Easter Weekend Race Report:
By Naomi DeSousa
Thanks to the help of many volunteers, officials and athletes; this Easter weekend was a great weekend of racing! Highlights include some incredible teamwork by the girls of Kallisto FCV and really impressive efforts and performances by all the riders.
It kicked off on Friday with the Good Friday Road Race in Ancaster at an early 8:30am for the Junior/Elite 3/ Masters women. For the first 30 or so kilometers, riders in the bunch were tentative to make any committed attacks and the pace was maintained at a fairly steady speed while riders jockeyed for positions within the peloton. The first attack of the day was launched by Kallisto rider Ruby West which was brought back after a few hundred meters but really served to pick up the pace of the race and set the stage for more attacks to come. After more attacks from team members Ali, Charlotte, Ruby, and myself, with nothing sticking; we settled into the bunch trying to organize ourselves for something that might stick. Throughout the rest of the race we continued to be aggressive, putting pressure on the other junior women. However it was obvious coming into the last lap, that it would be a sprint finish as the bunch wasn't letting anything go. At this point, I started settling into a good spot from which to launch a sprint while keeping a careful eye on the other riders, particularly the girls from NCCH who were proving to be very strong. Coming around the last corner before the final stretch toward the finish, a very strong attack was launched by Hillary Lowry of NCCH. With a lot of help from Ali Van Yzendoorn, we managed to pull her back after a bit over a kilometer and, by this point, the finish was in sight. The three leaders of the race were myself, Ali, and Amy Bell and we spread out across the road each of us waiting for the other to make the first move. I launched my sprint taking a sharp line around the corner into the fairgrounds with about 150 meters left and maintained my lead across the finish line winning the sprint outright. Amy Bell finished in 2nd and my teammate Ali Van Yzendoorn in 3rd. All in all, a very strong, aggressive and fun race by the Kallisto-FCV p/b Toyo Tires women.
After resting up, we were ready to race again on Saturday evening for the annual Mary Kelly Memorial 100 lap race held at Forest City Velodrome. This race is to honour the many contributions of the late Mary Kelly to the Velodrome and local cycling community. The women did a short 30 lap scratch race to start the night off as a bit of a warm up before the 100 lap race. The 30 lap race went smoothly with everyone racing conservatively in anticipation of the 100 laps to come. About 20 minutes later, we hit the boards for the 100 lap feature race. For the first 20 or so laps a group of 14 girls (8 of which were Kallisto-FCV p/b Toto Tires riders) echeloned, conserving for what was sure to be a long race. Rob made the announcement that the first rider to lap the field would win $100. On that cue, Kallisto-FCV rider Ruby West attacked off the front. Jamie Gilgen went immediately to chase her down and I followed on her wheel. After that was brought back, it became a game of cat and mouse, with Jamie attacking frequently and myself chasing her down with the help of teammate Candice Vermeulen. By 50 laps, there were 4 of us left in the group - last year's winner Sarah Mason and Jamie Gilgen of Rise Racing and Candice and I of Kallisto-FCV p/b Toyo Tires. Not much changed in the last half of the race with many strong attacks coming from Rise, with Candice and I both covering. The pace picked up significantly over the last 10 laps and, with 2 to go, Candice rode high up the track and launched a strong attack using the banking to gain speed. Neither of the other riders were able to chase Candice down so she gained a considerable gap on the group. Coming around the last corner, it was myself and Sarah neck and neck. I managed to out-sprint her coming across the line and the results ended up with Candice in 1st, myself in 2nd, Sarah in 3rd, Jamie in 4th and Anneke Frankemolle in 5th.
It was an awesome weekend of racing and a huge thanks goes to out to all of the Sponsors of Kallisto FCV p/b Toyo Tires, the coaches, volunteers and everyone who helped make it possible!
By Naomi DeSousa
Thanks to the help of many volunteers, officials and athletes; this Easter weekend was a great weekend of racing! Highlights include some incredible teamwork by the girls of Kallisto FCV and really impressive efforts and performances by all the riders.
It kicked off on Friday with the Good Friday Road Race in Ancaster at an early 8:30am for the Junior/Elite 3/ Masters women. For the first 30 or so kilometers, riders in the bunch were tentative to make any committed attacks and the pace was maintained at a fairly steady speed while riders jockeyed for positions within the peloton. The first attack of the day was launched by Kallisto rider Ruby West which was brought back after a few hundred meters but really served to pick up the pace of the race and set the stage for more attacks to come. After more attacks from team members Ali, Charlotte, Ruby, and myself, with nothing sticking; we settled into the bunch trying to organize ourselves for something that might stick. Throughout the rest of the race we continued to be aggressive, putting pressure on the other junior women. However it was obvious coming into the last lap, that it would be a sprint finish as the bunch wasn't letting anything go. At this point, I started settling into a good spot from which to launch a sprint while keeping a careful eye on the other riders, particularly the girls from NCCH who were proving to be very strong. Coming around the last corner before the final stretch toward the finish, a very strong attack was launched by Hillary Lowry of NCCH. With a lot of help from Ali Van Yzendoorn, we managed to pull her back after a bit over a kilometer and, by this point, the finish was in sight. The three leaders of the race were myself, Ali, and Amy Bell and we spread out across the road each of us waiting for the other to make the first move. I launched my sprint taking a sharp line around the corner into the fairgrounds with about 150 meters left and maintained my lead across the finish line winning the sprint outright. Amy Bell finished in 2nd and my teammate Ali Van Yzendoorn in 3rd. All in all, a very strong, aggressive and fun race by the Kallisto-FCV p/b Toyo Tires women.
After resting up, we were ready to race again on Saturday evening for the annual Mary Kelly Memorial 100 lap race held at Forest City Velodrome. This race is to honour the many contributions of the late Mary Kelly to the Velodrome and local cycling community. The women did a short 30 lap scratch race to start the night off as a bit of a warm up before the 100 lap race. The 30 lap race went smoothly with everyone racing conservatively in anticipation of the 100 laps to come. About 20 minutes later, we hit the boards for the 100 lap feature race. For the first 20 or so laps a group of 14 girls (8 of which were Kallisto-FCV p/b Toto Tires riders) echeloned, conserving for what was sure to be a long race. Rob made the announcement that the first rider to lap the field would win $100. On that cue, Kallisto-FCV rider Ruby West attacked off the front. Jamie Gilgen went immediately to chase her down and I followed on her wheel. After that was brought back, it became a game of cat and mouse, with Jamie attacking frequently and myself chasing her down with the help of teammate Candice Vermeulen. By 50 laps, there were 4 of us left in the group - last year's winner Sarah Mason and Jamie Gilgen of Rise Racing and Candice and I of Kallisto-FCV p/b Toyo Tires. Not much changed in the last half of the race with many strong attacks coming from Rise, with Candice and I both covering. The pace picked up significantly over the last 10 laps and, with 2 to go, Candice rode high up the track and launched a strong attack using the banking to gain speed. Neither of the other riders were able to chase Candice down so she gained a considerable gap on the group. Coming around the last corner, it was myself and Sarah neck and neck. I managed to out-sprint her coming across the line and the results ended up with Candice in 1st, myself in 2nd, Sarah in 3rd, Jamie in 4th and Anneke Frankemolle in 5th.
It was an awesome weekend of racing and a huge thanks goes to out to all of the Sponsors of Kallisto FCV p/b Toyo Tires, the coaches, volunteers and everyone who helped make it possible!