! 

Great job by Chico Racing.  They constantly provide top notch race courses and it shows by the level of talent that Ontario has.

It was such a fun weekend.  I'm happy to have the 1st race out of the way and look forward to an exciting year!!
 
Cheers,
 
Sue