July 15/07 10:45 am - Tour de Whiterock: Stage 2 report, photos and full results

Posted by Editoress on 07/15/07
 

Tour de Whiterock Whiterock BC
Report courtesy Eric Dwyer

Photos by Greg Descantes

BC's powerful Symmetrics team, ranked number one in North and South America on the UCI circuit, is back on top in White Rock.

After having to settle for 2nd place in Friday's Hill Climb, the opening event of the Coast Capital Savings Tour de White Rock, Symmetrics zoomed back to the top of the podium with a masterful display of team tactics in the men's Remax Criterium. Burnaby's Zach Bell picked up what he called "the biggest win of my road racing career" while teammate Andrew Randall took 3rd. Bell is the fourth different Symmetrics rider to win in the last five men's races in White Rock in 2006 and 2007.

"I've been looking forward to this race all year, "said Bell. "This is a huge race and one of my favourite courses. There are a lot of places where a big, powerful guy can make a move and have a chance to win. Today I had the legs and it worked out perfectly for us."

It was a cat and mouse duel for most of the hour long race with everyone reluctant to play the mouse. The racers spent most of the 60 lap, 60 kilometer race tightly bunched with the occasional breakaway to test the will of the pack. Three to six man breaks would take off and then get quickly reeled back in by the field. With less than 20 laps to go Symmetrics started pushing the pace with most of their eight man team taking turns at the front. In the closing laps they created a four man breakaway and outmanned a lone Navigators Insurance rider, Californian Kristian House, three to one. On the final lap Bell, a silver medalist on the track at the recent Pan Am games, turned on the power and left House behind with 300 meters to go. He crossed the finish line in 1 hour, 10 minutes and 15 seconds. House was 2nd and Randall finished 3rd.

Bell, a two-time winner of the Tour de Delta Brenco Hill climb, hopes the win in White Rock and 2nd place in the criterium at the Canadian Nationals finally changes his image. "I was always known as the wrestler who rode a bike," said the Yukon born Bell who had a wrestling scholarship at the University of Calgary. "That 'rassler on a bike was accurate when I won in Delta but in the last two years and especially this year with Symmetrics I think I've proved I'm a pretty good bike rider who used to be a wrestler.

A record field of 44 riders, the largest in 28 years of the Tour de White Rock, started the women's race including the nearly invincible Gina Grain of Burnaby. The defending champion in the Tour de Gastown and Giro Di Burnaby was wearing the red jersey she won earlier this week as Canadian National Road Race champion. She was content to sit back in the pack when New Zealander Rushlee Buchanon broke away and opened a 30 second lead after 18 of the 30 laps around the one kilometer course.

"I didn't mean to go on my own," admitted Buchanon, a veteran in her 7th season of racing at the tender age of 19. "I saw a small group take off and moved with them. After I caught them I look around and no one was following, I thought 'uh oh' here we go. This is it. I better give it a go."

She was one of five women on a Jazz Apple team racing in BC Superweek for the 2nd year. Her teammates managed to ride at the head of the chase group and slow it down enough to let Buchanon maintain a 30 second lead for the rest of the race. She breezed across the finish line with a winning time of 39 minutes, 54.46 seconds.

"I won a couple of races in California this year," said Buchanon, "but this is definitely the biggest win of my life. This area is beautiful and the atmosphere and crowds are great. Everything is a step above what we have at home. I'll definitely be back next year!"

The 19-year-old hoping to qualify for the Olympics next year posted a winning margin of 19 seconds in her first victory in her first race in Canada.

Californian Shelley Olds, 3rd in the White Rock Muffler Hill Climb took second while Grain was content with a 3rd place finish, conserving her energy for the Tour de White Rock Road Race early Sunday morning.

"I knew she (Buchanon) was a strong racer and tried to activate a few things to get someone to chase her down," said Grain. "But no one was interested and with the two big teams from Jazz Apple and Giant Canada there wasn't much chance to get things going. We'll see what happens tomorrow in the road race. It's a hilly course so I plan on just working for my teammates but it's bike racing, eh, and anything can happen. "

Downtown Whiterock Criterium