October 28/06 11:45 am - BC `Cross Champs

Posted by Editoress on 10/28/06
 

Kabush & Simms Take B.C. Titles
Courtesy Dave Cressman

Against all odds the weather in Vancouver held for yet another weekend of Cyclo-cross. The former National Championship course in Jericho Park was tweaked a little to provide some spectacular racing and no one was left wanting for more. This event was acting as the BC Provincial Championship race for Open Men and Open Women as well as the BC Cross Cup presented by Giant series finale, with double points being awarded in the Men A, B and Women A categories.

The first race of the day was also the biggest as the B Men got underway. Early on a large group of 6 riders separated themselves from the pack and drove the pace. In the mix were a couple of riders haggling for series points and the coveted title. Graham Tutti, Menno Jangsma, Brad Collins, Jay Murray, Steve Murray and Jason Thompson rode together for a while and then one by one dropped off the pace, leaving Tutti and Jangsma to fight it out for the win, with Tutti pulling it off for maximum points.

Next up were the Women and the C Men. Hot off some great USGP results Wendy Simms was the class of the field, riding away early and holding a good gap to the line to take the BC Championship. Second went to Kelly Jones, the easy winner of the BC Cross Cup title with her consistent wins. Sarah Stewart rode strongly for third place. The B Women had a tighter race just behind the A's with youngster Chelsea Bilsbarrow taking the win over Sherri Iwaschuk and Lesley Trivett. The C men were sent off after the ladies and had a tough time catching any of them. They had a great battle with Graham Falkowsky taking the win ahead of Dave Markham and Raymond Tse.

The big guns came out for the final race of the day. Geoff Kabush came to town to challenge the BC Cup series regulars Andrew Pinfold, Andreas Hestler, Andrew Kyle and Dan MacDonald. Right from the gun the racing was hard and very fast, with a lead group of 6 to 8 riders off the front. Kabush seemed happy to get a feel for the course early on and let the others play at the front. It didn't take long for Kabush to take over and mid race he and Andrew Pinfold started to separate themselves from the field. Dangling just behind them on his own was BC Cup leader Andrew Kyle, having another strong race. Pinner and Kabush rode together heading into the last lap and shortly after Kabush put the power down to drop Pinfold and solo in for the win and the BC Championship. Pinfold rolled in for second and not long after Andrew Kyle came through for third and a clear win in the BC Cross Series.

The Wedgewood Cycling Team would like to thank all of its' members for their support on and before race day and to all the participants and sponsors for their support of the team and this classic event. It was a banner year for cyclocross in BC with almost a 100% increase in participation for the 6 series events. Just wait till 2007.